Whether it’s fried shrimpor a great cod, we can’t resist the great food the ocean has to offer. Today we’re sharing a recipe for a sandwich made popular in New England: the lobster roll. We wanted to share a recipe that is relatively simple and full of flavor, great for an outdoor lunch on a hot day.
We wanted to keep to a pretty traditional roll: cooked lobster on a hot dog bun. The standard ingredients mixed with the lobster tend to be mayonnaise or butter, which can weigh down the taste of the sandwich as a whole. To lighten it up, we also tossed in some lemon juice an a little cayenne pepper. Keep reading below for our favorite recipe…
Lobster Rolls
(makes 6 servings)
Ingredients
- 1 large onion, halved
- 2 tablespoons coarse sea salt
- 4 large garlic cloves, minced
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns, cracked
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 4 1 1/2lb lobsters
- 8 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 6 New-England style hot dog buns
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh chives
- sea salt
- Old bay seasoning
Directions
- In a large clamb or lobster pot, add 2 inches of water. Put in the onion halves cut sides down and add the coarse sea salt, garlic, bay leaves, and black peppercorns. Bring to a boil over high heat.
- Put in the lobsters head up, the first two sitting on the onion halves, and loosely stack the other two lobsters, making sure to space them apart. Cover and cook over medium-high heat until bright read (about 6 minutes). They’ll be a little undercooked, but that’s okay.
- Transfer the lobsters to a large rimmed baking sheet and let cool. Work over the sheet to collect all the lobster juices and fat, twisting the tails and claws from the bodies. Pull off the tail ends from the shells and push the tail meat out with your thumb. Cut down the top of the tails and discard the dark vein. Twist the knuckles from the claws. Cover the claws with a kitchen towel and mash with a mallet or the back of a large knife. Gently crack the claws on both sides to loosen the shells from the meat. Break off the shell from the claws and pull out the meat. Break up the knuckles and push out the meat.
- Cut the tails down the center and give all of the lobster meat just a few chops to make large chunks. Put the meat and collected juices in a large skillet and set aside.
- Heat a griddle. In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the garlic powder and stir. Place a skillet over low heat. Butter both sides of the hot dog buns with garlic butter and sprinkle lightly with salt. Place buns on the skillet with 1 buttered side down. Increase the heat to medium-low and cook until crisp and brown Cook 2 to 3 minutes more. Transfer the buns to a large platter.
- Gently reheat the lobster over low heat until barely hot. Remove the skillet from the heat, stir in the mayonnaise and season with sea salt, lemon juice, chives, and cayenne pepper.
- Spoon the lobster salad into the buns, sprinkle with Old Bay and serve immediately.
- Enjoy!
Recipe adapted fromNPR