Removing the lobster from the shells prevents them from overcooking, and the shells help build an excellent sauce.
Ingredients
4 Servings
Step 1
Place a rack in top-most position of oven; preheat to 400°F. Roast potatoes directly on rack until tender, 60–70 minutes. Let sit until cool enough to handle.
Step 2
Meanwhile, heat 2 Tbsp. butter in a large saucepan over medium-high until melted and foaming. Add lobster shells and cook, stirring often, until bright red, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, until it starts to brown and stick to pot, about 1 minute. Add wine and cook, scraping up browned bits, until almost completely evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add yellow onion, garlic, celery, bay leaves, peppercorns, 1 carrot, and 4 cups water. Toss in a generous pinch of kosher salt and bring to a boil over medium-high. Reduce heat and simmer briskly until liquid is reduced by two-thirds, 50–60 minutes. Strain stock through a fine-mesh sieve into a heatproof measuring glass; discard solids. (You should have about 1 1/2 cups.)
Step 3
While the potatoes are cooling, warm 1 cup half-and-half and 2 Tbsp. butter in a medium saucepan over low heat just to melt butter.
Step 4
Split potatoes lengthwise and scoop flesh into half-and-half mixture. Smash with a potato masher until mixture is smooth and lump-free; season generously with kosher salt and pepper. Remove from heat and mix in egg yolks, dill, and horseradish; cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
Step 5
Melt remaining 4 Tbsp. butter in a clean large saucepan over medium. Add pearl onions and remaining carrots and cook, stirring, until onions start to turn translucent, 5–8 minutes. Sprinkle flour over; stir to combine. Cook, stirring, until flour leaves a film on bottom of pot, about 4 minutes. Stirring constantly, gradually stream in stock, then bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir in remaining 1/2 cup half-and-half; season sauce with kosher salt and pepper. Let cool slightly.
Step 6
Arrange lobster pieces in a shallow 1 1/2-qt. baking dish and ladle sauce over. Dollop mashed potatoes on top and use the back of the spoon to spread across surface, creating decorative swirls. Sprinkle with sea salt. Bake on a foil-lined baking sheet until lobster is cooked through and filling is bubbling around the edges, 20–25 minutes. Turn on broiler and broil pie just until topping is browned in spots, about 1 minute. Let rest 5–10 minutes before serving.
Do Ahead
Step 7
Pie can be assembled 1 day ahead; cover and chill. Bring to room temperature and uncover before baking.
Leave a Review
Reviews (6)
Back to TopI made this for Valentine Day. We drank champagne and had Red Velvet cupcakes with an overload of cream cheese icing for dessert. Elegant comfort food-wow! I made a few enhancements: substituted Parmesan cheese for the eggs and used milk instead of half and half for the potatoes (which were still yummy), and sprinkled them with truffles sea salt; added salmon to the lobster as I had only lobster meat; used peas and sweet potato instead of carrots; brandy instead of white wine. With no lobster shells I used seafood broth and enhanced it with sun dried tomatoes, the head of garlic, peppercorns, etc and reduced it from 4 cups to 2 and substituted milk for cream. Finally, I used high quality olive oil instead of butter. I’m not sure I reduced enough calories to justify the cream cheese icing, but the pie was really deliscious.
katy.campbell9116
Edmonton
2/15/2020
I made this last night for our Valentine's day meal. It was utterly delicious. I cooked it exactly as the recipe was written with one exception, I followed the advice of MISILVERS regarding cooking the stock down and cut the lobster into much smaller pieces. Thank you for that! It makes for a bit of lobster in more bites! This delicious version of an old Irish classic will be made again and again in my home on special occasions (it can be really pricey and good lobster is hard to get out here in the desert. One suggestion: rather than discarding the solids in the stock, throw out the shells and garlic skins (save the garlic cloves), puree everything that is left and make a nice spread for crusty bread. You can adjust seasonings for a spread and add anything you like, like sour cream.
kwlee4
Tucson, AZ
2/15/2020
Thank you three for wasting our time and for making this rating absolutely useless. If you have not made the dish, don't comment or rate it. I did make this recipe and it was delicious. However, I did make three changes. First, I cut the lobster, as well as the carrots, into approximately 3/4 inch pieces. It makes the pie go together easier and easier to eat. Second, the liquid will all be gone well before 60 minutes if you boil it briskly and uncovered. I covered the pot and cooked the broth at a moderate simmer for 45 minutes. Then I uncovered the pot and cooked it at a brisk simmer for about 15 minutes. That way, more flavor was drawn out of the ingredients and the final volume was just right. Third, in my experience the amount of flour to stock volume would have resulted in a thick pasty sauce. So I used half the amount of flour called for in the recipe. That resulted in a very smooth silky sauce with just the right consistency. Altogether, this was a great recipe no matter what you want to call it.
Anonymous
Montreal
2/15/2019
Amen! Four forks. This is an iteration of the venerable Shepherd’s Pie. Purists take a seat in the corner and think about your life for a tad. I’ve not made this yet BUT It it sounds delicious and I’m sure to try it and shake my cooking soon at the nay-sayers! *sticks tongue out unapologetically*
wonsuponatime
Los Angeles
2/13/2019
Please. Don't rate a recipe because you object to the name. That is without a doubt the most ridiculous reason I have ever heard. I have not tried the recipe, but am going to do so. So call it whatever you wish. Was it good? Was it worth making? Therefore to counter your elitist reasoning, I am giving it 4 forks. In reality, neither of us should be commenting since we have not made the dish. You just made yourself look very foolish.
capromeryx
Fort Collins, Colorado
5/31/2018
I am forced to give this recipe a rating in order to submit this comment. Until about five minutes ago, I used to respect "Bon Appetit" magazine. Shame on their editors for allowing this recipe to be publicized with this name. Have we no respect for language, veracity or tradition? "Shepherd's Pie" is so-named because it uses the object of the shepherd's care, sheep, or since we are speaking culinarily, lamb, as its primary ingredient. The common American rendition using beef ought rightly to be called "Cowboy's Pie". The cowboy is to beef as the shepherd is to lamb. Take that one step further to work out the profession responsible for supplying us with lobster and then give the hard-working lobsterman his due and re-name this interesting recipe "Lobsterman's Pie".
Anonymous
Outraged in Boston
5/31/2018
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