Lobster Lox with Sherry and a Roe Emulsion

Ingredients 2 hot smoked lobster tails, shelled and chilled – see below 10" cheesecloth ¼ cup Lustau Capataz Cream Sherry 3 chives, minced 1 shallot, minced Lobster Glaze 1 cup lobster stock ¼ cup ruby port Spice Mix 1-½ Tablespoons juniper 1 teaspoon dry tarragon 2 bay leaves ½ teaspoon celery seed 3 pinches cayenne pepper Cure Mix ½ pound kosher salt ½ pound granulated sugar Roe Emulsion roe sac from 4 females ½ cup lobster stock fine sea salt fresh white pepper Directions To Hot Smoke Lobster Tails Smoke in a stove top smoker with maple and oak chips. Skewer the tails so they remain straight during the cooking process, and smoke tails from 1 ½ pound lobsters for 5-6 minutes. Shell them immediately after they are smoked. Lobster Glaze Combine the lobster stock and port in a small sauce pot and reduce over medium high heat until the liquid has the consistency of a light syrup. Store in the refrigerator until needed. Curing the Lobster Tails Make spice mix by grinding all ingredients in a spice/coffee grinder. Coat tails liberally with the spice mix and sprinkle 1½-2 tablespoons of the cure mix over each tail. Wrap the tightly in cheesecloth and place in a refrigerator with a pan with 2 pounds of weights in it on top of the tails. Allow the tails to cure in this manner for 36 - 48 hours (the time variation depends on the actual size of the tails as well as their original moisture content - this judgment call does take some experience with curing). When the tails are appropriately cured, rinse each tail under cold water to remove all of the cure and spice mixes. Pat the tails dry with paper towels, and place in a refrigerator uncovered for several hours. Brush the tails on all sides with the lobster port glaze and return the tails to the refrigerator to air cure uncovered for another 24 hours. Wrap the tails in plastic wrap and freeze overnight. Roe Emulsion Remove roe from the roe sacs and combine it in a small sauce pot with the lobster stock and salt and pepper. Using a hand held immersion blender, continuously blend this mixture over medium heat until it becomes bright red and thickens to a sauce consistency. Shock the emulsion by placing the sauce pot in an ice bath while continuing to blend the mixture with the hand blender. Once the mixture is completely cool, strain it through a chinois and refrigerate until needed. Final Preparation/Presentation Remove the lobster tails from the freezer and slice them thinly on an electric slicer. Carefully shingle the slices out on a chilled plate so that they create a circle covering most of the bottom of the plate. Lightly brush the lobster with the cream sherry. Drizzle the roe emulsion across the lobster and sprinkle some of the chives and shallots over the entire plate.