Description
This is an amazing version of stovetop lobster mac and cheese using tender shell pasta and three kinds of cheese! It’s pure, decadent comfort food.
Ingredients
- 4 whole Lobster Tails, In Their Shells
- Salt As Needed
- 10 Tablespoons Butter, Divided
- 3 cloves Garlic, Either Grated Or Pressed Through A Garlic Press
- 6 Tablespoons Flour
- 3 cups Milk
- ¼ teaspoons Nutmeg
- 1 pound Medium Shells
- 4 ounces, weight Gruyere Cheese, Freshly Grated
- 4 ounces, weight Fontina Cheese, Freshly Grated
- 4 ounces, weight Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Freshly Grated
Preparation
First, prepare the lobster tails. Fill a large skillet with deep sides with water about halfway and bring it to a boil on the stove. Salt it generously. Boil the lobster tails in it for 8–9 minutes, until the shells turn a vivid red. Remove them and let them cool enough to handle. (Meanwhile, get another large pot of water on the stove to boil for the macaroni.) When you can handle the lobster tails, crack the meat out of the shells and dice it into bite-sized chunks. Drain the water from the skillet you boiled the tails in and get it back on the stove.
Heat 4 tablespoons of butter in that skillet and add the garlic. Let it get fragrant for about a minute. Add the lobster meat in next and let it cook for a minute or two in the butter and garlic. Remove the lobster to a plate and set it aside. Then add the remaining 6 tablespoons of butter and the flour to the pan. Whisk them together until they become a thick, golden paste for about a minute. Then slowly pour in the milk while you keep whisking to bring the béchamel sauce base together. Season it with a pinch of salt and the nutmeg. Reduce the heat to low and let it bubble and thicken for 10 minutes, whisking it often.
While the sauce cooks, boil the medium shells in the other pot of boiling water. Salt the water generously before you do. Once it is tender after 8-10 minutes, drain it. The sauce should be done around this time too. Whisk the three cheeses into the sauce until they melt right in, then add the lobster meat back in. Finally, add the cooked pasta in and stir everything together thoroughly. Take the pan off of the heat and serve the mac and cheese immediately! Enjoy!
