Lobster & Grits

Grilled Lobster Tail Medallions, Smoked Slab Bacon, Garlic, Grain Mustard, Scallions, with Pan Sauce

Summer kicks off (unofficially) with Memorial Day weekend, and thoughts for most folks turn to travel, family, and food.

I will be missing my family reunion this weekend in Virginia, and I'm already missing seeing many aunts, uncles, and cousins, and and as well enjoying the many great dishes we Cheeseboros have been "throwin' down" for generations.

So, in absence of that genuine family cooking, I chose to wax nostalgically culinarily — starting with the idea to make a homey southern-style shrimp and grits — yet make it a bit more of a holiday- and family-honoring celebration, by substituting a lobster tail for any shrimp.

So a whole cooked lobster tail was grilled in a pan that rendered the fat from diced smoked slab bacon. Grits cooked in the same water the tail was boil in, and was finished with salt, butter, and evaporated milk.

Chopped scallions were thrown into the same pan as the lobster and bacon until they just started getting translucent and charring. Then the pan was deglazed with clam juice, then had grain mustard and more butter stirred in. I let the lobster sit whole while the jus reduced.

Once I had a nice rich color on the thickened liquid, I removed the lobster tail, sliced it into medallions, and fanned it over the grits lining the bottom of a shallow bowl. The pan sauce, with the bacon and scallions, was poured over the medallions.

In my heart of hearts I made this dish for all the relatives I wish I was hanging out in someone's backyard with. I'm happy at least that I got to make this familiar, comfortable dish as special as they all are to me.