Lobster was a thing that I only ate at specialty restaurants until my husband Ben and I started making this Lobster Roll at home. I know that we should try to branch out and make other dishes involving lobster too, but we love this so much that we end up having this every time we are able to score some good lobsters. Handling the lobsters is much easier than I’d thought. To be honest I’m horrified of the legs so it’s Ben’s role to remove the shells once they’ve been boiled. He simply cuts a slit down the back of the shell, and the meat peels right off. You just have to ensure that you use fresh, good quality lobster. Other than that there’s not much to it. Just toss all of the ingredients together and throw it on a toasted roll! We’re aware that this is not the traditional purists’ way of the lobster roll whereby the lobster is soaked in butter, not mixed with anything and is severed on a hot-dog roll with flat sides. Of course that is also delicious, but you should really try this avocado filled lobster salad version as it is so good. I believe 16 ounces of lobster tail would normally make at least four servings, but with Ben at the table we’re lucky if we can make three.
Lobster Roll
Ingredients
For the lobster
- 1 lemon juiced
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 16 ounces lobster tails (with shells)
For the lobster salad
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise recommended: Sir Kensington’s Classic Mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup finely chopped inner celery stalk
- 2 tablespoons finely diced shallots
- 3 tablespoons crisp diced thick cut bacon e.g. hardwood smoked bacon
- 2 avocados halved, pitted and diced
- 1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
For the sandwich
- 2 brioche rolls
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- finely chopped parsley for garnish
- celery salt to sprinkle on top (mix equal parts celery seed and kosher salt)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Cook the lobster
- Fill a large pot with a lid with water. Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon into the water, then toss the lemon halves and sea salt into the pot. Bring the water to a boil.
- Place the lobsters in the pot, cover and boil over medium heat until the shells turn bright red, about 8 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare an ice bath for the lobsters.
- Remove the lobsters from the pot with tongs and shock in the ice bath.
- To remove the meat from the lobster shells, cut a slit vertically down the shell using a kitchen knife.
- Remove the meat from the lobster shells. Roughly chop the lobster meat.
Make the lobster salad
- In a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, celery, shallots, bacon, avocado, lemon juice and black pepper.
- Add the lobster meat and toss to coat. Add the salt.
- Cover and refrigerate for 5 to 10 minutes before assembling the sandwich to allow the salad to absorb the flavorings.
Assemble the sandwich
- Slice the brioche rolls in half and brush the outside with the melted butter.
- Toast the brioche rolls in the preheated oven until slightly colored, about 4 minutes.
- Assemble the sandwich by putting a liberal amount of lobster salad on each roll. Sprinkle with parsley and celery salt.