Lobsters, Fricasseed, or au Béchamel (Entrée)

Ingredients

• 2 moderate-sized lobsters
• 3/4 pint white sauce or béchamel
• lobster coral
• a few spoonsful sauce
• lemon-juice
• equal parts good shin of beef stock and cream
• arrow-root
• small quantity salt, mace, and cayenne
• fine pale fried crumbs of bread, or unfried crumbs

Instructions

1. Take the flesh from the claws and tails of two moderate-sized lobsters.
2. Cut the lobster flesh into small scallops or dice.
3. Heat the lobster meat slowly and quite through in about three quarters of a pint of good white sauce or béchamel.
4. Pound the lobster coral and mix it gradually with a few spoonsful of the sauce.
5. Add the coral mixture to the heating sauce.
6. When the lobster is at the point of boiling, stir in a little lemon-juice and remove from the fire.
7. Split the lobster shells quite through the centre of the backs in their entire length without breaking them at the joint.
8. Clean the shells nicely.
9. Lay the heated lobster mixture evenly into the cleaned shells, using only as much sauce as will adhere to the fish.
10. Cover thickly with well-dried, fine, pale fried crumbs of bread, or with unfried crumbs that have been equally moistened with clarified butter.
11. Brown the crumb-covered lobster with a salamander if using unfried crumbs.
12. Season with a small quantity of salt, mace, and cayenne as required.