Before the railway expansion, before the days of surf-and-turf dinners, the lobster was a humble meal: “chewable fuel,” as David Foster Wallace once so eloquently described it. This was before trains started serving the crustacean as an exotic delicacy, before chefs realized that cooking the sea bug live resulted in the tastiest meat, before the days of the Maine Lobster Festival, where some 20,000 pounds of lobster are served to starving tourists.
Nowadays, the humble lobster is up there with caviar, but in coastal Maine, it’s still a casual delicacy, eaten with your hands, slathered in butter. And to celebrate its storied past—and the return of the Maine Lobster Festival this week—we’ve chosen a few of our favorite restaurants in the Pine Tree State to share their signature lobster recipes. Whether it's a jazzed-up steamed lobster or something just a little bit more highbrow (truffled lobster mac and cheese, anyone?), you might just find yourself looking at lobster in a whole new light.
Truffle Lobster Mac & Cheese
from 555 in Portland, ME
Sure, a lobster is basically a bug, but when you slather it in white truffle oil and three types of cheeses, that's easy to forget. Chef Steve Corry of 555 recommends cooking it sous-vide, with an immersion circulator like the NOMIKU.
Cheese Sauce Ingredients:
Makes 2 quarts
.75 quarts heavy cream
.75 quarts whole milk
2 oz blonde roux
8 oz Fontina cheese
4 oz cheddar cheese
2 oz grated Parmesan
2 oz cream cheese
1 tsp salt
1. Bring cream/milk to a simmer. Add salt, whisk in roux (cold), and return to a simmer. Cook 5 to 10 minutes then remove from heat.
2. In blender, slowly add cheese to thickened cream/milk mixture. Blitz until smooth. Be sure to taste and season.
Lobster and Garnishes:
16 oz shucked lobster meat (from about 4 lbs of live lobster)
4 oz butter with salt, lemon juice, and fresh chives
White truffle oil
Sliced black truffles
Pasta
1. Take 16 oz of Shucks-certified Maine lobster meat and place in a Cryovak bag (or another sealed plastic bag with air removed) with 4 oz of lemon-chive compound butter (salt, lemon juice, fresh chives, butter).
2. Cook sous-vide in an immersion circulator for 30 minutes at 140 F. (For more on how sous-vide works, watch our video!)
3. Cook your pasta until al dente (555 uses Torchio pasta for the shape), simultaneously warming up your cheese sauce.
4. Add pasta, sauce, and lobster in a bowl. Finish with white truffle oil and sliced black truffles. Garnish with lobster claw.
5. We recommend adding a final crunchy component for a garnish, such as flash-fried leek or onions straws.
The Classic Steamed Lobster
from WATERMAN’S BEACH LOBSTER in South Thomaston, ME
This shoreline institution is known for lobster rolls, clams, and pies (with recipes passed down from co-owner Sandy Manahan’s mother). But the best menu item? Fresh lobster, caught that day and served almost
Nowadays, the humble lobster is up there with caviar, but in coastal Maine, it’s still a casual delicacy, eaten with your hands, slathered in butter. And to celebrate its storied past—and the return of the Maine Lobster Festival this week—we’ve chosen a few of our favorite restaurants in the Pine Tree State to share their signature lobster recipes. Whether it's a jazzed-up steamed lobster or something just a little bit more highbrow (truffled lobster mac and cheese, anyone?), you might just find yourself looking at lobster in a whole new light.
Truffle Lobster Mac & Cheese
from 555 in Portland, ME
Sure, a lobster is basically a bug, but when you slather it in white truffle oil and three types of cheeses, that's easy to forget. Chef Steve Corry of 555 recommends cooking it sous-vide, with an immersion circulator like the NOMIKU.
Cheese Sauce Ingredients:
Makes 2 quarts
.75 quarts heavy cream
.75 quarts whole milk
2 oz blonde roux
8 oz Fontina cheese
4 oz cheddar cheese
2 oz grated Parmesan
2 oz cream cheese
1 tsp salt
1. Bring cream/milk to a simmer. Add salt, whisk in roux (cold), and return to a simmer. Cook 5 to 10 minutes then remove from heat.
2. In blender, slowly add cheese to thickened cream/milk mixture. Blitz until smooth. Be sure to taste and season.
Lobster and Garnishes:
16 oz shucked lobster meat (from about 4 lbs of live lobster)
4 oz butter with salt, lemon juice, and fresh chives
White truffle oil
Sliced black truffles
Pasta
1. Take 16 oz of Shucks-certified Maine lobster meat and place in a Cryovak bag (or another sealed plastic bag with air removed) with 4 oz of lemon-chive compound butter (salt, lemon juice, fresh chives, butter).
2. Cook sous-vide in an immersion circulator for 30 minutes at 140 F. (For more on how sous-vide works, watch our video!)
3. Cook your pasta until al dente (555 uses Torchio pasta for the shape), simultaneously warming up your cheese sauce.
4. Add pasta, sauce, and lobster in a bowl. Finish with white truffle oil and sliced black truffles. Garnish with lobster claw.
5. We recommend adding a final crunchy component for a garnish, such as flash-fried leek or onions straws.
The Classic Steamed Lobster
from WATERMAN’S BEACH LOBSTER in South Thomaston, ME
This shoreline institution is known for lobster rolls, clams, and pies (with recipes passed down from co-owner Sandy Manahan’s mother). But the best menu item? Fresh lobster, caught that day and served almost