The lobster roll is New England's great summer sandwich: sweet chunks of knuckle, claw, and tail meat piled into a split-top bun that has been buttered and griddled until golden on both flat sides. The eternal divide is Maine versus Connecticut style: Maine dresses the chilled meat lightly with mayonnaise and maybe celery, while Connecticut serves it warm with drawn butter only. This version covers the Maine style and works because the lobster is steamed gently and pulled at just-done, the dressing is restrained so the lobster flavor leads, and the New England split-top bun, with its flat crustless sides, takes a proper butter toasting that a standard hot dog bun cannot.
Serves 4
Steam two 1.25-pound lobsters over an inch of boiling water for 11 to 13 minutes, until the shells are bright red and an antenna pulls out easily. Plunge into ice water immediately to stop the cooking.
Steaming over water, rather than boiling in it, keeps the meat from waterlogging and preserves sweetness.
Crack the shells and pick the tail, knuckle, and claw meat, removing the dark vein from the tail. Cut into generous half-inch to three-quarter-inch chunks; oversized pieces fall out of the bun, minced meat turns pasty.
Fold the chilled lobster with just 2 to 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise, a squeeze of lemon, a tablespoon of finely diced celery, and a pinch of salt. The dressing should coat, not pool.
Chill the dressed meat 20 minutes so the flavors marry and the salad firms up for stuffing.
Butter the flat sides of split-top buns and griddle over medium heat 2 minutes per side until golden and crisp. Stuff each immediately with a quarter pound of lobster salad and finish with chives or a dust of paprika.
Buy lively hard-shell lobsters if available; they yield noticeably more meat per pound than soft-shell.
Knuckle meat is the sweetest and most tender part; never let it go to waste.
Keep the mayonnaise minimal; a great lobster roll tastes of lobster first and dressing barely at all.
New England split-top buns are essential for the buttery griddled sides; trim the crusts off a standard bun if you cannot find them.
Serve immediately after stuffing so the warm crisp bun contrasts the cool filling.
Make a Connecticut-style roll by tossing the warm meat in melted butter with lemon and skipping mayonnaise entirely.
Add a teaspoon of finely chopped tarragon or a dash of Old Bay to the dressing for an herbed version.
Use the same technique with picked crab or poached shrimp when lobster prices spike.
Serve as sliders on mini buns for parties, about 2 ounces of meat each.
Dressed lobster salad keeps refrigerated for up to 2 days in an airtight container; never stuff buns ahead, as they sog within minutes. Cooked picked lobster meat, undressed, freezes for a month in its own juices, though texture is best fresh.
Lobster rolls in their warm buttered form are generally credited to Perry's restaurant in Milford, Connecticut, around 1929, while the chilled mayonnaise-dressed version became the standard at Maine lobster shacks by the mid-20th century. Once a cheap way to use abundant lobster, the roll transformed into a premium summer icon as lobster itself moved from poverty food to luxury.
Maine style serves chilled lobster meat lightly bound with mayonnaise, often with a little celery, in a toasted bun. Connecticut style serves the meat warm, dressed only in melted butter with lemon. Maine is creamy and cool, Connecticut rich and buttery; both demand a griddled split-top bun and restraint with everything else.
Plan on about a quarter pound, or 4 ounces, of picked meat per roll, which is roughly the yield of one 1.25-pound hard-shell lobster. For a party of six you want around 1.5 pounds of picked meat, so either six small lobsters or about three pounds of frozen picked meat.
Yes, good frozen claw and knuckle meat makes a very respectable roll; thaw it overnight in the refrigerator and drain it well before dressing. Avoid canned lobster, which is mushy and metallic. If buying cooked lobsters from the fish counter, use the meat within a day.
Take standard hot dog buns and slice a thin layer off each outer side to expose the crumb, then butter and griddle those cut faces. You lose the perfect shape but keep the essential buttery, toasted-crumb experience. Brioche hot dog buns are the best-tasting widely available stand-in.
Per serving (300g / 10.6 oz) · 4 servings total
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