Martha Stewart’s Chicken-Lobster Hybrid Is Freaking the Internet Out

“We had the pleasure of [dining] last evening @maisonbarnes.nyc which is located in the same location as @cafebouludny on Park Ave,” Stewart captioned the image. “@georgetteny is the proprietress and in her perfect French way she has created an early 20th century dining experience.”

The chicken is placed in the center of a wooden serving board, surrounded by seaweed and a few seashells. A lobster’s head, claws and tail are placed around the chicken, making it appear as though the chicken is the lobster’s body.

Horrified comments poured in:

“Girl, respectfully what the f***”

“Martha what in the five minute crafts is this”

“If this is fine dining, I’m fine not dining”

“Not the chobster”

As gimmicky and strange as it may look, this dish (or the one it’s based on, at least) long precedes the turducken. It’s a 19th-century French recipe, says Food & Wine, that’s been assembled in a 21st-century way with social media in mind. There are also plenty of instances of chicken being combined with shellfish in French cuisine. Take poulet aux écrevisses, or chicken with crayfish or shrimp.

Every part of the shellfish is used here, Café Boulud executive chef Romain Paumier told Slate. The bird is roasted with the lobster head for an infusion of seafood flavor, then squeezed into a sauce used in the lobster bisque. The tail is poached and buttered.

Called “poularde homardine, sauce nantua” on the Maison Barnes menu, it’s described as “a duo of roasted sasso chicken & lobster bisque sauce, spring rice.” After an hour of preparation, the $250 main can feed three. (BTW, according to Bon Appétit, a poularde is a chicken that was fed a fatty diet and aged 120 days, while the “homardine” refers to a lobster sauce.)

Maison Barnes just opened a few weeks ago, so it could be that the franken-entrée won’t be on the menu permanently. So, um, hurry and make a reservation we guess?