Broiled Stuffed Lobster

No “baked stuffed lobster” you’ve ever had in a restaurant can match this, the crisp, seasoned bread crumbs providing a nice foil for the sweet lobster meat.

4 lobsters, about 11/4 pounds each

1 clove garlic, peeled

1 cup fresh parsley leaves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more if needed

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus more if needed

2 cups bread crumbs, preferably fresh

• Kill the lobsters as illustrated on page 611; cut them in half, then remove the head sac. Remove and reserve the tomalley and coral if any .Heat the broiler and put the rack about 6 to 8 inches from the heat source.
• Combine the garlic, parsley, some salt and pepper, the olive oil, lemon juice, and any tomalley and coral in a food processor and process until smooth. Add the bread crumbs and pulse a couple times to combine. Add a little more olive oil or lemon juice if the mixture seems dry.
• Stuff the lobsters’ body cavities with this mixture and broil until the tail meat is white and firm and the stuffing nicely browned, 5 to 10 minutes. (If the lobster is browning too quickly, either move it farther from the heat source or turn off the broiler and turn the oven heat to 500 F to finish the cooking.) Serve.

Broiled Lobster with Vanilla Stuffing.
• A surprising combination: Omit the garlic, parsley, and lemon juice. Substitute softened butter for the oil. Scrape the seeds from a vanilla bean and, in Step 2, combine it in the food processor along with the butter, salt, pepper, tomalley, and coral.

MAKES: 4 servings

TIME: 30 minutes