"Meat Glue" ing....

Ajinomoto activa has been sitting in the walk-in for the 3-4 months now with limited use. So I decided to pull it out for some meat gluing fun. For those who don't know, meat glue is an enzyme called transglutaminase. When it comes in contact with a certain enzyme like lysine and glutinamine it forms a covalent bond that acts like a glue. Virtually all fish, meat and poultry contain enough lysine and glutinamine for this reaction to happen. (Via Wylie Dufresne"wd-50")...In non scientific terms, you can glue virtually all proteins together...including your fingers. With this inspiration I bound slipper lobster pieces together to make a Lobster roulade, mocking the most succulent piece of a lobster, the tail....

The makisu helped in making a uniform shape and pushing a lot of the air bubbles out....

cryovacing at full pressure to eliminated air pockets and pulling lobster meat together nice and tight...

I sous vide the lobster roulade in a bath of 59.5 degrees C (131 degrees F) for 15 minutes...and chilled it.

sliced in to medallions.....

tempura and panko fried lobster medallion...accompanied by a lobster coconut pumpkin bisque, and cinnamon balsamic air.....

I had a large leftover pumpkin sitting in the restaurant with no use and somehow this process came to life in 2 hours....enjoy