Valentine’s Lobster – An annual tradition

Once again Heather and I decided to stick to tradition and grill up a few lobsters for Valentine’s Day. I love going out for dinner but not on that night. Why pay stupid prices on that night especially when you can create something even more special at home.

We try to do this every year and well, this year was no exception. The lobsters (4×450 g) were sourced from Kranji, which if you live in Singapore, you’ll know that seems like another planet. The benefit is, you’re getting wholesale prices for the freshest seafood. In fact, this place is so good that we ended up meeting our favourite hawker stall proprietor Terrence. He buys his seafood at the same place… now we know it’s good.

A side note, if you’re ever in Singapore, you MUST visit our pal Terrence. He runs a place call New Gillman’s Seafood.  It’s practically the best local cuisine you’ll get on the island and a fraction of the cost. Tell him Roman & Heather sent you!

Anyway, back to the lobster. Here’s how simple this is:

• Buy ’em
• Put them in a freezer for about an hour or two to help lull them into a sense of safety and comfort.
• Dispatch them but using a super sharp knife. Get between the eyes and bring it straight down. It’s the quickest and kindest way to help them meet their maker.
• Cut down the belly side from tip to tail. Wash out the end-trails and then put a metal skewer from the tip of the tail upwards towards the head. The keeps the lobster from curling up into a ball once you’ve got them on the grill.
• Make up a simple sauce of heavy cream and melted butter and then season the inside of the lobster with a good helping of Kosher salt and black pepper.

Preheat your grill to 450-500 F (232-260C). Lay down your lobsters on their backs and cook them for about 10-15 minutes. The meat should be flaky and not translucent. Baste the lobsters with the cream and butter throughout the grilling.

When ready, pair up your lobster with anything you fancy but make sure you have a bottle of Champagne to celebrate the one you love.

Overall Heather Rating: 10/10

Valentine’s Grilled Lobster

Three letters come to mind when I try to describe tonight’s meal….

OMG!

So Heather and I had a “nice” Valentine’s evening spent with a great friend and colleague Everett.  The best part of it all was that Ev picked up the tab for an awesome meal at Original Sin, and for that we’re both eternally grateful.  So, using my better judgment I decided that I’d surprise Heather with our own home cooked romantic meal three days after Valentines Day featuring….Egged LOBSTER and all the trimmings! Clearly the romance hasn’t petered out!

I ran down to Cold Storage to find the uncle behind the fish counter quite happy to sell me Canadian lobsters from Boston?!?!?  I hadn’t the time to go into the geography lesson that I so wanted to get into and so I purchased two 1.5 lbs lobbies along with some sweet corn and a few tatties.  Better than the uncle was the auntie at the counter who nearly had a heart attack trying to scan two very squirmy and peeved lobsters.  Really wish I had taken a video camera with me.

OK, so I get home, prep the goods and now time to kill said lobster.  No problem….a sharp chef’s knife to the head and voila….dead said lobster.  To season, clarified butter (a faff if I’ve ever gone through one), kosher salt, pepper and some heavy whipping cream.  (I can just see my cholesterol level shooting up something fierce tonight!)  10 Minutes on the grill with a heaftey basting of heavy cream every two minutes and my goodness, the goodness that ensued!

Check out the photos and once again….THANK YOU BIG GREEN EGG for a meal that was soooooooooo good, we’ll do this for every upcoming Valentine’s Day that comes our way!

Bon Apetite all you Roman-tics!

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