Lobster! It’s not just for fancy dishes anymore. With the chilly, fall days, people are starting to crave hearty soups and chowders, and Maine lobster is one of the most versatile seafood choices around. Here are three recipes you can try at home this fall.
Perfect Lobster Bisque
This light meal, served with crusty French bread and a small salad, is perfect for one single serving or as a tasty meal for two. Hard shell lobsters are abundant between mid-September and December, which translates to more meat per pound in the shell. For this recipe, all you’ll need is a half-pound of lobster meat. Note: A 1.5-pound lobster will yield about 5 to 6 ounces of meat, and a two-pound lobster will yield about 6.5 to 8 ounces of meat. The entire dish comes together with dry white wine and half and half, allowing one quarter of the lobster meat to puree with the other ingredients in the mixer. Set aside the remaining lobster and return to heat. Get the full recipe for Perfect Lobster Bisque.
Maine Lobster Soup With Wild Mushrooms
Foraging for wild mushrooms is in full swing by knowledgeable Maine experts in October, so take advantage of your local farmers market to procure some assorted fresh wild mushrooms (such as oyster, cremini, chanterelle, and stemmed shiitake). While there, load up on fresh herbs of rosemary, thyme and tarragon for this recipe. Fennel, onion and tomatoes play up complex layers of flavor and you can use two, half-pound live Maine lobsters for two servings – or double that for four servings. FMI: Get the full recipe for Maine Lobster With Wild Mushrooms.
Lobster Corn Chowder
A delicious lobster chowder recipe is a spin on the traditional New England corn chowder, using corn and potato — two foods native to Maine and abundant in autumn. This Food Network recipe calls for three, 1.5-pound lobsters cooked, cracked and split. Then, after slicing the kernels of a corncob, add sherry, paprika, milk and cream. Adding the lobster shells and corncobs to the simmering broth ramps up the flavor to the stock immensely. Heat gently, serve hot with a garnish of crisp bacon and you will comfort food that’s beyond amazing. Get the full recipe for Lobster Corn Chowder.
Note: The 6,000 commercial Maine lobstermen who keep our economy going were hit hard by COVID-19 this year, as it shut down restaurants, hotels and other markets hurt by the pandemic. Buying their fresh lobster keeps them feeding their own families. Are you out of state and want fresh Maine lobster delivered to your door? Follow our blogs on how to get it shipped to you and look for other excellent lobster recipes brought to you by Maine Lobster Festival.
