Lobster Roll Recipe (Original Connecticut-Style)
Published July 30, 2024. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This delicious lobster roll recipe is coated in melted butter, served warm over a toasted bun, and garnished with chives. It’s the ultimate summer dish. Once you try it, you will immediately be obsessed.
I don’t often eat lobster because it’s hard to get fresh and expensive. If you’ve got some and are looking for a great recipe, try my Butter-Poached Lobster or Grilled Lobster Tails.
Lobster Roll
Lobster roll is a North Eastern American specialty of boiled, steamed, or poached fresh lobster shelled and drenched in butter and served on a toasted split top bun. The two main variations are this one, which is called a Connecticut Lobster roll, and the other is known as a New England or Maine Lobster Roll, which is cooked and cooled lobster meat tossed with mayonnaise, celery, and lemon juice. While bot are delicious, my personal opinion is the Connecticut-style roll is hands down better.
The roll’s creation goes back to the 1920s in New England and Canadian Maritimes. The fishermen in the area were the ones who developed the sandwich using the catch of the day or leftover lobster that was not sold that day. While it is served all over the US, the three states where this is most popular are Maine, Massachusetts, and Connecticut,
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Lobster — You can use cooked lobster meat, frozen and thawed lobster meat that is cooked, raw lobster meat that is cooked, cooked lobster tails, live-to-be-cooked whole lobsters, or pre-cooked whole lobsters. Be sure there are no shells in the meat.
- Butter – I always use unsalted butter in my cooking and baking to control the sodium content.
- Bread – Plain split top hotdog or brioche buns are best. You can also use a plait hot dog bun.
- Lemons – Freshly squeezed lemon juice is used for the lobster.
- Herbs — I finished the roll with finely sliced fresh chives. You could also use fresh tarragon or dill.
- Seasoning – I used coarse salt. You could also add freshly cracked pepper or use old bay.
How to Make Lobster Rolls
When using live lobsters, add them to a tray and place them in a freezer for 20 to 30 minutes.
In the meantime, bring a large pot of water to a boil. There should be enough water for the lobster to easily be submerged.
Once the water is boiling add enough salt so that the water tastes as salty is the ocean.
Place in the lobsters, cover the pot, and cook for 4 minutes per pound.
If you want to steam them, add 2 inches of water to the bottom of a pot with enough salt to taste as salty as the ocean and bring it to a boil. Add in the steamer basket, place in the lobster, add the lid and steam for 8 minutes per pound.
Once the lobster is done cooking, immediately submerge it in an ice bath to shock it.
Remove the lobster and extract the meat from the tails, claws, legs, and body. See the video for instructions.
Cut the meat into large bite-size pieces. I personally like to leave the claw intact.
Add the butter to a large sauté pan over low heat and swirl the pan in a circular motion until the butter is completely melted and emulsified.
Place the lobster meat in, squeeze on about 2 teaspoons of lemon juice and salt, and gently fold the meat in the butter using a spatula for 2 to 3 minutes or until the lobster is warm.
Brush the split-top buns on both sides with melted unsalted butter.
Place them butter-side down on a griddle or large cast-iron skillet at medium heat and toast for 1 to 2 minutes per side or until well browned.
Add the meat between the toasted buns and drizzle on any additional butter.
Optionally garnish with sliced chives.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: This lobster roll is meant to be eaten as soon as it is done cooking.
How to Store: It’s best to keep the lobster separate from the buns so that they do not become overly saturated. If you do this, cover both and keep them in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can thaw the lobster separately from the rolls in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator for one day before reheating.
How to Reheat: Add the desired amount of lobster and 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter to a small saucepan. Heat over low heat while constantly stirring until hot.
Chef Notes + Tips
- If the lobster is overcooked, it will get very chewy.
- This is uniquely salty, so taste it first before seasoning it.
- If you use live lobsters as I did, or even lobster tails, reserve the shells in the freezer for lobster bisque.
- A 1 ½ pound lobster will make 2 lobster rolls.
- An ice bath is a pot or container filled with ice water.
- Shocking food immediately stops the cooking process so that the food does not overcook.
More Seafood Recipes
Video
Lobster Roll Recipe (Original Connecticut-Style)
Ingredients
- 2 1 ½ pound live lobsters, or 12-16 ounces of cooked lobster meat
- 1 1/2 sticks softened unsalted butter
- Juice of ½ lemon about 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons
- coarse salt to taste
- 4 split top buns
Instructions
- When using live lobsters, add them on a tray and place them in a freezer for 20 to 30 minutes.
- In the meantime, bring a large pot of water to a boil. There should be enough water for the lobster to easily be submerged.
- Once the water is boiling add enough salt so that the water tastes as salty as the ocean. No, the salinity does not need to mimic the ocean, it only needs to taste as such.
- Place in the lobsters head first, cover the pot, and cook for 4 minutes per pound.
- If you want to steam them, add 2 inches of water to the bottom of a pot with enough salt for it to taste as salty as the ocean and bring it to a boil. Next, add in the steamer basket, place in the lobster, add the lid and steam for 8 minutes per pound.
- Once the lobster is done cooking, the shell will be bright red. Immediately submerge them in an ice bath to shock them. Don’t let the lobster sit in the water for more than 10 minutes so that they do not get waterlogged.
- Remove the lobster and extract the meat from the tails, claws, legs, and body. See the video for how to do this.
- Place the meat into a colander over a bowl to help drain off any excess liquid as you remove the meat from the shells.
- Cut the meat into large bite-size pieces. I personally like to leave the claw in-tact.
- Add 1 ¼ sticks of butter to a large sauté pan over low heat and swirl the pan in a circular motion until the butter is completely melted and emulsified.
- Place in the lobster meat, squeeze on about 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, and salt, and gently fold the meat in the butter using a spatula for 2 to 3 minutes or until the lobster is warm.
- Brush the split-top buns on both sides with the remaining 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter.
- Place them butter side down on a griddle or large cast-iron skill at medium heat and toast for 1 to 2 minutes per side or until well browned.
- Generously add the meat between the toasted buns and drizzle on any additional butter. Optionally garnish with sliced chives.
Oh WOW!!! Chef, this is my kind of food right here. I have never made these but I have eaten them many times and they are to die for. We really don’t get many fresh
lobsters here but you said we could use frozen, I can get that. Maybe this weekend. I can’t wait…
Excellent!