Seafood Turducken

For full instructions, with video and photos, click here: http://guygourmet.menshealth.com/2010/02/gut-check-seafood-turducken.html

1. Melt a ¼ stick of butter in a large sauté pan on medium heat. Sautee the celery, bell pepper, and onion for about 7 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft and translucent. Add 2 cloves of minced garlic, cook for an additional minute, and then turn off the heat. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.

2. While the vegetables cool, split the lobster in half. Place the lobster on its back. Position a sharp knife above the head of the lobster and, in one quick motion, use the length of the knife to swiftly split the lobster down its body. Try to keep the top of its outer shell intact. For best results, place a towel or two underneath the lobster to absorb water.

3. After the vegetable mixture has cooled, dump it into a large bowl. Mix in the crabmeat, mayonnaise, egg, lemon juice, Worchestershire sauce, Old Bay and egg. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Pat the fish fillets dry and arrange them on a flat surface. Take a handful of the crab mixture and form it into a small ball. Place the crab cake on the flounder fillet and roll the fillet around the crab.

5. Tuck two stuffed fillets into each cavity of each lobster. Place the lobsters on a baking sheet, meat side up. Place the sheet on the middle rack of your oven. Cook for 30 minutes, or until the lobster meat is cooked through.

6. As the lobster cooks, make the scampi. Melt the remaining butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Cook the remaining garlic for one minute. Add the shrimp and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, or until the shrimp are pink. Add the parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

7. Remove the lobsters from the oven. Top with the shrimp. Serve on a plate that can’t quite contain them. Two seafood turduckens serve about 8 people.

The recipe is by no means perfect (that’s up to you to determine, loyal reader). I might have replaced the flounder with salmon and splurged for real crabmeat instead of krab, but the seafood turducken did provide for a thoroughly entertaining evening—not to mention a meal that could satisfy even the most seasoned gourmand.