This Classic Lobster Roll Recipes Takes You Straight to Maine (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between Maine style and Connecticut style lobster roll? ›

What's the difference between a Maine lobster roll and a Connecticut lobster roll? A Maine lobster roll is served with the lobster meat chilled and dressed in mayo with some crunchy greens like chives, celery, and/or scallions. A Connecticut lobster roll is served warm, dunked in butter, on a toasted bun.

A lobster roll is a dish native to New England and Atlantic Canada. It is made of lobster meat served on a grilled hot dog–style bun. The filling may also contain butter, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper, with variants made in some parts of New England replacing the butter with mayonnaise.

Taste: Aside from the obvious temperature difference, the cold Maine lobster roll is brinier tasting. The warm lobster meat in a Connecticut lobster roll is more tender and, thanks to the copious amounts of butter, buttery.

Connecticut-style serves hot lobster on a hot dog bun covered with melted butter. When you eat a whole Maine lobster in a restaurant, you expect it to be warm and served with melted butter. Although a lot of people like cold lobster rolls with mayonnaise, I will never understand why.

Instead of the chilled lobster touted by the Maine roll, the Connecticut-style lobster roll is served warm. It's packed with warm, thick cuts of meat from the tail and claw, tossed with just the right amount of indulgent butter and—you guessed it—tucked inside that delicious split top bun.

Lobster rolls in the U.S. are most commonly associated with the state of Maine, so the cold, tossed-in-mayo iterations are easiest to come by.

Lobster rolls are traditionally served on a top-split, melted butter grilled roll called a New England hot dog bun. Finding authentic rolls outside New England can be difficult. The typical New England hot dog roll has straight-up, white sides that absorb the most butter and stay soft inside when grilled in a pan.

According to Lobster Anywhere, the Manhattan roll is practically identical to the Maine-styled roll. It is served cold with mayo and occasionally celery.

Whether you choose to serve lobster rolls hot or cold depends on whether you prefer butter or mayo. A traditional Maine-style lobster roll is mayonnaise-dressed and served cold. As New Englanders know, a cold, creamy lobster roll can hit the spot on a summer day.

Connecticut lobster roll, also called a warm lobster roll, is served warm with tender, juicy lobster meat tossed with melted butter and piled high on a toasted hot dog bun! It's a simpler lobster roll compared to the Maine lobster roll but is just as delicious!

What is Connecticut style lobster roll? ›

Unlike the classic New England lobster roll (made up of cold lobster salad in a bun), the CT version is comprised of a top-split hot-dog bun stuffed with warm lobster tossed with a little melted butter.

The two most common styles of lobster roll are known as Maine and Connecticut, based on where they originated and where each style is most popular. You may also come across a Manhattan-style lobster roll, which is less common but worth noting.

Lobster gets a bad rap for being high in cholesterol. And compared with some other foods, it is. A 3½-ounce serving of lean top sirloin steak, for example, has 64 mg of cholesterol, and the same amount of lobster has 145 mg. But a serving of lobster actually contains less cholesterol than an egg, which has 187 mg.

Lobster is a popular seafood choice that is often seen as a luxurious item, reserved for special occasions. However, it can actually be quite versatile and can be prepared in many different ways. Lobster is a healthy option, as it is high in protein and lower in fat.

This dressing highlights the sweetness of the lobster meat. And because the salad is served warm in the bun, the lobster in a Connecticut-style roll is a bit softer and more tender than a chilled Maine-style roll.

Unlike the classic New England lobster roll (made up of cold lobster salad in a bun), the CT version is comprised of a top-split hot-dog bun stuffed with warm lobster tossed with a little melted butter.

There are two primary types of lobster rolls: the Maine-style and the Connecticut-style. The Maine-style is served at all of our shack locations. While the final product may look similar, these two variations render drastically different temperatures, tastes, and textures.

The most popular debate is between the “Maine” Lobster Roll, prepared cold with mayonnaise, and the “Connecticut” Lobster Roll, made warm with butter. No matter which side of the debate you land on, we'll break down a simple and delicious recipe for both.