Sous Vide Maine-Style Lobster Rolls (With Mayonnaise) Recipe

By
J. Kenji López-Alt
Kenji Lopez Alt
J. Kenji López-Alt
Culinary Consultant
Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site. He is also a New York Times food columnist and the author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science.
Learn about Serious Eats' Editorial Process
Updated Apr. 06, 2021
20161208-sous-vide-lobster-63-maine-lobster-roll.jpg
Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt

Why This Recipe Works

  • Sous vide lobster comes out with an extra-intense lobster flavor and butteriness built right into the meat, making it perfect for lobster rolls.
  • Toasting buns in butter adds crisp, buttery crunch to each bite.

If you've already experienced the magic of sous vide lobster, this is the only logical next step. Lobster rolls may not be very fancy, but there's no better way to experience lobster in its briny, sweet, buttery glory than stuffed into a top-split hot dog bun that's been griddled in butter until golden brown.

This version is what you'll find up and down the coast of New England, served cold with a touch of mayonnaise and lemon.

Recipe Details

Sous Vide Maine-Style Lobster Rolls (With Mayonnaise) Recipe

Active 10 mins
Total 15 mins
Serves 4 lobster rolls

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons (30g) unsalted butter

  • 4 hot dog buns, preferably top-split (see note)

  • 1 recipe Sous Vide Lobster, fully cooled

  • Up to 2 tablespoons (30ml) mayonnaise

  • 1 rib celery, finely diced

  • 1 tablespoon (7g) minced fresh chives and/or tarragon

  • Fresh juice of 1 lemon, to taste

  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

  1. Heat butter in a large skillet or on a griddle over medium heat until foaming subsides. Add hot dog buns, with exposed crumbs down, and griddle until golden brown. Flip and griddle second side. Transfer to a serving platter.

  2. Discard any herbs from sous vide lobster bag. Remove lobster meat from bag and chop into large bite-size pieces. Transfer to a large bowl. Add mayonnaise to taste, celery, and chives or tarragon. Add lemon juice to taste and toss to combine. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed. (Sous vide lobster is typically well seasoned even without additional salt.) Divide mixture evenly between hot dog buns and serve.

Special equipment

Sous vide precision cooker

Notes

Top-split buns are not widely available outside of New England. If you can't find them, you can use regular hot dog buns with the crust along the sides very carefully sliced off, to expose the soft interior crumb for toasting.

This Recipe Appears In

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
393 Calories
15g Fat
39g Carbs
25g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 393
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 15g 20%
Saturated Fat 5g 27%
Cholesterol 80mg 27%
Sodium 637mg 28%
Total Carbohydrate 39g 14%
Dietary Fiber 2g 8%
Total Sugars 5g
Protein 25g
Vitamin C 20mg 98%
Calcium 188mg 14%
Iron 4mg 22%
Potassium 348mg 7%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)