Make it at home

Yield 2Hands-on 25 minTotal 45 minDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 1 live European lobster, 800g to 1kg
  • 5L water
  • 200g coarse sea salt
  • 1 large bunch dill
  • 1 small bunch fresh tarragon
  • 1 lemon, halved
  • 100g unsalted butter
  • 2 shallots, finely diced
  • 100ml dry white wine
  • 100ml fish stock
  • 100ml double cream
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • Sea salt, white pepper, lemon juice to finish

Method

  1. Chill the live lobster in the freezer for 30 minutes to dull it.
  2. Bring a deep pot of water with salt and half the dill to a rolling boil.
  3. Plunge the lobster in headfirst. Cook 7 minutes for an 800g specimen, 9 minutes for a 1kg.
  4. Lift into iced water for 2 minutes to halt the cooking.
  5. Split lengthwise with a heavy knife. Remove the head sac. Crack claws with the back of a heavy knife.
  6. Soften shallots in 30g butter 4 minutes. Add wine, reduce by half. Add fish stock, reduce by half.
  7. Whisk in cream and remaining butter, then mustard, tarragon, and a squeeze of lemon. Season.
  8. Arrange the lobster halves cut-side up on a warm platter. Spoon sauce into the head cavities and across the tail. Serve with new potatoes and the second lemon half.

Tip from the editors. European lobster needs less cooking than American (Maine) lobster; an 800g West Coast lobster is fully cooked in 7 minutes, where the American Maine cousin at the same weight needs 9.

Where to eat west coast lobster (hummerpremiar)

West Coast Lobster (Hummerpremiar) in Gothenburg

Feskekorka ★ 4.8

Market$$CentrumTue-Fri 10:00-18:00, Sat 10:00-15:00

Feskekorka (the Fish Church) is Gothenburg's Gothic 1874 fish hall reopened in 2024 after a four-year renovation, housing fishmongers, shellfish counters.

Bhoga 1 ★ ★ 4.8

NordicChef Gustav Knutsson and Niclas Yngvesson$$$$$650-900centrumTue-Sat 18:00-00:00Book 2-3 weeks ahead

Bhoga in Gothenburg is a one-Michelin-star Nordic restaurant where the menu shifts daily around local farms and season. Tasting menus in five.

Koka 1 ★ ★ 4.8

NordicChef Johan Bjorkman and Jonas Larsson$$$$$700-1100vasastadenThu 18:00-01:00, Sat 17:00-02:00Book 3-4 weeks ahead

Koka's one Michelin star decorates an elegant room beneath a 19th-century glass ceiling in Vasastaden. Led by chef Johan Bjorkman and Jonas Larsson.

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