As the story goes, this dish was invented by a Mr. Ben Wenberg, who showed it to his buddy, Charles Delmonico, at the famous Delmonico’s Restaurant, in New York City. Chuck puts it on the menu, calls it “Lobster Wenberg,” and everyone loves it.
Sometime thereafter, the two men get into a horrible
argument, and Delmonico takes it off the menu. Of course, the patrons are like,
“You said what? He said what? Whatever, just put it back on the menu.”
Which he did, but not before changing the name to the anagram, “Newberg,”
purely out of spite. Hey, he could have gone with Lobster “Bengrew.”
The sauce is pretty rich, so you want something just thick
enough to coat the meat, but not so thick that it covers it up.
Having said that, if you cook it a little further, until it almost starts to
simmer, it will get a bit thicker, if that’s your preference. Just don’t go too
far, or the yolks may start to form curds, and you’ll lose the silkiness.
What you want to avoid is that pudding-like consistency you see
on the bad hotel buffets. Besides paying attention to the few minutes of
stirring, not much can go wrong. I really hope you give the recipe formerly
known as, “Lobster Wenberg,” a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 4 appetizer sized portions:
4 (4-oz) lobster tails
2 tbsp clarified butter (melted butter with the milky foam
removed)
2 or 3 tbsp sherry or brandy
salt to taste
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 large egg yolks
cayenne pepper to taste
pinch of fresh grated nutmeg
Serve over buttered toast or in freshly baked puff pastry
shells (video to follow)
16 comments:
i cannot help thinking about doing a scallop version of this. and some onions seems to be missing! if there isn't any onions present, the official culinary term is actually porridge.
Chef,
Is it worth making a quick broth out of the shells? Or is that a wasted step?
chef john is there replacement for alcohol because i live in saudi arabia and alcohol not an option for me...? Thank you
When I eat lobster I always like to ask my dining companions, "I wonder what the poor people are eating right now?"
And then we laugh at their miserable lives, and congratulate ourselves for our cleverness and wealth.
Sorry, there is no sub for the booze!
Jason, I probably wouldn't bother, but would add a bit more flavor. Not sure worth all the extra time.
So, a Newberg without onions is called a "porridge?" That's a new one on me.
Any particular shellfish sub wouldn't work on this? I live in Gulf Coast so plenty of shellfish (including crawfish) but little lobster.
Hi Chef John this looks amazing! I'm gonna try it. Suggestion . . . can you slow down when you talk. You used to speak a lot more relaxed. Were you in a rush? Thanks!
I find no mention of the definition of porridge as being anything but a cooked blend of oats or other grain. In Uk and most commonwealth countries we have it for breakfast,in US it is called oatmeal.
I miss being able to eat lobster and it is lobster season now and all. Since I became allergic, 4 years ago, I have substituted scallops, which my mother is allergic to. I think my mother used to use a combination of lobster and shrimp for the dish. I haven't had lobster newberg in so many years I want to try this one. One reason I wanted to meet my husband was his legendary freezer full of lobster all year long. Now ours is full of other seafood to use in dishes such as this.
Chef, I've made you wonderful puff pastries (Lemon Tarts), however how do you get them to puff up so much to hold this lobster dish?
Chef John,
Thanks for making this classic from my childhood. My contemporaries and I long ago decided never to make this dish because our memories are lobster in a flour-thickened, gloppy sauce in poorly made pastry. I'll have to try your recipe and present it as a surprise dinner to friends who won't believe that it is a truly delectable dish.
I have only been watching your food videos (or anyone's for that matter) for several months. I was a decent cook before, now I'm learning all kinds of techniques to make simple, fresh ingredients very tasty in not too much time.
Thank you!
Gary
I;m going old school and make Lobster Wenberg. Looks delicious Chef!
Hey Chef John!
I'm loving your videos and I already cooked several of your recipes (I also had some failures, but all in all it's great).
You've probably already answered this question but, what exactly is the advantage of clarified butter over just plain ol' butter?
Thank you!
Erik
Chef John, eating just doesn't get any better than this. Fixed this for hubby's birthday dinner appetizer and needless to say I scored BIG!
Where are the printed recipes for Chef John's recipes?
Post a Comment