Lobster Rolls

When my friend Theresa came over last month to cook Coq au Riesling with me, we decided to make New England lobster rolls next time. I'd never eaten a real lobster roll, but we agreed that we had to make everything from scratch for it to be authentic--including cooking live lobsters, making mayonnaise for the salad, and baking fresh buns.

Lobster rolls are traditionally served on flat-sided buns that are buttered and toasted. According to the Boston Globe, "Variously called top-sliced, top-loading, or frankfurter roll, the style was developed sometime in the mid- to late ’40s, explains Michael Cornelis, vice president of American Pan, which makes baking pans for the industry. Howard Johnson’s approached J. J. Nissen bakery of Maine to develop a special bun for its fried clam strip sandwich. The restaurant chain wanted top sliced rolls that would stand upright and be easier to prepare, serve, and eat. […] 'Before the New England-style roll,' says Cornelis, 'there was no way to mechanically slice a bun part of the way through. If you wanted a roll pre-sliced, commercial bakers would slice them all the way through. Well, that’s not as happy a hot dog bun.'"

I borrowed Ruth's hot dog bun pan and followed the recipe on the King Arthur Flour website. In the end, they turned out just fine--albeit a little dense. Next time, I would buy good-quality buns (hubba) instead.

The lobster salad, however, was damn delicious. 

So, what do you think Theresa and I should cook next month?

Maine Lobster Rolls

recipe slightly adapted from Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc at Home

To cook the lobsters:

Two 1 1/2-2 pound live lobsters

4 large carrots, roughly chopped

1 large onion, peeled & roughly chopped

1 fennel bulb, trimmed & roughly chopped

1 bay leaf

3 thyme sprigs

1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns

1 garlic clove, smashed & peeled

2 cups dry white wine

1 cup white wine vinegar

2 lemons, halved

4 quarts water

• Add all the ingredients--except the lobsters--to a large stockpot. Bring to a boil. Add the lobsters headfirst & cover the pot to return to a boil. Boil for one minute. Remove the pan from the heat and let the lobsters steep for 10 minutes.
• Transfer the lobsters to a sheet pan to cook, then remove all the meat from the shells.

To make the lobster salad:

Cooked lobster meat, roughly chopped

1-2 tablespoons of homemade mayonaisse

1 tablespoon minced red onion

1 tablespoon finely chopped, peeled celery

1 teaspoon finely chopped tarragon

1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley

1 teaspoon finely chopped chives

juice of 1/2 a lemon

salt & pepper

• Mix all ingredients together gently, so as not to break up the lobster meat too much. You want large, luxurious, juicy chunks. Use immediately or chill until ready to serve.
• Slice the buns open at the top, half-way through. Brush with melted butter. Brown in a frying pan over medium heat. 
• Fill with lobster salad. Ohh and ahh.