Tis the season for lobster rolls.  We’ll take lobster rolls any season though.  We even have a whole article dedicated to the best lobster rolls in the US.  However, you don’t need to go out for lobster rolls; you can make them at home.  We have the best lobster roll recipe by Brian DiMarco.  You may know Brian because he’s your wine guy. As the founder of Barterhouse Wines, he’s supplied many a collector with the best vino sourced from around the world. What you may not know is that he’s also a professionally trained chef. And he’s perfected the art of the lobster roll. His recipe is here.

The DiMarco Lobster Roll Recipe

Serves 6-8 lucky guests

Ingredients 

8 Split top potato rolls
8 tablespoons Salted butter
1/2 stick Salted butter
3-4 Steamed 1.5LB lobster(s) – tail and knuckle meat removed & chilled
3 cups court bouillon
6 ounces Sancerre
Homemade remoulade sauce (Ina Garten’s recipe)
1 head Butter or Bibb lettuce
Snipped fresh chives

Equipment:

Grill
Small aluminum foil roast pan
Tongs

Directions

Preheat your grill then turn the burners on the lowest setting possible.

The key to this lobster roll is to not overcook the lobster when you initially steam it to remove the meat.  You want to steam the lobster until it is just cooked through.  It’s better to err on the side of less cooked lobster in this step than to overcook it.  Right after you steam the lobster, chill the meat immediately.

Make the court bouillon, which is a vegetable-based liquid. You will poach the chilled lobster in the court bouillon right before serving.  Court bouillon adds the most subtle yet fresh flavor to the lobster meat.  It is part of why this is the best lobster roll recipe.  It’s the essence of the wine, carrots, celery and onions that makes this lobster roll recipe stand out.   For the court bouillon, I like Alton Brown’s recipe.  

Pour the court bouillon, 6 Oz of Sancerre and a half stick of butter into the roasting pan on the grill.  Make sure that there’s no direct heat. Take the lobster meat, which you can pre-make, and roughly chop the chilled meat.  Add the lobster meat to the jazzed up court bouillon and poach until ready to serve. This should take no longer than 30 mins, or the meat will get tough.

To Serve

Butter each potato roll lightly with one tablespoon butter per roll. You can do this ahead of time before guests arrive.  Don’t skip this step; the buttered bread is part of what makes the lobster roll recipe savory and rich.

Grill the roll until grill marks just slightly appear.  Be careful not to over-brown. When toasted properly, this step gives texture to the lobster roll, with just that tiniest bit of crunch.  Remove the bread from heat to cool.

Add a schmear of the remoulade sauce to the roll and two pieces of lettuce to create pouch for your lobster meat.  With tongs, quickly grill the lobster for a few seconds per side.  Place the lobster chunks into the roll until the roll is overflowing with lobster.  Sprinkle with snipped chives and serve immediately.

The Perfect Pair to the DiMarco Lobster Roll Recipe:  A Harlem Standard Whiskey Sour

What I love about this lobster roll recipe is that you can serve it as passed bites for a cocktail party, or as a meal.   You can also pair this with Sancerre, or think out of the box and make a Harlem Standard Whiskey cocktail.  The key is to enhance the roll with a citrus sour, where we have a great recipe for the Harlem Standard Whiskey Sour.  It’s made with fresh egg whites, naturally.