Langouste – Rock lobster
The langouste, the rock lobster.
The langouste may be on English language
menus as a lobster tail, a spiny lobster, rock lobster or occasionally crawfish. On French language
menus, the names langouste, langouste Bretonne or langouste royale may be
used. The last two French names indicate a rock lobster caught off
the coast of Bretagne, Brittany. When the lobster tail’s provenance is
Brittany, the chef will be sure to make it known, and that will, of course,
affect the diner’s wallet. For seafood and fish, Brittany is
considered the best source in France. From Brittany also come the
famous Belon
oysters, two-clawed
lobsters, mussels, monkfish and
the best that the sea offers on France’s Atlantic coast.
Lobster tail and oyster stew.
The rock lobster is delicious, and
the meat, which is nearly all in the tail, is just a little tougher than that
of the much more expensive two clawed lobster. Most of the rock lobsters caught
off the coast of France weigh less than one kilo. Rock lobsters have no useable
claws, and in small sizes, there is rarely any meat in their legs or feelers,
at least on the smaller sizes. The rock
lobster is no relation to the two-clawed
lobster, at least in the last 100-million-years or so; however, it is often
prepared with dishes initially created for it. The two clawed lobster, in
French, is called the homard or
homard bleu.
A rock lobster and a two-clawed lobster.
The langouste, the rock lobster, is on the left.
www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/6311734473/
Lobster tails on French menus:
Bisque de Langouste – A bisque made with the tail of the rock lobster.
A lobster tail bisque.
www.flickr.com/photos/promoterest/8014600869/
La Demi-Langouste en Salade, Huile de Truffes –
Lobster Newburg.
www.flickr.com/photos/stuart_spivack/6161063979/
Langouste Bretonne: Prix Selon Arrivage – A rock lobster from Bretagne, Brittany with the price depending on the season. With this menu listing, you will need to ask both how the lobster will be cooked and the price! Menus may indicate prices by weight; however, the price may still not be clear. The price may be per 100 grams, or it may be per piece or by half a lobster tail? Ask for a clear pricing format. I am never happy when prices are unclear. Caveat emptor!
The Britains of
Britanny
The inhabitants of Britanny are
Bretons, Bretonnes in French. The Bretons were Celts from Britain and
beginning two-thousand years ago they came to France to escape the invaders of
their home island. The first invaders were the Romans, and after they left came
Germans tribes called Angles and
Saxons. (BTW from the Angles and
Saxons comes the word Anglo-Saxon).
Closely following the Germanic tribes came the Danes and Vikings
invasions. Whenever a group of Britons had had enough and arrived in their new
home, they found previous immigrant groups who spoke their language and
followed the same gods.
The present-day Bretons celebrate the
Celtic Druid past, and there are many celebrations on the 21 June, the date of
the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. Among the
festivities are re-enactments of Druid rituals and on sale are plenty of modern
versions of the Druids’ ancient mead called Chouchen .
Chouchen is made with honey, yeast, and water and usually has an alcohol
content of up to 14%; it is available all year round with fruit flavors as
local additions. You may read about
those Druids who still promote their beliefs on their English language
website: http://www.druidry.org/
Langouste Royale Grillée Sauce Corail - A grilled rock lobster from Brittany served with a sauce made from its roe, its corail.
Langouste Sautée au Gingembre et Ciboulette – A rock lobster lightly fried in ginger and chives. When a whole or half a rock lobster is on your menu and not just the tail, it may well be local. Langouste imports are typically the tails alone.
Langouste grille - Grilled rock lobster.
Langouste à la Américaine - A rock lobster prepared in the American manner. The same dish may be called Langouste à l'Armoricaine, rock lobster in the manner of Brittany. These two dishes are attempts to recreate the recipe originally made with the two clawed lobster. The confusion is in the name. For the story behind this dish and what is probably the correct name click here.
Langouste à la Mayonnaise – A lobster tail served cold with fresh mayonnaise; definitely one of the best ways to enjoy cold lobster. Delicious! Very few of the smallest French restaurants will serve mayonnaise from a jar; they would be run out of town. Only fast-food restaurants, in France, can get away with industrially made mayonnaise.
Rock lobster
Natural history of Victoria. Dec.11-15
Melbourne,J.Ferres, government printer;1885-90.
Les Raviolis de Langouste et Petits Légumes sur Lit de Beurre Blanc aux Crevettes Grises. – Ravioli stuffed with rock lobster meat served with young vegetables in a beurre blanc sauce and accompanied by the small, but very tasty, sand shrimps.
Salade de Langouste Tiède – A salad served with warm pieces of rock lobster meat. In France, this will usually be a green salad made with three or four different salad greens.
Queue de Langouste Grillée; Légumes - Grilled lobster tail served with vegetables.
The langouste, the rock lobster, in the languages
of France’s neighbors
(Catalan - llagoste), (Dutch - langoest),
(German – langusten), (Italian - aragosta) (Spanish – langosta,
llangosta), (Latin - palinurus elephas).
N.B. Do not confuse: the langouste, the
lobster tail with the langoustine, the much, much smaller Dublin
Bay prawn, or Norwegian lobster. In Italy
and Germany, this is the genuine scampi. The scampi
usually seen on North American menus is a shrimp by any another name.
Langoustine – Dublin Bay Prawn
Norwegian lobster or the whole prawn.
www.flickr.com/photos/brostad/2269889658/
The langoustino.
The langoustino will not be on any French menus. The langoustino is the squat lobster. The small squat lobster is sometimes seen on North American restaurant menus. It not a relative of either the langouste or the langoustine and most originate from fisheries in Central and South America.
The freshwater crayfish, an écrivisse in French, looks like a small two clawed lobster, which it is not. It is a freshwater crustacean and has had no connection with the langouste, the rock lobster or the homard the two clawed lobster for at least 200-million-years. To add to the arguments, the rock lobster or spiny lobster may be called a crawfish; while a freshwater crayfish may be called a crawdad! Confusion happens!
Freshwater crayfish ready to serve.
In the wild crayfish colors vary from red to black,
and like other crustaceans, they mostly turn red when cooked.
www.flickr.com/photos/feenart/7343886390/
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