Have you ever wondered why they call some fish recipes “stuffed” when they clearly aren’t stuffed, they are topped? I find that odd. It is nearly impossible to stuff a piece of fish unless it is thin enough to make into a roll.
This recipe recipe used to be titled Lobster Stuffed Cod, but I’ve since come to my senses and given it a little makeover, starting with an accurate name: Baked Cod with Lobster Topping.
I originally saw a recipe similar to this one on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on a flight from Chicago to Baltimore. I can’t even remember where they were located or the name of the restaurant, but I am going to take a guess it was up in New England towards Boston or Maine.
Baked Cod Recipe
This baked cod recipe is worthy of a special occasion like Valentine’s Day, birthdays, an anniversary, even Christmas dinner, but is also super simple. The topping and even fish base can easily be customized based on personal preference or local ingredient availability.
Leaving the lump lobster topping off and just going with our velvety homemade beurre blanc sauce is also an option. Although a silly one, you’ll want to make this sauce for everything from steak to chicken.
You don’t have to book a table and get all dressed up to have a restaurant-quality seafood dinner. Lobster Stuffed Baked Cod is the perfect meal for a special occasion.
What is Beurre Blanc Sauce?
Beurre blanc, also known as “white butter” is considered a classic French sauce (mother sauce) and is made by reducing vinegar and/or white wine with shallots and whisking in butter. It is decadent and rich.
You might see it offered as an additional sauce at fancy steakhouses for stopping beef and seafood, but it also tastes amazing on vegetables and I’ve even used it as a salad dressing. It is tangy, but also a tad sweet.
What You’ll Need
A thick, baked cod filet is flaky and fork-tender and not too strong in terms of flavor. (This is important if you are stuffing it with delicious lobster meat.)
- Cod Fillets– The star of the dish is cod, a thick fish fillet that is fork tender when prepared correctly and mild in terms of fishy flavor. Lobster topping demands a hearty fish, so if you are going to use a different kind, aim for something similar in terms of thickness. Haddock or salmon are good bets.
- Salt and Pepper– I did use a fine sea salt (versus my usual coarse salt) and finely ground pepper.
- Lobster– You’ll just need one tail, but sometimes it can be less expensive to purchase a whole lobster. Frozen tails are also viable options. The lobster will need to be cooked. Ask your seafood counter if they can quickly steam it for you or follow the instructions below.
- Cracker Crumbs- Use your favorite cracker, but we love a good Ritz, salty and buttery. You’ll need just enough to bind it all together. Plain bread crumbs (unseasoned) can be used as well.
- Butter– The original recipe called for clarified butter, but that is a lot of work for just one tablespoon. Please use unsalted to not run the risk of oversalting the dish.
- Smoke Paprika- This gives the dish a rosy red hue and also adds flavor and fragrance. Use smoked or sweet paprika, not spicy.
- Mayonnaise- This is the binder that holds the dish together. Mayonnaise is made with eggs, so it is the best when it comes to cling factor. Sour cream or Greek yogurt can be swapped in for creaminess, but won’t bind, just add tang.
- Beurre Blanc Sauce– We made ours from scratch and this is a pretty hard ingredient to find already made. Sometimes it is jarred and other times, frozen in cubes. If you don’t feel like whipping up your own batch look at any finishing sauce at the store labeled lemon butter, white wine butter or something of the mix. McCormick also makes a lemon butter dill sauce (ours does not have dill) that suffices too. These are generally refrigerated near the seafood counter or the butter section as solid butters.
Make It
The filling can be made ahead of time, although it doesn’t take much time at all to whip up. Fish tends to get rubbery when overcooked, so we do not recommend making it ahead of time and reheating, especially since the lobster is already twice baked. Beurre blanc sauce can be made ahead of time and reheated.
- Preheat oven and prepare your cooking vessel.
- Lay both cod filets on a baking sheet or in a baking pan, leaving some space between them to the hot air can circulate around. Generously season the cod fillets with salt and pepper (different from the salt and pepper listed for the topping). Par-cook for 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- Whisk together the butter, cracker crumbs, mayonnaise, paprika, salt and pepper- this helps all those flavors evenly combine, then toss with cooked lobster chunks to coat.
- Pile on top of the par-cooked cod fillets and continue baking until just browned. Fish should flake easily with a fork.
- Remove the fish and top with the beurre blanc sauce and serve immediately.
How to Cook the Lobster
- Broil Method– Preheat the broiler and position a rack 5-6 inches from the heating element. Place lobster tail, which the tail cut down the center and meat exposed, onto a heavy duty baking sheet. Baste it with olive oil to prevent it from drying out. Broil for 5-7 minutes until the meat is no longer translucent and the internal temperature of it is 140-145°F. Generally, broilers are between 525-550°F, unless you have a commercial oven like mine that goes up to 1850°F. Times can vary greatly, so keep an eye out!
- Baking Method- Preheat oven to 350°. Place the lobster on a baking sheet and baste with oil. Cook for 12-15 minutes or until the meat is no longer translucent and the internal temperature of it is 140-145°F.
- Steaming Method– Bring 1 inch water to a boil in a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid and the correct size to fit a steamer basket. When the water begins to boil, place tails, cut and meat side up, in the steamer basket for 5-6 minutes or until the meat is no longer translucent and the internal temperature of it is 140-145°F.
- Already Cooked Method– Ask the seafood counter to do it for you (if not totally frozen).
Variations
If lobster doesn’t float your boat, you can use langoustines, jumbo shrimp, or even lump crab meat with this same recipe. All are similarly sweet like the lobster and have a tender texture.
Add spices like crushed red pepper to make it spicy. And chopped herbs or dried herbs added to the topping will customize nicely.
What To Serve It With
We served our Lobster Stuffed Baked Cod with Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Creamed Corn and Asiago Asparagus. Other great options include Roasted Sweet
Leftovers
Seafood is tricky as leftovers. I highly suggest eating it within 3 days of making it. You can surely microwave it, but fish tends to get a little rubbery. Your best bet is in the oven at 300°F for 5 minutes or even in a small skillet (with a lid) over medium heat for 5 minutes.
Do not freeze leftovers. Seafood tends to be previously frozen even from the seafood counter and should not be refrozen even if it is cooked.
More easy seafood recipes:
Baked Cod with Lobster Topping
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 8-ounce cod filets
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter , melted
- 1 tablespoon Ritz cracker crumbs
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 lobster tail , cooked and cut into small pieces
- 1/2 cup beurre blanc sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Prepare a baking sheet or dish with cooking spray or parchment paper.
- Lay both cod filets on a baking sheet or in a baking pan. Season the cod fillets with salt and pepper. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- Meanwhile, in a small mixing bowl, combine the butter, cracker crumbs, mayonnaise, paprika, salt and pepper. Mix to combine, then add lobster meat and coat.
- Gently spoon lobster mix on top of the par-cooked cod fillets. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until top is browned.
- Remove and top with prepared beurre blanc sauce.
- If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or ratings.
Notes
- Broil Method– Preheat the broiler and position a rack 5-6 inches from the heating element. Place lobster tail, which the tail cut down the center and meat exposed, onto a heavy duty baking sheet. Baste it with olive oil to prevent it from drying out. Broil for 5-7 minutes until the meat is no longer translucent and the internal temperature of it is 140-145°F. Generally, broilers are between 525-550°F, unless you have a commercial oven like mine that goes up to 1850°F. Times can vary greatly, so keep an eye out!
- Baking Method- Preheat oven to 350°. Place the lobster on a baking sheet and baste with oil. Cook for 12-15 minutes or until the meat is no longer translucent and the internal temperature of it is 140-145°F.
- Steaming Method– Bring 1 inch water to a boil in a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid and the correct size to fit a steamer basket. When the water begins to boil, place tails, cut and meat side up, in the steamer basket for 5-6 minutes or until the meat is no longer translucent and the internal temperature of it is 140-145°F.
- Already Cooked Method– Ask the seafood counter to do it for you.
Excellent dish, a keeper for sure. We didn’t have unsalted butter so I used regular and cut it back to 2 sticks. We also had more lobster from another meal and it worked out fine.
I had some fresh lobsters from a lobster boat sternman friend and a few pounds of fresh striped bass filets from a fishing trip last night. Used this recipe subbing striped bass for cod so I could use both while they were fresh. Main change I made was roughly quadrupling the stuffing, mostly because I had a lot more than 1 lobster tail and a fairly large fish filet to cover. I also used knuckle and claw meat alongside the tails. Came out absolutely spectacular. My fiance was floored. We’re adding it to our recipe binder.
Frigging Awesome!…we used striped bass and Florida spiny lobster
Great recipe- made for Thanksgiving and I’ll make it again!!!
I don’t see the paprika or the cracker crumbs or the clarified butter in the recipe. Do you just add it at the end?
Hi Helen, step #2 states: combine chopped cooked lobster through sour cream, which would include the paprika, cracker crumbs and clarified butter. Hope you enjoy!
What do you do with the cracker crumb?
On what do you use it?
And when?
Hi William, step #2 states: “In a small mixing bowl, combine chopped cooked lobster through sour cream” which would include the cracker crumbs.
It’s not ‘stuffed’ , just on top of
Many “stuffed” items are just “on top”- Cod is too thin to actually butterfly and stuffed or create a pocket.
Let me start with I am the queen of substitution. I made this recipe, but only had about half of the real ingredients. I used haddock instead of cod and ranch dressing instead of sour cream. For the Beurre Blanc Sauce, I used a can of whipped cream instead of heavy cream and onion powder instead of shallots. My butter was not unsalted and my cracker crumbs were gluten free. In spite of all that, the whole family said it was delicious, even my grandson who doesn’t like fish!
I’m so glad you loved it! I’m curious about the ranch dressing substitution!
Very tasty. I used Townhouse crackers mixed with the lobster meat and poured the sauce on the lobster meat and then added it on top of the baked fish. This would be the best for a baked-stuffed lobster recipe.
That sounds fabulous! Glad you enjoyed!