Summer · Shellfish

Brown butter lobster rolls with lemon & chives

Sweet Maine lobster, butter cooked until it smells like toasted hazelnuts, and a split-top bun crisped in the pan.

By Nora Hale25 minutesServes 4

A brown butter lobster roll in a toasted split-top bun — Warm lobster, no mayonnaise, and a bun that crackles.

The roll I argue about every summer

Every July, someone from away asks me whether a real Maine lobster roll is cold with mayonnaise or warm with butter. I tell them it is whichever one you are eating at the time, and then I make them this one.

I learned the warm version at a picnic table in Port Clyde, where a neighbour poured melted butter over the meat straight from the pot. I took it one step further: cook the butter until the milk solids turn the colour of a hazelnut shell. It adds a toasty depth that makes sweet lobster taste even sweeter.

The lobster only needs two minutes in the butter. Any longer and you are cooking it twice.

Buy the best split-top buns you can find; the flat sides are made for toasting. If you are picking your own lobster, one 1¼ lb lobster gives about 4 oz of meat, so plan on four to five for this recipe. Otherwise, ask your fishmonger for cooked meat picked that morning.

Nora preparing food at her sunlit kitchen counter — Prep happens at the counter by the window.

The recipe

Brown butter lobster rolls

Prep: 10 min
Cook: 15 min
Total: 25 min
Makes: 4 rolls

Servings

4 servings

Amounts update as you change servings.

Ingredients

The filling

450 g cooked lobster meat, in generous chunks
6 tbsp salted butter
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp chopped chives

The buns

4 New England-style split-top buns
2 tbsp soft butter, for toasting
Pinch of paprika and flaky salt, to finish

Method

Brown the butter.Melt the 6 tbsp butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Swirl for 4 to 5 minutes until it foams, then turns amber and smells nutty. Take it off the heat at once.
Warm the lobster.Add the lobster to the brown butter and set over the lowest heat for 2 minutes, turning once, just until warmed through.
Toast the buns.Spread the soft butter on the flat sides. Toast in a skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes per side until deep golden and crisp.
Season.Off the heat, stir the lemon juice and half the chives into the lobster. Taste and add a pinch of salt if it needs it.
Pile and serve.Fill the buns, spoon over any butter left in the pan, and finish with the remaining chives and a dusting of paprika. Eat immediately.

Nora's notes

Use fresh lobster meat if you can. Frozen works; thaw it overnight in the fridge and pat it dry.
Watch the butter closely. It goes from brown to burnt in about 20 seconds.
Serve with salt-and-vinegar chips and a cold pickle on the side.
Leftover lobster is wonderful folded into scrambled eggs the next morning.