Brioche rolls in garlic butter filled with chunky pieces of lobster in creamy mayo. Impress guests with these gorgeous Easy Lobster Rolls.
Say hello to Lobster Rolls this Christmas
Food envy, yes, I suffer from it constantly. Sometimes I want to order 3 dishes on a menu but have to settle with one. Then I secretly hope the person I’m dining with choose the other dishes I wanted so I could also have some of what they’re eating. Yes, I’m that bad!
So imagine how I feel when I’m scrolling through Instagram and seeing people flaunt their lobster rolls in my face. It’s a mix of pure excitement and jealously! I need and want generously packed lobster rolls too!
Unfortunately for us Australians, we don’t have easy access to these rolls. So this Christmas, let’s take matters into our own hands and make our own mini Lobster Rolls!
Cold lobster salad rolls are perfect for our summer holidays. It’s special and a little fancy, but best of all, they’re super simple to make. Imagine carrying out a tray of these lobster rolls at your Christmas gathering. I’m sure you would have lots of impressed guests!
We serve these lobster rolls in a soft sweet brioche roll brushed with garlic butter on the outside. Then the brioche rolls are pan-fried to golden perfection. Pile on generous chunks of sweet lobster salad made with mayonnaise, celery, lemon zest and a few drops of tabasco.
Ah, Christmas has never looked better with these beauties!
Huh? Are these my chips?
My husband, Tomasi, and I travelled to the US for 6 weeks for our honeymoon back in 2015. Silly me was up for the challenge, so I organised our itinerary planned our wedding at the same time. If you’re ever in this situation, don’t do it! The entire planning was stressful, let’s say there were a few meltdowns and tantrums.
In those 6 weeks we travelled to San Francisco, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Orlando, Las Vegas, Miami, New York, San Antonio. But not in that order, because my brain’s fried and I can’t remember!
What I remember is how much I loved the shopping there and how friendly the people were. The serving sizes blew us away because each plate was huge! I’m wondering if Americans come over here and think our restaurants are stingy!
One funny memory I have was when we ordered lobster rolls from Orlando’s Disney World. When it came, it had a side of potato chips (crisp) We’ve never had chips with our sandwiches/burgers before, so when it came out we were um… a little confused! After a while, we got used to the idea of having crisp and pickles for our sides.
I knew I had to serve my lobster rolls with potato chips and pickles as a nod to America. Watch out for us because we will be back to visit other states!
The coolest way to butter rolls!
From my understanding, there are two main variations of lobster rolls in America. Maine and the Connecticut lobster roll. The Maine one is what we have here, which is a cold lobster salad with mayonnaise. The Connecticut lobster serves their lobster hot with melted butter.
Both sound mouthwatering good, right? However, I made a version of the Maine style lobster rolls as our Christmas is in summer, so cold bites are always welcoming.
On learning about lobster rolls, I noticed that some Americans’ butter their rolls uniquely. What a genius idea! why did I not think of this?! They butter the rolls on the outside of the bread!
It’s simple, we cut tiny slices from the sides of each roll to make them flat and then we butter them. We then pan fry them on each side until they are golden! I am so impressed with this idea that I’m going to make our hotdogs like this in the future!
I’ve used store-bought brioche buns. They work well because they are sweet and buttery, but I miss the homemade touch. Unfortunately, our bakeries near us don’t offer brioche rolls and I didn’t get time to make my own. We’re using lobster, and I know it’s just a roll, but it’s still fancy. That’s why I feel this roll deserves nothing less than quality ingredients to go with it!
Ingredients for Easy Lobster Rolls
Lobster – The lobsters we have here in Australia don’t have enormous claws like the ones you get in America, so unfortunately for us there is no meat there! I purchased 3 small lobsters weighing 1.2kgs (2.7lb) in total. After removing the shells, the flesh weighed 500gms (18oz).
Brioche rolls – I picked up a packet of 6 x mini brioche ‘hot dog’ rolls at our local supermarket. They came already sliced lengthwise on the top of the rolls and are approximately 15cm (6in) in length.
Mayonnaise – It makes a vast difference when using good quality mayonnaise. I used full fat whole-egg mayonnaise which is less sweet but more creamy.
Tabasco (optional) – I like a subtle little kick in my lobster salad mixture, but not too much as I didn’t want to overpower the delicate taste of the lobsters. Leave tabasco out or swap it for your favourite hot sauce.
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How to make Easy Lobster Rolls
Step-by-step guide with photos
Remove the lobsters from their shells by carefully pulling back the shell and using your fingers to lift the flesh out for each tail. Trim and remove any dark bits from the flesh, then cut the lobster into bite-size chunks.
Finely chop the celery, chives and then grate the lemon zest with a microplane grater. In a large bowl, place in the lobster, celery, chives, lemon zest, lemon juice, mayonnaise, tabasco (if using) and gently stir to combine. Have a taste, add salt and pepper to your liking.
Place the butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Melt the butter by placing it in the microwave with 40-second bursts, stirring well after each burst until the butter has completely melted. Add the minced garlic to the melted butter and give it a stir. Microwave the butter and garlic for another 40 seconds. Remove the garlic pieces from the butter with a strainer and discard the solids.
Using a bread knife, cut a very thin slice from the sides of each roll, remove as little bread as possible. Brush the sides of the bread rolls with melted garlic butter. Heat a frying pan over low to medium heat. Place the rolls down on the buttered side and cook for 30 seconds on each side or until nice and golden.
These mouthwatering lobster rolls are almost ready!
Place a lettuce leaf in each roll, then spoon on the lobster mixture. Garnish with chives and serve immediately.
Make in advance and leftovers – Place the salad in a sealed container and store it in the fridge until ready to use. The salad will be good for up to 3 days.
Can’t get enough of lobster? Me too! Whilst you’re here, check out Surf and Turf with Steak & Lobster served with mouthwatering garlic butter, or the classic but fancy Lobster Mornay
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements.
A Third-Party Application calculated the calories and nutritional information. Please use this as an approximate guide only.
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Cheers (I’ll drink to that) – Cat Tre
Easy Lobster Rolls
Ingredients
- 1.2 kg cooked lobster with shell (500gm/18oz without shell) (NOTE 1)
- ¼ cup finely chopped celery
- 2 tsp finely chopped chives (extra for garnish)
- ½ tsp lemon zest (finely grated)
- 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
- ⅓ cup whole egg mayonnaise (good quality) (NOTE 2)
- 3 drops tabasco (optional) (NOTE 3)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 6 mini brioche rolls (approx.15cm/6in) (NOTE 4)
- 30 gm butter (rougly chopped)
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 6 lettuce leaves
Instructions
- Remove the lobsters from their shells by carefully pulling back the shell and using your fingers to lift the flesh out for each tail. Trim and remove any dark bits from the flesh, then cut the lobster into bite-size chunks.
- Finely chop the celery, chives and then grate the lemon zest with a microplane grater. In a large bowl, place in the lobster, celery, chives, lemon zest, lemon juice, mayonnaise, tabasco (if using) and gently stir to combine. Have a taste, add salt and pepper to your liking.
- Place the butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Melt the butter by placing it in the microwave with 40-second bursts, stirring well after each burst until the butter has completely melted. Add in the minced garlic to the melted butter and give it a stir. Microwave the butter and garlic for another 40 seconds. Remove the garlic pieces from the butter with a strainer and discard the solids.
- Using a bread knife, cut a very thin slice from the sides of each roll, remove as little bread as possible. Brush the sides of the bread rolls with melted garlic butter. Heat a frying pan over low to medium heat. Place the rolls down on the buttered side and cook for 30 seconds on each side or until nice and golden.
- Place a lettuce leaf in each roll, then spoon on the lobster mixture. Garnish with chives and serve immediately.
