Langoustine (Norway Lobster), Whole and Tails, Sourced on Request

Product overview

Langoustine, also sold as Norway lobster, Dublin Bay prawn or scampi, is a slender, pale orange crustacean with long, narrow claws and a tail of sweet, delicate meat. Chefs serve it whole from the grill or on seafood platters, split on the plancha, or as tails in pasta, risotto and breaded scampi. It is a seasonal, quota-managed catch, so we source each order against a brief rather than holding stock, following the approach set out on our page for premium items sourced to brief.

All commercial langoustine belongs to one species, Nephrops norvegicus, which lives in burrows in muddy seabed across the North-East Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Scotland is the largest source, with Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scandinavia and the Faroe Islands among the others. Catch method affects quality. Trawled langoustine is landed in volume and is usually frozen whole at sea, cooked or tailed. Creel-caught animals, taken in baited pots, come up with less damage and supply the live trade and the best whole grades. Each offer states the fishing area and catch method, since both shape appearance, size mix and value.

Langoustine deteriorates faster than most crustaceans. Within a short time of capture, enzyme activity darkens the head and shell joints and softens the tail meat unless the animal is frozen, cooked or tailed promptly. To slow this black spot, many producers dip whole langoustine in a sulfite solution or treat it with 4-hexylresorcinol, and the treatment must be declared. Whole product is graded by count per kilogram, for example 10⁠–⁠15, 16⁠–⁠20 or 21⁠–⁠30 pieces, and tails by count per kilogram or pound. Each lot also states glaze, raw or cooked status, and the share of broken or soft animals the packer allows.

Live langoustine is the most delicate format we can arrange. Creel-caught animals are packed in individual compartments, kept cold and moist, flown on the shortest routing available and best used soon after delivery. As with our live abalone shipments, we agree a mortality allowance before dispatch and plan around total door-to-door time rather than flight time alone. Buyers who want a larger, meatier crustacean for the same menu can compare clawed and spiny lobster, while large prawns cover tail dishes where volume matters more than provenance.