Penn
01-09-2008, 21:32
It has been brought to my attention by one of our great State of Maine members to clarify the difference between Lobster Roe and Lobster Tomalley. This is in regard to the Crème de Hommard recipe I gave to RL.
When you split the head of a RAW female lobster, (I only buy females, I want the roe.) inside the cavity, you find what appears to be brain matter, which is from yellowish to gray in color. This is the tomalley. It is edible, but not for making the Hommard, and should be discarded. What you want is the raw green to blackish green, egg sack. This green sack contains the fertilized raw lobster eggs.
In the raw state, when puree with cold water, and then streamed into hot cream, the roe act as liaison, which it is to bind the soup, and simultaneously to color and enrich it. The roe is intensely flavored, with the essence of the sea, and of lobster.
The trick when working with it is to stream the puree raw liquid roe into the cream. If the cream is to hot; you get pink scramble lobster egg soup. To cold it won’t change color. Under 185^F I guess, but not less than 160^F. For the best result it should only be done in a blender.
If anyone has any questions, or needs clarification about cooking related matters, I am always available. And will respond ASAP.
I also want to take a moment an express how impressive it is to have received that email, noting the need for clarification. I have pasted the sentence … “I’m by no means near the caliber of chef you are, so I didn’t want to say anything publically, but the “green stuff” is actually the hepatopancreas, which serves as a sort of combined liver and pancreas for the lobster”.
It is important, because, it is yet another indication and example, of the caliber men that SF attracts. The word, hepatopancreas, I did not know, but someone did, and they took the time, and energy, to transfer that knowledge; to share it, without ego, it’s a rare thing, but not here!
When you split the head of a RAW female lobster, (I only buy females, I want the roe.) inside the cavity, you find what appears to be brain matter, which is from yellowish to gray in color. This is the tomalley. It is edible, but not for making the Hommard, and should be discarded. What you want is the raw green to blackish green, egg sack. This green sack contains the fertilized raw lobster eggs.
In the raw state, when puree with cold water, and then streamed into hot cream, the roe act as liaison, which it is to bind the soup, and simultaneously to color and enrich it. The roe is intensely flavored, with the essence of the sea, and of lobster.
The trick when working with it is to stream the puree raw liquid roe into the cream. If the cream is to hot; you get pink scramble lobster egg soup. To cold it won’t change color. Under 185^F I guess, but not less than 160^F. For the best result it should only be done in a blender.
If anyone has any questions, or needs clarification about cooking related matters, I am always available. And will respond ASAP.
I also want to take a moment an express how impressive it is to have received that email, noting the need for clarification. I have pasted the sentence … “I’m by no means near the caliber of chef you are, so I didn’t want to say anything publically, but the “green stuff” is actually the hepatopancreas, which serves as a sort of combined liver and pancreas for the lobster”.
It is important, because, it is yet another indication and example, of the caliber men that SF attracts. The word, hepatopancreas, I did not know, but someone did, and they took the time, and energy, to transfer that knowledge; to share it, without ego, it’s a rare thing, but not here!