Lobster Thermidor is the favorite dish from my first visit to Antoine’s, when their menu was entirely in French. That visit long ago was a first for me in many ways and I remember it as if it were yesterday.
With that dinner reservation, I was concerned how to choose among the hundreds of offerings, but I had a plan. Roy F Guste, Jr., the proprietor, recently published Antoine’s Cookbook and I used it like the Rosetta Stone to code-break that mysterious menu.
I brought the cookbook home as a gift for my wife, raving about the fabulous meal at Antoine’s and the amazing Creole and Cajun foods of New Orleans. She, while suffering the mid-winter cold in Kentucky was, shall we say, envious. I never tasted a homemade dish from that cookbook – until now.
Let’s Make Lobster Thermidor
Begin with béchamel sauce, one of the five French “mother sauces” following the recipe HERE. You can make bechamel sauce in advance if there is any time pressure involved in creating a multi-course meal.
Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees, then slowly warm the bechamel sauce to avoid scorching and hold. Do not let it simmer. While doing so combine the cheeses and breadcrumbs.
Bring the sherry to a boil and cook the lobster tails until the sherry has been reduced by half. Reduce the heat to low, add the 3 cups of bechamel to the pot, stir and cook another 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, divide and pour equally into 4 ramekins and top each one with the cheese – breadcrumb mixture.
Place them in the oven and bake until the cheese is melted and the breadcrumbs are lightly browned. Set aside, let them cool for 10 minutes and serve warm.
Lobster Substitutes?
If your lobster traps were empty this morning, you can substitute shrimp, or if you have a mudbug farm in your backyard, crawfish tails are wonderful! Print
Lobster Thermidor
A favorite French Creole dish from New Orleans!
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 45
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 1x
Ingredients
- 3 cups bechamel sauce – get the recipe HERE
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs
- 3 cups lobster (about 4 tails) – cut into 1″ pieces
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup grated swiss cheese
- 1–1/4 cup sherry
- 1/4 cup grated romano cheese
- 1/4 cup grated provolone
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
- Place ramekins on a baking sheet
- Shred your cheeses and mix with the bread crumbs
- Slowly begin heating your bechamel sauce. Stir to avoid burning, thin with milk if necessary and hold just below a simmer
- Bring the sherry to a boil in a separate pan
- Cut the lobster into 1″ pieces and cook until the sherry is reduced by half
- Reduce heat to low, add the bechamel sauce and cook a few minutes more to allow the flavors to harmonize
- Remove from heat and divide evenly into the ramekins
- Top each ramekin with the cheese and breadcrumb mixture
- Bake until cheese begins to brown, about 15 minutes
- Remove from oven, cool 5-10 minutes and serve warm
This looks incredible! I can smell the butter and lobster from here!
You can also freeze the bechamel sauce for much later use.