Florida Spiny Lobster Salad, Fried Florida Spiny Lobster Tail Meat with Balsamic Reduction

Here’s one of the dishes I made for my wife last week.  She is a big fan of what I make called “Lobster Bites.”  Basically it is breaded and fried lobster tail meat with a dipping sauce.  I have been making this for years and it is one of her favorites.

Now, I can never really cook the same thing a handful of times, I must explore the concept of the dish and find a new way of serving it.  Just how my mind works in the kitchen.  Sometimes it frustrates the hell out of my wife because she really gets attached to certain dishes.

I was fortunate to come across 3 lovely Florida Spiny Lobster tails; it was a gift from a good friend.  I decided to really showcase the lobster and serve it two ways on the same course.

Immediately it came to me that it would be a textural contrast if I served a “Maine-style Lobster Roll” without the bread, more like a salad.  So this “salad” became the centerpiece of the dish to accompany the fried lobster, served with her favorite balsamic reduction dipping sauce.

All in all, this dish was great success, high five to me!  I had one happy Lawyer to spend Mommy’s Day with.

Florida Spiny Lobster Salad, Fried Florida Spiny Lobster Tail Meat with Balsamic Reduction

For the Lobster Salad:

1 lb Florida Spiny Lobster tail meat – (cooked)

1 cucumber – peeled, seeded, & diced

1 shallot – minced

2 bird’s eye chilies – diced

½ cup olive oil mayo

1 tbs Meyer lemon juice

1 tsp jalapeno sauce

½ tbs fresh chopped chervil

Fresh chopped chives – to taste

Sea salt

Black pepper

Place the diced cucumber in a colander.  Sprinkle with sea salt and allow excess liquid to drain.  5 minutes.  You do not want to water down the salad too much.

In a glass bowl, combine the cooked lobster meat, cucumber, shallot, chili, mayo, lemon juice and jalapeno sauce.  Season with sea salt and black pepper.  Check the seasoning.  Fold in the chopped chervil and the chives.  Cover with plastic wrap.  Fridge for 2 hours.  Serve cold.

That’s it for now…till we exchange a few words again…Peace!