If you snapped up some of the half price cooked lobsters recently sold at Australian supermarkets, here are my 6 best Christmas-worthy lobster recipes to really make the most of them. I’ll also show you how easy it is to remove the lobster meat from the shell!
Rounding off a crazy year, Australian grocery stores have been selling lobsters at steeply discounted prices in the weeks leading up to Christmas due to trade tensions with China. (Read more below.)
If you’ve been lucky enough to pick one up, here are 6 Lobster recipes that really make the most of them. All easy – and you’re likely to have everything to make at least one of these, if not two or three!
Note: This post specifically contains dishes using cooked lobsters and crayfish, not raw, because the discounted lobsters that spurred this post came cooked. There’s a broader variety of preparation options for raw lobster which are not covered in this post.
Lobster is one of the most decadent and delicious seafood treats out there. However, cooking fresh lobster at home can be an expensive endeavor. Often, home cooks are left with leftover lobster meat after preparing a lobster dish. Rather than letting that precious lobster meat go to waste, there are many creative ways to transform leftovers into easy and impressive dishes.
In this article, we’ll explore 12 mouthwatering ways to utilize leftover cooked lobster meat. From classic dishes like lobster rolls to innovative recipes like lobster mac and cheese, these ideas will help you get the most out of leftover lobster.
Creative Ways To Use Leftover Lobster Meat
Here are some unique and tasty ways to repurpose cooked lobster meat:
Lobster Quesadillas
Jazz up ordinary quesadillas by sautéing diced lobster meat with onions, peppers and cheese. Place the mixture between tortillas and grill until the cheese is melted and the tortilla is lightly charred. The sweet brininess of the lobster pairs perfectly with the melted cheese in a crispy quesadilla.
Lobster Salad Lettuce Wraps
For a light and fresh meal, mix together diced lobster meat, mayonnaise, lemon juice, diced celery, fresh dill and pepper. Scoop the lobster salad into lettuce leaves for a handheld wrap that’s perfect for lunch.
Lobster Eggs Benedict
Take brunch to a luxurious level with lobster eggs benedict. Top a toasted English muffin with ham, poached eggs and lobster meat sautéed with garlic and lemon. Drizzle with hollandaise sauce for a decadent twist on the classic.
Lobster Avocado Toast
This trendy toast is given an upgrade with the addition of lobster Mash some avocado and mix in a bit of lemon juice. Spread over toasted bread and top with lobster chunks, diced tomatoes and a sprinkling of fresh herbs
Simple Lobster Recipes
If you’re looking for easy ways to use up leftover lobster, try one of these straightforward recipes:
Lobster Rolls
This New England classic is one of the simplest ways to enjoy lobster meat. Mix the lobster with mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt, pepper and celery. Mound the lobster salad into a toasted hot dog bun for a delicious sandwich.
Lobster Pasta
Transform leftover lobster into a restaurant-worthy pasta dish Sauté garlic in olive oil, then add lobster meat and cook briefly Toss the lobster with hot pasta, parsley, lemon zest and Parmesan cheese for a fast and flavorful meal.
Lobster Dip
Leftover lobster also shines as an elegant dip for entertaining. Combine lobster meat with cream cheese, sour cream, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce. Bake until hot and bubbly then serve with crackers or fresh vegetables.
Lobster Omelet
Jazz up your morning omelet by folding diced lobster meat into a fluffy egg mixture filled with cheese. Simply cook the omelet as you normally would but add the lobster just before folding to heat it through.
Elevated Lobster Dishes
If you want to get a little fancy with leftover lobster, these dishes transform it into elegant entrees and appetizers
Lobster Risotto
Infuse risotto with sweet lobster flavor by simmering the arborio rice in a seafood stock made from the lobster shells. Stir in lemon, parsley, lobster meat and Parmesan for an upscale risotto.
Lobster Cakes
Mimic crab cakes by forming patties of lobster meat mixed with breadcrumbs, egg, mustard and herbs. Pan fry until golden brown and enjoy with lemon wedges and remoulade sauce.
Lobster Thermidor
Sauté lobster meat in butter and white wine, then spoon it back into the shell. Top with a creamy thermidor sauce made with egg yolks, brandy and Parmesan. Broil until browned for an indulgent lobster dish.
Lobster Bruschetta
Impress guests with this upscale app by topping grilled bread with a mix of chopped lobster, tomatoes, basil and Parmesan. The sweet lobster contrasts nicely with the briny kalamata olives and tangy balsamic reduction.
Pairing Lobster With Other Ingredients
Leftover lobster can be paired with all sorts of ingredients to create even more recipe ideas:
- Pasta – Lobster ravioli, linguine, mac and cheese
- Vegetables – Corn, asparagus, tomatoes
- Grains – Risotto, fried rice, quinoa
- Cheese – Goat cheese, mascarpone, Parmesan, cheddar
- Herbs – Tarragon, chives, basil, cilantro
- Sauces – Hollandaise, beurre blanc, tomato sauce, alfredo
Get creative with combinations to invent your own signature lobster dishes!
Tips For Using Leftover Lobster
Follow these tips to handle leftover lobster meat properly:
- Store lobster meat in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days
- Freeze lobster meat for 3-6 months to preserve longer
- Thaw frozen lobster in the refrigerator, not at room temp
- Avoid overcooking reheated lobster, heat just until warmed through
- Add a bit of liquid or sauce when reheating to prevent drying out
With endless possibilities for preparation, leftover lobster can be turned into all sorts of mouthwatering dishes. Put those remnants of lobster meat to delicious use with these creative recipes and suggestions. You’ll look forward to leftovers instead of letting precious lobster go to waste.
Seafood Sauces (4 types)
Serving lobster alongside seafood sauces is a classic summer way of serving lobster that let’s the beautiful lobster flavour take centre stage. Think – giant seafood platters served at restaurants!
Almost any seafood sauce you would ordinarily serve with seafood will work well with lobster. Here are 3 classics plus our family favourite that I use as Prawn Dipping Sauces (ie alongside giant buckets of cooked prawns!):
- Marie Rose / Thousand Island sauce – a neutral creamy pink sauce made with mayonnaise and ketchup that will let the flavour of lobster shine;
- Seafood Cocktail Sauce – the punchier flavoured version of Marie Rose. The sauce itself actually has flavour, it’s tangy and kind of savoury, with more layers of flavour because there’s more ingredients in this. Use sparingly with lobster ie don’t done heavily!
- Tartare sauce – just like what you get at the local fish and chip shop! (Except better, because you can actually taste the gherkins and capers in it); and
- Our Family Favourite Seafood Sauce – a cross between Marie Rose and Tartare with more freshness and flavour.
Tartare Sauce
Marie Rose sauce
Seafood Cocktail Sauce
You can buy all these sauces at the grocery store. But they pale in comparison to freshly made!
If you’re thinking hey, that’s prawns in the photo not lobster!, you’re right! The photo below is Prawn Cocktails and lobster makes an outright perfect switch for the prawns in the recipe.
This is a good, easy idea for elegant, individual starters.
My biggest advice: keep it simple. Don’t cook it – you risk drying it out. And don’t overwhelm the lobster with other flavours!
No lobster mornay? No Lobster pasta??
There are some great classic lobster recipes that can only be made with raw lobster. So in this section, I cover off on why they are not suitable to make with pre-cooked lobster.
As mentioned above, the lobster flavour, tenderness of juiciness of the meat is not as good with pre-cooked lobsters compared to freshly cooked raw lobsters.
In addition, not starting with raw lobster means you lose the ability to make dishes that require a lengthy cook time, the extra flavour you get from the shell or even the flavour you get in sauces from searing the raw lobster meat, such as when we make things like Creamy Garlic Prawns.
This limits the uses of pre-cooked lobster compared to raw lobster which can be used for a much wider variety of such as pastas, lobster bisque and Lobster Mornay, to name a few.
If you just tossed lobster meat into pasta or a soup, you would only get lobster flavour when you bit into a piece of meat – and it’s dispersed throughout. So to make a really good, say, lobster pasta, you really need the lobster flavour in the sauce to coat the pasta, and to achieve this you need to start with raw lobster.
How To – prepare a cooked lobster
FAQ
What to do with already cooked lobster?
- Lobster Bisque. My trick for a velvety (and gluten free) creamy lobster bisque is to cook rice in the broth and puree it before adding the cream and lobster meat. …
- Creamy Lobster Pasta. …
- Lobster Fra Diavlo. …
- Lobster and Cheddar Gougeres. …
- Lobster and Bacon Tacos.
How to eat pre-cooked lobster?
Once thawed, open the package or can and thoroughly drain the meat. Pre-cooked meat is ready to eat, requiring only reheating. Check out our Tasty Recipes for delicious lobster dishes—many can substitute fresh frozen lobster meat in place of live lobsters. Have fun and experiment!
How to fix pre-cooked lobster?
Cover and wrap the lobster with foil, add some butter in the wrap. Heat in the oven for approximately 10 minutes. Take out of the oven and serve.
How long can you keep a cooked lobster in the fridge?
Cooked lobster can be stored safely in the fridge for 3-4 days, but for maximum life, we suggest that you freeze cooked lobster.