The Only Way to Poach Shrimp and Lobster
Poaching shellfish may seem intimidating but it’s as simple as a court bouillon, an ice bath, and a timer. Things that are necessary: a pot large enough to completely submerge the shellfish as it cooks, boiling seasoned water, and a very heavily-iced water bath to immediately stop the cooking.
THE BASE: Court Bouillon
Flavorful poaching water is crucial to a flavorful poached shrimp or lobster, but most importantly, it needs to be as salty as the sea.
you’ll need —
6g bay leaves
75g mustard seeds
35g coriander
20g allspice
7g cloves
1g red pepper flake
1 gallon water
1 qt white wine
3 each lemons, cut in half
Kosher salt to taste
steps —
Toast all the spices
Place spices in a cheesecloth tied with butcher’s twine to make a sachet.
In a large pot, combine the water, white wine, lemons, and the sachet.
Season the water heavily with salt (as salty as the ocean - but really).
Bring it all to a boil.
POACHED LOBSTER
steps —
Leave the rubber bands on the claws of the lobster.
Pick up the live lobster in the middle of its body. While your court bouillon is boiling, drop in the lobster and make sure it’s fully submerged.
Poach for 10 minutes and immediately submerge in a heavily iced water bath.
Once the lobster is cold, take it out of the ice bath (if you leave the lobster in the ice bath too long, you’ll dilute the flavor and lose the firm texture of the meat).
Clean the lobster by flipping it onto its back and flatten out the tail. Using a sharp knife, cut the lobster in half hot-dog-style from the head to the tail.
Clean out the tamale (the roe) and the brains. You can gently rinse the head under running water.
For the claws, take off the rubber band. Rip off the ‘thumbs” or the smaller part of the claw and discard both the shell and the meat (trust us, this part of the meat isn’t going to bring you joy).
Using a scissors, make two 2-inch cuts up the shell of the bigger side of the claw from the missing joint and cut across to make a rectangle - this helps expose the claw meat so guests don’t need to struggle with a lobster cracker.
Arrange the lobster halves on a platter of crushed ice with lemon wedges - a sprinkle of fleur de sel on the flesh never hurts either.
Serve with cocktail sauce, lemon mayonnaise, and obviously, a glass of bubbles. (ahem, it would be a good time to pull out those vintage shellfish forks.)
POACHED SHRIMP or PRAWNS
Confused about what the numbers mean when buying shrimp? They’re used to tell you the size and about how many shrimp are in a pound. For instance, there are 16 to 20 shrimp in a pound when buying 16/20s, so these will be larger than say 21/25s, etc. Oftentimes there’s a U in front of the number, and it means a similar thing (i.e. U10 means under 10 shrimp per pound).
steps —
Drain the shrimp in a colander.
Once the court bouillon is boiling, add the shrimp to the pot and give it a stir. The shrimp take about 3-5 minutes to cook, depending on the size. You can test one by pulling it out of the poaching liquid and cutting the tip of the head off. If it’s opaque and no longer raw, pull them out of the poaching liquid or drain them in a clean colander.
Either cool them off on a parchment-lined sheet tray in the refrigerator or in an ice bath. If using an ice bath, don’t let them sit in the water for too long.
If using peeled shrimp, clean by cutting off the first quarter inch of the shrimp - where the head would be (this part is a little mushy in texture).
If the shrimp are head-on-tail-on, twist off the head and peel off the shell right up to the bright pink tail. Using a paring knife, make a shallow cut along the middle of its back and remove the intestinal tract.
Arrange on a bed of ice with lemon wedges, cocktail sauce, and mayonnaise.
Pro tip: if you really want to step it up, toss the shrimp with garlic oil, lemon juice, and sliced chives before serving them on the bed of ice. If hosting a party, a classy move is to set a discard shell bowl nearby and nestle some shellfish forks in the ice.