David Venable's Lobster Bites with Homemade Tartar Sauce

By davidv

This recipe takes a well-known New England ingredient and transforms it into an appetizer that everyone loves. A very versatile batter, can be used to coat pieces of chicken, hot dogs, shrimp, and more. You name it, you can dip it.

Ingredients

• LOBSTER BITES:
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground dry mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 large egg
• 4 (4-ounce) lobster tails
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, for coating
• TARTAR SAUCE:
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoon capers, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/4 cup dill pickle relish
• 1 (canned) whole roasted red pepper, diced
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 3/4 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preparation

Step 1

To prepare the tartar sauce, whisk together all the ingredients listed above in a medium-sized mixing bowl; refrigerate until ready to use.

To prepare the lobster bites, first preheat a deep fryer to 350°F (or fill a deep-sided pan with oil and set the temperature to medium-high).

Combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, sugar, dry mustard, and garlic powder in a large mixing bowl. In a separate smaller mixing bowl, combine the milk and the egg. Incorporate the milk and egg mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients and whisk to combine.

Remove the lobster meat from each shell and cut each tail into four pieces. Coat the lobster in the flour and then the batter. Fry, in three batches, for 5 to 6 minutes. Serve immediately with the chilled tartar sauce