Lobster Newburg Crepes
By: Irvin Lin
Lobster Newburg is a classic New York dish made popular in Delmonico’s, a Manhattan restaurant established in 1827. This luxurious dish, with lobster, butter, cream, sherry, brandy and thickened with egg yolk, was the epitome of upscale fine dining, became incredibly popular with the after-theater crowd in New York. The addition of the vanilla in a savory crepe sounds odd, but vanilla works with seafood and shellfish like lobster. Don’t be put off by the ingredients or name, as both the crepe and the Lobster Newburg filling are much easier to make than they sound.
By Irvin Lin
- Yield: 8 filled crepes (4 Servings)
- Cuisine: French
- Course: Entrée
Ingredients
Crepe Batter:
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Lobster Newburg Filling:
- 4 medium lobster tails, (about 1 1/4 pounds)
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup chopped shallots
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup dry sherry
- 1/4 cup brandy
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon chives
- 1 to 2 tablespoons melted butter, for crepe pan
Directions
- Make the crepe batter by placing all the ingredients in a blend and blending until a smooth batter is formed. It should have the consistency of heavy cream. Set aside while you make the Lobster Newburg filling.
- Broil the lobsters by first preheating the oven to broil. If the lobster’s tails aren’t already butterflied, take a pair of kitchen shears and cut right down the top of the lobster tail lengthwise starting at the open end. Pry open and delicately pull the lobster tail meat up out of the tail, leaving the meat still attached to the very end of the tail, letting the meat rest on top of the tail shell. Place the lobster tails on a rimmed baking sheet and broil for 5 to 10 minutes or until the meat is opaque and the internal temperature of the tail is 145˚F. Let the lobster meat cool.
- Once the lobster meat has cooled enough to handle, remove the meat from the shells and cut the meat into 1/2-inch chunks. Set aside.
- Melt the butter in a medium sized saucepan and then add the shallots. Cook over medium high heat until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the flour, paprika, salt, ground pepper, and cayenne to the pot and cook for 1 minute stirring constantly. Add the heavy cream, sherry and brandy, cooking over medium heat for 2 minutes.
- Place the egg yolk in a small bowl and pour about 1/2 cup of the hot tomato cream sauce into the bowl, stir to temper the egg yolk. Scrape the entire content back into the saucepan. Add the lobster meat and cook over medium high heat for 2 more minutes, stirring constantly. The filling should be thick. Cover the pan and remove from heat.
- Heat the Anolon® Advanced Umber Crepe Pan on the stove over medium heat until hot. Brush some butter over the pan. Remove pan from heat and pour 1/4 cup of crepe batter onto the pan, swirling it around to evenly coat the bottom of the pan. Place back on the stove and cook over medium heat until the top of the crepe looks dry, about 45 seconds. Flip the crepe and cook until brown spots form on the bottom of the crepe about 30 seconds more. Move crepe to a plate and cover with a piece of parchment paper or wax paper. Repeat with the remaining crepe batter.
- Once all the crepes are done, place one crepe on a plate and spoon about 3 to 4 tablespoons of the filling in a strip right down the middle of the crepe from end to end. Sprinkle some chives over the filling and roll the crepe up around the filling. Repeat with the remaining filling and crepes. Sprinkle any remaining chives over the top of the rolled crepe. Serve immediately.