How to Make the Best Lobster Roll At Home

If I could have any other blog than this one, it would be a blog that’s solely dedicated to lobster roll reviews. You might think I’m joking, but I promise you I’m not 😂. Might need to make that happen… Being from Maine, I like to think I’m a bit of a lobster roll aficionado. I tell Geoff all the time that I can look at a picture of a lobster roll and tell if it’s going to be good or not. It’s true. Sooooo, I’ve been dying to teach you guys how to make the best lobster roll at home!

So what makes a good lobster roll? Fresh lobster meat – the most important part of all. A light amount of mayo. Salt and pepper. A really good, buttery bun. That’s it. Really.

Where a lot of restaurants go wrong is trying to do too much with it. You don’t need dill, you don’t need a fancy mayo, you don’t need celery. The one exception to that rule is Eventide’s Brown Butter Lobster Roll on a bao bun (read more about it here). I’m surprised they don’t have Brown Butter Lobster Roll trademarked by now – that’s how good it is.  But again, that’s the exception to the rule.

The hardest part about making a lobster roll at home (when you no longer live in Maine) is finding high quality, fresh lobster meat. Most of the coastal fish markets in the Boston area are on the North Shore, the South Shore, or near the Seaport area in Boston.

I’ve had amazing luck getting seafood at my local Wegmans. In my experience, it’s a lot more fresh than my local Whole Foods and they have a great selection. What blows my mind is that they even sell cooked, picked, and chilled lobster meat for $50/lb. They sell it in 1/2 pound containers which I find super reasonable when you think about the fact that you don’t have to smell up your home by cooking whole lobsters and you don’t have to scratch up your knuckles by picking it.

Soooo worth it. I buy a .6 lb. container for about $25. That might seem crazy, but with most restaurants shut down, sometimes you just need your fix! Plus, I find that you really can get the best lobster roll at home – often times better than what you’d get in a restaurant since you know what you like! Here’s how I make mine:

Homemade Lobster Rolls at Home

1/2 lb. – 3/4 lb. of fresh picked, chilled lobster meat
1/2 Tablespoon – 1 Tablespoon of mayo (use how much you like)
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 Tablespoon of butter – for buttering the outside of the rolls or adding to the pan
2 Rolls (I usually use Bulkie Rolls or Potato Rolls)

I start by taking the lobster meat out of the container and chopping into bite size chunks on a cutting board. You don’t want to cut up the lobster meat too small – it can get stringy and watery if you do this (the mistake a lot of restaurants make). You also don’t want the chunks too big because then they’ll fall out of the roll when you take a bite. As you can see, this is half art and half science 😂.

After chopping up the lobster meat, add to a bowl and add about a 1/2 Tablespoon of mayo. If you’re not sure how much you’ll want, start small! You can add more later, but you can’t take away! Mix with a spoon until the mayo and lobster meat are combined fully.

After combining the lobster meat and mayo, add salt and pepper to taste. You can add a squeeze of lemon juice here, but you really don’t need it! I’ve made it both ways and I actually prefer it without the lemon juice. I think a lot of places incorporate lemon juice if their lobster meat isn’t that fresh 😬. Mix again with a spoon.

Separate your potato roll by pulling apart or using a knife if needed. Butter the outside of both the top bun and the bottom bun (like when making a grilled cheese) of both sets of potato rolls OR to use a little less butter, you can simply add 1 Tablespoon of butter to a pan which I did for this recipe. Then begin adding half the lobster meat to the top of the bottom bun. Add the top bun and then complete your other lobster roll.

Next is where you truly separate the average lobster roll to the best one you’ve ever had. Toast your bun. I beg you. And add butter. Please. 😂🙌🏻 This is such an easy step but makes a significant difference. It also prevents the lobster roll from getting a soggy taste.

Warm a pan to medium-low heat and add 1 Tablespoon of butter (if you chose to not butter the buns – if you did butter the buns no need to add more butter to the pan) your first lobster roll to the pan, watching carefully so as not to burn. Toast for about a minute to a minute and a half then flip with a spatula, toasting for another minute to minute and a half or so, until each side is golden brown. Remove from the pan and add to a plate. Add your next lobster roll to the pan and repeat the process. Serve with pickles and potato chips!

Let me know if you guys try this recipe! Where did you get the best lobster roll you’ve ever had?! Are you guys interested in a post with the best lobster rolls in New England? Let me know in the comments! xo