No wait, it's true! At least if you have a Costco membership. They have their seafood events every so often where you can buy great seafood and pretty decent prices. But even when those aren't happening, they have some great deals, including this...
A 2 pound bag of pre-cooked, flash frozen langoustine lobster tails. Langoustine lobsters, also known as a Norway lobster, is a smaller cousin of the lobsters we're used to seeing from New England. They grow to be about 10-11 inches long, so about twice the size of a crawfish. And the meat is just like their larger brothers, just in bite-size portions. A large bag like this will set you back $22.00. And when you consider that there's no waste, unlike when you buy a whole lobster, it's a steal.
What to do with the lobster meat? There's ALL sorts of different options. With this bag of langoustine meat, I made a regular batch of Lobster Fettuccine Alfredo, a large batch of Lobster Bisque, and still had enough to make a few Lobster Rolls. So three meals for four people out of one bag of lobster meat. Pretty good if I do say so myself.
Couple of tips... First, if you want to thaw the lobster quickly, place the water you're going to use to cook the noodles over medium low heat when the water's half-way to a boil (around 140 degrees). Then drop the frozen lobster in the water for about 2 minutes. They'll come out at just the perfect temperature and any residual goodness that comes off the meat will flavor the water you use to cook the noodles. Second, heat management on the sauce is vital. If it gets too hot, the cream and butter will separate and the sauce will get grainy, so only use medium low heat. You could go to medium, just don't let it boil. The minute it starts to simmer, drop the heat immediately. If it does boil, you run the the risk of having an unintentionally chunky alfredo.
Lobster Fettuccine Alfredo
1 pound of fettuccine noodles
6 tablespoons butter
1 cup whipping or heavy cream
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
12 ounces of cooked lobster meat
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
If you're using live lobster (somewhere in the two and a half pound range for 12 ounces of meat), boil the crustacean in a large stockpot of water and let him simmer in there for 10-12 minutes. Remove the lobster, extract the meat and set aside. Save the boiling liquid for the noodles. It'll add a little more lobster flavor into the meat. If you're using pre-cooked lobster meat, ignore this step.
Bring a large stockpot of water to boil and add the fettuccine. Allow the noodles to soak for 10-12 minutes until they are al dente.
While that is cooking, place a large saucier or frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the butter to the saucepan and allow it to melt completely. Add the cream and pepper to the butter and whisk to combine. After about 5 minutes of occasional stirring over medium-low to medium, add the Parmesan cheese and garlic and stir until the cheese melts into the sauce. Finally, add the lobster bits and cook for two minutes more.
Drain the fettuccine noodles and divvy out portions on places. Spoon the sauce out onto the noodles, making sure everyone gets a good amount of lobster meat. Serve immediately.
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