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 April 02, 2025
20161208-sous-vide-lobster-63-maine-lobster-roll.jpg
Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt

Why It 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

Prep 5 mins
Cook 10 mins
Active 10 mins
Total 15 mins
Serves 4 lobster rolls
Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons (30 g) unsalted butter

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

  • 1 recipe Sous Vide Lobster, fully cooled

  • Up to 2 tablespoons (30 ml) mayonnaise

  • 1 rib celery, finely diced

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

  • Fresh juice of 1 whole 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)
393Calories
15gFat
39gCarbs
25gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories393
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 15g20%
Saturated Fat 5g27%
Cholesterol 80mg27%
Sodium 637mg28%
Total Carbohydrate 39g14%
Dietary Fiber 2g8%
Total Sugars 5g
Protein 25g
Vitamin C 20mg98%
Calcium 188mg14%
Iron 4mg22%
Potassium 348mg7%
*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.)

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