This lobster mac and cheese is delicious! Rich lobster cheese sauce is the star of the show, rich in lobster flavor, perfect for any special occasion, from date night to holidays.
We won’t exude flavor in this lobster Mac and cheese. Unlike other recipes that only add lobster meat to standard Macs and cheeses, we’ll take it a step further. We used the lobster body to create a deep lobster cheese sauce similar to making lobster biscuit.
This leads to a very delicious Mac and cheese, so adding lobster meat is completely optional! The sauce itself has an incredible lobster flavor. You can definitely add cooked lobster meat if you like, but you may prefer to keep it in lobster rolls (such as lobster rolls).
Key Ingredients
- lobster: We will start with 2 live lobsters and cook them so that you have cooked lobster meat and lobster ready to make our cheese sauce. You can ask your local fishmonger to cook lobsters if you want, but don’t forget to ask for the lobster carcasses (the main shell with head and calves) as this makes our lobster cheese sauce so delicious. Remember to add lobster meat to your Mac, the cheese is up to you. The carcasses in the sauce add a lot of rich lobster flavor, so you might prefer using meat for another lobster recipe.
- Aromatic Studies: Since this is an elegant dish, we brought more ingredients than basic macaroni and cheese. We use onion, carrots, garlic, fresh thyme, bay leaves and tomato sauce in the seasoning. When they are both soft and sweet, they blend into the cheese sauce, adding a lot of flavor.
- Butter and flour: These help thicken our sauce.
- White wine: Dry white wines, such as Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, or unbaked Chardonnay, can add complexity. For non-alcoholic options, replace vegetable soup.
- milk: For the creamiest sauce, use whole milk.
- cheese: My favorite is this high quality white cheddar for Mac and cheese, such as Beecher’s or English Cheddar. Gruyère will be cute too!
- pasta: Use your favorite short pasta shape. Since this is a special recipe, it is possible to take more exotic shapes like Cavatappi or Torchiette.
How to Make Lobster Mac and Cheese
The first step to lobster Mac and cheese is to prepare lobsters. I know working with live lobsters may sound overwhelming, but I will take you through everything you need to know in our recipes. You can also learn more about working with live lobsters in our lobster roll recipes!
Our method of dispatching lobsters is fast and effective. Place the lobster on the cutting board and find a faint cross on the shell where its head and body connect. Quickly and firmly insert a large knife into this cross and push it down between the head and eyes. This cuts the spinal cord and kills the lobster immediately.
From there, you can partially open the body with your tail, claws and legs. We wanted to keep our bodies undercooked so we could use them to make lobster cheese sauce. Then we will boil the lobster meat in boiling salted water. Once cooked, you can pull the meat out of the shell and save it to add to our lobster Mac and cheese or save it as another dish. It stays in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
The trick to the best lobster Mac and cheese is to cook the lobster carcasses with butter, aromatics and milk for about 30 minutes. During this time, the corpse was rich in lobster flavor (more than any meat). After 30 minutes, you will discard the body and mix the sauce with some cheese.
Finally, toss the sauce with cooked pasta, add the optional lobster meat, and bake in casserole until bubbles. It’s incredible!
Perfect lobster Mac and cheese
-
Prepare
-
chef
-
All
There are two ways to make lobster Mac and cheese: with or without lobster meat. In both cases, you will use the lobster shell to create the iconic lobster flavor in the sauce. We will guide you through each step, from humanitarian investigations and cooking live lobsters to making a rich lobster cheese sauce. Then you can decide whether to fold the cooked lobster meat into your Mac and cheese or enjoy it alone (melt butter or lobster rolls!). The lobster body (the main shell with the head and calf) releases a rich savory lobster flavor, making it crucial for this recipe.
Tips in advance: Cooked lobster meat can be refrigerated for up to 3 days, which means you can prepare the meat in advance. You can also freeze the lobster carcasses for up to 6 months. This allows you to prepare lobsters, enjoy the meat in another meal, and save the body for later use.
4 to 6 servings
You will need
2 lobsters, 1½ pounds per lobster
2 tablespoons butter
Half sweet onion, chopped, about 1 cup
1 medium carrot, chopped, about ½ cup
2 cloves and garlic, chopped
2 small branches of thyme
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon tomato sauce
1/2 cup (60 ml) white wine
2 cups (473 ml) whole milk
1 sea leaf
12 oz (340g) white cheddar cheese, grated, about 3 cups
8 oz (226 g) short pasta such as fusilli, cavatappi or torchiette
1/4 cup (28g) panko crumbs
Salt and fresh black pepper
direction
- Prepare lobsters
1If starting with the on-site lobster, please be careful. Secure the lobster firmly behind the head with a clean kitchen towel and place it on the cutting board. Look for a small head on the shell, which connects the body. Use a large and sharp knife to insert the tip into this mark quickly and firmly and cut the eyes down from the head. This method allows for quick distribution of lobsters. The legs may twitch a little, but the lobster is dead.
2Separate the lobster parts by size: a pile of tails, a pile of big claws in the other pile, and finally, all the small claws together in the third pile. You will cook the lobster meat in the next step.
3The lobster body (main shells including the head and calves) are crucial for the sauce. Set them aside. You will use them in our lobster sauce to create its rich flavor.
4Bring a large pot of water to a boil with two tablespoons of salt.
5Cook the tail for five minutes and transfer it to a plate to cool. Next, cook the big claws for 5 minutes. Transfer them to a plate to cool and cook for four minutes of small paws.
6Remove lobster meat from the shells when the tail and claws are cool. For the tail, use kitchen cuts to cut the top of the tail, pull it apart, pull the back a little, and pull out the meat. For claws, open the claws with a knife or mallet and remove the meat. Use tweezers or chopsticks to remove smaller meat from legs and knuckles. Store lobster meat in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If you plan to add some to your Mac and cheese, you’ll need about 1 cup, which means you might have some extra lobster meat, which is by no means a bad thing.
- Making lobster Mac and cheese
1For Lobster Mac and cheese you need 2 lobster carcasses and 1 cup of cooked lobster meat. Cut the lobster corpse in half with a heavy knife.
2In a wide pan, at least 3 inches deep, like Rondo, melt the butter over medium heat. Ideally, use a pan with a lid as a lid is needed later.
3Add lobster, onion, carrots, garlic and thyme to the pan. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The goal is not to brown the vegetables, but just to soften them. The lobster body will also turn red.
4Add the flour and stir it in the pan and do the same with tomato sauce.
5Pour in the white wine and stir well. Once it starts to stick to the bottom, add the milk and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper and cook in a low and gentle hotpot for 30 minutes. During this time, check if the milk does not have too many bubbles or stick to the bottom of the pan. If necessary, reduce the heat. The milk may look a little clotted, but in the next step we will mix everything, which brings the sauce back together.
6Remove the lobster body and discard them. Then, pour the liquid into the mixer. Add 6 ounces of cheese (1.5 cups) and secure the puree to smooth. Cool the sauce in the refrigerator until ready to throw it to the pasta. Mixing Tips: For safety reasons, remove the center insert of the mixer cover and place the kitchen towel on the holes while mixing. This releases steam and prevents messy splashes.
7Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta until Al Dente. tension.
8Preheat the oven until 350°F (177°C). Gently lubricate at least 2 quart of casserole dish.
9In a mixing bowl, mix the hot pasta with lobster paste and the remaining cheese half (2 oz or 1/2 cup). Stir well to combine. If you want to add lobster meat, fold it.
10Transfer the pasta mixture to a casserole.
11In a small bowl, mix Panko crumbs with the remaining cheese and sprinkle it over the top of the Mac and cheese.
12Bake for 40 to 50 minutes until the middle is hot and the top is golden brown.
Adam and Joanne’s Tips
- storage: Store grilled lobster Mac and cheese in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Pre-cooked lobster: You can ask your local fishmonger to cook lobsters if you like, but don’t forget to ask for the lobster carcasses (the main shell with head and calves) as this makes our lobster cheese sauce so delicious. Starting with an uncooked body adds more flavor to our sauce, but you can still make it with a cooked lobster body.
- Nutritional facts are estimates. We included 1 cup of lobster meat and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
Nutrition per serving
Service size
1/6 of the recipe
/
Calories
530
/
Total fat
26.5g
/
Saturated fat
14.8 grams
/
cholesterol
109.8mg
/
sodium
763.9mg
/
carbohydrate
42.5g
/
Dietary fiber
2.2g
/
Total sugar
7.9 grams
/
protein
26.4g
