History
The unusual story of Lobster Newberg
By JOE O'CONNELL,
Food Writer
First posted 25 August 2001 at 1525 GMT
Last updated 30 November 2003 at 1702 GMT
NEW YORK, New York -- The story of how Lobster
Wenberg came to be called Lobster Newberg deserves retelling.
Wenberg's Contribution
During the Gilded Age of the 1870's, Ben Wenberg was a successful,
wealthy sea captain who operated in the fruit trade between New York and
Cuba. During his stays in New York, Wenberg frequented Delmonico's
Restaurant -- the 14th Street and later the 26th Street locations, where
Charles Delmonico was manager.
One evening in 1876, Wenberg told Charles about his discovery of a
new way to cook lobster. Charles was intrigued and ordered that
the following ingredients be brought from the kitchen to Wenberg's
table:
- a freshly boiled lobster, cooled
- sweet cream
- unsalted butter, clafified
- French cognac
- Spanish sherry
- Wenberg himself provided the sixth ingredient, a red, powdery
secret ingredient (after Ranhofer tasted the dish, he pronounced
positively that the secret ingredient was Cayenne Pepper)
With the assistance of Delmonico's staff, Wenberg prepared the
lobster dish. Wenberg detached the lobster tail, sliced it into
thin, flat pieces, and arranged them in a single layer on a hot chafing
dish, with clarified butter. The lobster was sautéed briefly, and
then some cream, a little cognac and sherry were added. The
mixture was allowed to simmer slowly for a few minutes. Then the
secret ingredient was added, and the lobster was served. Charles
Delmonico, perhaps with Lorenzo and probably with several patrons,
sampled the dish and agreed that it was delicious.
Ranhofer studied the recipe and added his refined touch. The
dish was added to the menu as Lobster a la Wenberg. It
quickly became popular and much in demand, especially by the
after-theatre clientele.
Wenberg's undoing
Some months after Wenberg shared his discovery with Charles, the two
men fought or argued over an as-yet-undiscovered and probably trivial
matter. The upshot was that Charles banished Wenberg from
Delmonico's and ordered Lobster a la Wenberg struck from the
menu.
Patrons, however, continued to demand the dish, so Charles hit upon a
devilishly clever solution. Charles simply reversed the letters
W and N in Wenberg's name, so that WEN became NEW,
and the dish forever became Lobster a la Newberg.
The Ranhofer recipe
As noted above, Ranhofer altered the original recipe to add his own
touch. In his book, The Epicurean, Ranhofer gives the
following recipe for Lobster a la Newberg (which was also called
Lobster Delmonico).
Cook six lobsters each weighing about two pounds in boiling salted
water for twenty-five minutes. Twelve pounds of live lobster
when cooked yields from two to two and a half pounds of meat with
three to four ounces of coral. When cold detach the bodies from
the tails and cut the latter into slices, put them into a sautoir,
each piece lying flat, and add hot clarified butter; season with
salt and fry lightly on both sides without coloring; moisten to
their height with good raw cream; reduce quickly to half;
and then add two or three spoonfuls of Madeira wine; boil the
liquid once more only, then remove and thicken with a thickening of
egg yolks and raw cream. Cook without boiling, incorporating a
little cayenne and butter; then arrange the pieces in a
vegetable dish and pour the sauce over.
Ranhofer.
Conclusion
This story of how Lobster a la Wenberg became Lobster a la
Newberg is one of the many stories that originated at Delmonico's
Restaurant.
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