Homemade Lobster Roll Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What kind of bread are lobster rolls made from? ›

You can't just stick lobster meat in any old bun and call it a lobster roll! It must be a top-split, white-bread hot dog bun, slowly toasted on both sides in plenty of butter. This is not optional—it's an essential part of the recipe.

Some lobster lovers may prefer the cool and refreshing taste of chilled lobster with a touch of mayo, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and seasoning on a buttered and freshly toasted bun. Others may favor warm, succulent lobster meat doused in drawn butter and served on a fluffy, slightly crunchy toasted bun.

And if you want an overflowing lobster roll you can eat with a fork, plan on one 1¼ pound lobster per roll. And if at all possible, make sure you use New England style split-top hot dog buns (with the cut sides) as the roll's flavor explodes when toasted on a grill or skillet.

What's the difference between a Maine lobster roll and a Connecticut lobster roll? A Maine lobster roll is served with the lobster meat chilled and dressed in mayo with some crunchy greens like chives, celery, and/or scallions. A Connecticut lobster roll is served warm, dunked in butter, on a toasted bun.

A New Englander will also tell you there are two main variations on the theme, Maine style and Connecticut style, and natives of both states are known to fiercely defend their regional recipe as the gold standard of lobster rolls.

Lobster Rolls Mean Summertime

New Englanders are an understated lot, and you'll see that reflected in this classic summer feast. Just a few ingredients: large chunks of lobster, mayonnaise, and celery, stuffed into a grilled hot dog bun and eaten on a dock near water on a sparkling day!

Morander pointed to many reasons for the price hikes (the current cost of a Lobster Landing roll is $26.50), but emphasized three: the quality of the meat, sourcing challenges, and the labor-intensive nature or roll-making.

Instead of the chilled lobster touted by the Maine roll, the Connecticut-style lobster roll is served warm. It's packed with warm, thick cuts of meat from the tail and claw, tossed with just the right amount of indulgent butter and—you guessed it—tucked inside that delicious split top bun.

While Maine rolls are served with chilled mayo-coated lobster salad on toasted split-top rolls, Connecticut-style rolls are warm and dripping with savory melted butter. If you're a lobster fan, you can't go wrong with any kind of lobster roll, so we say go ahead and try as many as possible!

A hot dog bun will do the trick when it comes to creating an epic lobster roll...a New England-style hot dog bun, that is. These "top split hot dog rolls," as noted by JoCooks, were invented in the 1940s to hold fried clams, according to New England Today.

Does lettuce belong on a lobster roll? ›

Lining the toasted, buttered bun with lettuce might seem controversial, but it provides both crunch and a waterproof barrier that keeps the bread from sogging out.

According to Lobster Anywhere, the Manhattan roll is practically identical to the Maine-styled roll. It is served cold with mayo and occasionally celery.

Lobster Rolls are a classic summer seafood treat, hailing from New England, but beloved across the country. But which lobster roll recipe is the one for you? The most popular debate is between the “Maine” Lobster Roll, prepared cold with mayonnaise, and the “Connecticut” Lobster Roll, made warm with butter.

Rico DiFronzo, Executive Chef at Union Oyster House:

Hands down it is a cold lobster roll. To me, nothing says summer in New England like a cold lobster roll with a touch of lemon, celery and a little mayonnaise, served in a toasted buttered roll with a side of French fries.

Lobster rolls come in two varieties: hot with melted butter or cold with mayonnaise (and, sometimes, celery). While the cold one is known as the “traditional” preparation, history has actually shown that the first lobster roll was served hot with drawn butter and was made in Connecticut, not Maine. Which one is better?

Instead of the chilled lobster touted by the Maine roll, the Connecticut-style lobster roll is served warm. It's packed with warm, thick cuts of meat from the tail and claw, tossed with just the right amount of indulgent butter and—you guessed it—tucked inside that delicious split top bun.

Squaw bread, also known as Indian bread, is a type of dark, dense bread that has its origins in Native American cuisine. It is traditionally made using ingredients like whole wheat flour, molasses, and sometimes cornmeal, giving it a distinct flavor and texture.

Buns are usually made from a dough of flour, milk, yeast and small amounts of sugar and/or butter. Sweet bun dough is distinguished from bread dough by the addition of sugar, butter and sometimes egg. Common sweet varieties contain small fruit or nuts, topped with icing or caramel, and filled with jam or cream.

For the pastry component of this recipe, you'll need bread flour, salt, salted butter, vegetable shortening, vanilla extract, sugar, and lukewarm water. The filling calls for salt, vanilla extract, orange zest, flour ("Semolina is traditionally used instead of flour for the filling.