Lobster Rolls - Everyday Annie

This is by far one of the coolest dinners I’ve eaten all year, for several reasons. Because I love lobster. Because I’ve always wanted to try a lobster roll. And especially because one of my long-time blog readers helped make this meal a reality. Lovely Lydia who hails from Maine recently sent me a message to let me know that lobster has recently been at the its best price all season…and oh, by the way her husband is a Maine lobsterman and could help select and ship some lobsters for me. Seriously, how cool is that? Of course I couldn’t resist the opportunity to indulge in one of my very favorite foods, particularly when I could get the lobster from someone I (semi)know.

Now obviously this isn’t the kind of thing we can do on a regular basis but it is undoubtedly worth the occasional splurge. In fact I do believe this will become an end-of-summer tradition for us. This was my first time steaming whole lobsters, breaking them down, etc. It was quite an experience and a fair bit of work (not to mention I made an unbelievable mess), but again, totally worthwhile. We used half of the meat for these lobster rolls and saved half for a future meal. These were everything I was hoping for. As with many recipes of this sort, I think the key is lots of lobster and not much else. And I figured if I was taking care to make really good lobster rolls, homemade buns were a definite requirement. Instructions on how I did that below. Thanks to Lydia and everyone at Jones Lobster for the great customer service, fast shipping, and friendly touch!

Yield approximately 3-4 servings

Ingredients

2 lbs. cooked lobster meat, roughly chopped into ½ to ¾-inch chunks
1 small rib celery, finely chopped
¼ cup mayonnaise
1-2 tbsp. snipped fresh chives
Squeeze or two of lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Brioche buns, for serving*

Directions

01
To make the lobster mixture, combine the lobster meat, celery, mayo, chives and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Mix gently until well combined. Serve on toasted brioche buns (see below).
02
*To make the buns, I used a single batch of the dough from the perfect burger buns but instead divided it into six equal portions and formed them into flattened cylinders about 6 inches long. Just before baking, I used a sharp knife to make a single shallow slash down the center of each roll lengthwise. I baked them as instructed with the burger buns.
To prep the buns for lobster rolls, heat the oven to 450˚ F. Use a bread knife to remove a V-shaped portion of bread from the center of each bun to make room for more lobster, taking care to leave them intact at the bottom. Brush the insides of the buns with melted butter and toast for a few minutes until lightly browned and slightly crisp.

Source

Lobster Rolls and Blueberry Pie by Rebecca Charles and Deborah Di Clementi via Smitten Kitchen