Cottage Worthy Lobster Rolls
August is lobster month.
by Erin Henderson
Pardon me for stating the obvious, but there is just something so perfect about fresh lobster rolls served lakeside in the dwindling warmth of a summer’s day.
We spend a good amount of time cooking delicious, if casual, meals at the cottage. Lobster rolls have an air of laid-back decadence – company worthy, but cottage appropriate.
They sprang to life, and popularity, way back when on the east coast, where lobster was cheap as chips, and good, seafaring mums needed to throw together a sturdy meal for her hard-working brood. But now, of course, lobster is much more expensive than chips, and just about anything else, so I think there’s a hesitancy amongst new cooks to break open the good stuff when there's a lack of confidence in the result.
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But take it from me, this is an easy recipe to assemble – and truly most of it is simply assembling and mixing; there’s very little that needs to be done from scratch. With a mayonnaise base and boat load of butter, you can whip these up in 30 minutes, depending on how many G+T’s were enjoyed that day.
A note about the buns used in the photo above, but recommended in the recipe, below: we’re at the cottage and resources are limited. Courtney, my sister, is a tremendous baker and made a series of delicious, brioche hamburger buns to bring up here, but not hot dog buns as is customary with lobster rolls. But when up north, roughing it is part of the fun.
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Cottage Worthy Lobster Rolls
Seve the rolls with crispy fries – or even better, fried pickles. And make sure to save the lobster shells for stock or an indulgent pasta sauce.
Makes: 4 generous sandwiches
Chef level: moderate
Ingredients:
- 4, really good quality brioche rolls or buttermilk buns
- 1 ¼ lb lobster (about 6 tails)
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 whole cloves garlic, peeled
- Zest of one whole lemon
- Juice of half a lemon
- ¼ cup good quality mayonnaise
- 1 Tbsp buttermilk
- Lots of fresh cracked black pepper (or to taste)
- ½ cup diced celery
- ¼ cup diced shallot
- 3 Tbsp diced chives
- A few shakes hot sauce
- ¼ cup fresh dill
How to Make It:
- Melt butter over low heat in a deep sauté pan, add in olive oil and one whole garlic clove. Let it gently warm for 10 minutes to infuse garlic flavour.
- Shell lobster, reserving shells for a future use (stock or bouillabaisse are great options), and cut into bite-sized pieces.
- Add the lobster to the melted butter and allow to poach slowly over low heat, stirring occasionally.
- Meanwhile, make the sauce.
- To the lemon juice place the second whole garlic clove and set aside allowing to infuse.
- To a large bowl, mix the mayo and buttermilk, and add the lemon zest, celery, shallot, chives, hot sauce, black pepper, and dill, stirring to combine. Thin out slightly with a few drops of the garlic-infused lemon juice (you still want a thick sauce that will hold well on the bun, so don’t let it get too runny.)
- When the lobster is ready, scoop it out of the butter with a slotted spoon, and add a little at a time to the sauce (start slow with small scoops to the heat of the lobster doesn’t split or curdle the sauce).
- Serve buns fresh (or slather them with the lobster butter and grill lightly), stuffed with lobster filling.
- Serve the melted lobster butter on the side for extra drizzling.
Wine Pairing:
Lobster meat is rich, hearty, and sweet. The sauce is creamy and fatty, with a few brightening winks from the herbs and lemon juice. Chardonnay is at home here.
We went with Peller Estates Reserve Chardonnay, VQA Four Mile Creek, Niagara Peninsula, $24. It was buttery and smooth with interwoven toasty oak, to mirror the flavours and textures of the lobster roll.
But you could also go full-on bougie with a traditional method sparkling wine – the fulsome weight of the bubbly will have the oomph to stand up to the opulence of the dish, but the snappy verve of the bubbles will cut through the creamy sauce.