Using Crustacean Flavors with Meat and Fish

Appears in

Sauces: Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making

Published 1991

About

In traditional classic and regional French cooking, the flavorful liquid extracted from lobster, crayfish, or other crustaceans is usually converted into an integral sauce, such as Sauce Américaine, served with the crustaceans themselves. Crustacean Butter, on the other hand, is used as a staple ingredient in professional kitchens as a last-minute flavoring for classic sauces and contemporary or improvised variations.

In certain older or regional recipes, crustacean cooking liquid is also used to moisten fish and poultry. This excellent technique will give a finished dish a deeper, more complex flavor than simply swirling in crustacean butter at the end.