Lobster Mashed Potatoes

I had amazing lobster mashed potatoes at a lovely Pacific Northwest steakhouse, and I knew I had to figure out how to make this special treat. These potatoes were so delicious that I could have skipped the steak entirely. This is my take on this rich and decadent side dish. This has become one of our traditions on Valentine's Day with a fabulous tenderloin steak. Yummy! This would work well with your mashed potato recipe instead of the basic one listed here. You could certainly do this recipe with lobster tails instead of the whole lobster. You could even use precooked lobster, ignoring the lobster cooking instructions. It looks like it is time-consuming, but it is so easy and worth the effort for a special meal.

• Preparation Time: 20 mins
• Cooking Time: 40 mins
• Total Time: 60 mins
• Calories: 503 Calories

Ingredients

• ¼ cup butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon paprika
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 quarts water
• 4 cups water, or more as needed
• 1 (2 pound) lobster
• 2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
• ½ cup cream, or more as needed

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C).

Step 2

Cook lobster: Combine water and salt in a large pot; bring to a boil. Plunge lobster into boiling water, cover the pot, and return to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook at a simmer until lobster turns bright red, about 10 minutes. Remove lobster from water and set aside to cool.

Step 3

When cool enough to handle, clean lobster and pull out tail meat, reserving the tail shell. Crack claws and remove meat. Chop tail meat coarsely and reserve with the intact claw meat in a covered dish; keep warm in the preheated oven.

Step 4

Remove lobster shell and discard. Drain water from the saucepan. Reduce heat to low. Gently shake the pan over low heat to dry potatoes. Mash butter into potatoes until no lumps remain. Add cream until desired consistency is reached.

Step 5

Fold warm lobster meat into potatoes. Sprinkle with paprika to serve.

Step 6

Make potatoes: Add potatoes to a large saucepan and cover with water by 1 inch. Add salt; bring to a boil. Lay intact lobster tail shell over potatoes, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook at a simmer until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork, 20 to 30 minutes.