Lobster Recipes from Pearl Oyster Bar

Pearl Oyster Bar Lobster Roll
(Serves two)

Ingredients
2 pounds cooked lobster meat, chopped roughly into 1/2 and 3/4-inch pieces
1/2 celery rib, finely chopped
1/4 cup Hellman's mayonnaise
Squeeze of lemon
Pinch of kosher salt and freshy ground black pepper
2 teaspoons unsalted butter
2 Pepperidge Farm top-loading hot dog buns
Chopped chives for garnish

Preparation
To make the lobster salad, in a large bowl, combine the lobster meat, celery, mayonaiise, lemon and salt and pepper and mix thoroughly. Cover the mixture and store it in the refrigerator until ready to serve. It will last for up to two days.

To prepare the bun, in a small sauté pan over low to medium heat, melt the butter. Place the hot dog buns on their sides in the butter. Flip the buns a couple of times so that both sides soak up an equal amount of butter and brown evenly. Remove the buns from the pan and place them on a large plate.

Fill the toasted buns with lobster salad. Sprinkle with chives and serve with a salad, slaw or shoestring fries.

(Variation: For a shrimp roll, substitute 2 pounds of shrimp, cooked, peeled and sliced in half lengthwise.)

Split-Grilled Lobsters with Herb Butter

Ingredients
1 pound unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh chives
Kosher salt to taste
4 (1 1/2-pound) live lobsters
1 tablespoon olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 large lemons, cut into wedges

Preparation
1. Melt butter over medium-low heat; skim solids off top, and discard. Pour remaining butter into a bowl, leaving any solids in pan; discard solids. Stir in tarragon, parsley, and chives; season with kosher salt. Set aside.
2. Carefully position a knife on top of each lobster's head between the eyes, and draw it sharply through the head to kill it instantly. Place lobsters, belly up, on a cutting board, and cut each lobster in half. (Lobsters may also be parboiled and then split before grilling.)
3. Preheat grill to medium-high heat (350° to 400°). Drizzle lobster halves with olive oil, and season with kosher salt and pepper. Grill lobster halves, shell sides down, basting with 1/4 cup herb butter several times, 7 minutes or until done.

From Lobster Rolls & Blueberry Pie: Three Generations of Recipes and Stories from Summers on the Coast of Maine by Rebecca Charles with Deborah Di Clementi