Having recently spent a weekend in Maine, I ate my weight in lobster.
Like, I seriously love the stuff (which is really strange because I somehow hated it as a kid. But my how things change). It only felt right after making my New England Clam Chowder to follow it up with the grand finale of all New England summer meals. The thing that Maine is KNOWN for. Oh, as if I need to tease this any further (plus, its not like you didn’t already see the title of the recipe, so)……
It’s here! The MAINE Event! LOBSTAH ROLLS!YES! You CAN make lobster in the Instant Pot!!! EASILY.
And not only is making lobster in the IP SO much better than the hot stove, but it doesn’t smell up your pot OR heat up your kitchen. AND it comes out SUPER tender and perfect! So cuff and roll up those jeans, put on some good music and gather with some great company – because you’re all in for a treat!
Here’s How I Made it!:
If you know me, you know I’m obsessed with Costco. So since cooking a live lobster in the Instant Pot isn’t the most humane way due to the water first having to come to a boil, it only made sense to head to that big red & white warehouse of wonder…
…and pick up a few beautiful tails!
So I simply added some chicken broth seasoned with Old Bay to my IP, and laid the tails (shell side down) on the trivet, secured the lid…
…steamed them for 4 minutes…
….and then quickly chilled them in an ice bath to stop from cooking (we don’t want our lobster meat to be overcooked!)
Then I using some kitchen shears (easiest way to get that meat out)…
…took that BEAUTIFUL tail meat out of the shell…
…and cut it into nice sized chunks!
Next, I made the mayo mixture with mayo (duh), melted butter, scallions, lemon, celery salt and some old bay and tossed it with the lobster meat and chilled in the fridge for 15 minutes….
…prepared my buns by buttering them up and grilling for a moment in a frying pan.
And that’s all folks! BEAUTIFUL and PERFECT lobster rolls in no time at all!
Instant Pot Lobster Rolls
As messy as they can be, I don't mess around when it comes to Lobster Rolls. And this recipe is the best of the best and enough for you to make 4 of them for about the price of 1 from a restaurant or food truck.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fresh cold water lobster tails – raw, thawed and in shell (I got mine at Costco as they are GREAT and are usually a pound per tail. Also, take note that this is the weight of the lobster meat INCLUDING the shell before cooking so the cooked and removed meat will be about half that)
- 1 1/2 cups of Chicken Broth (1 heaping tsp of Chicken Better Than Bouillon + 1 cup of water)
- 2-3 scallions, chopped
- 1/2 cup of mayonnaise
- 4 tbsp (1/2 stick) of unsalted butter, halved and melted
- 1 lemon, halved
- 1/4 tsp of celery salt
- 1 tsp of Old Bay seasoning (plus a few shakes for the broth)
- Hot Dog buns (preferably top sliced ones – Pepperidge Farm makes them)
Instructions
- Pour the chicken broth into the Instant Pot with a few sprinkles of Old Bay seasoning. Add the trivet and lay each lobster tail shell side down, meat side up on the trivet. Squeeze the first half of the lemon over the lobster
- Secure the lid and hit “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” High Pressure for 4 minutes (go only 3 minutes if using less than 2 pounds of lobster. Go 5 minutes if doing 3-4 pounds).
- While cooking, prepare an ice bath and chop the scallions
- Quick release and immediately transfer the lobsters to the ice bath to lay in for a minute. This will make sure the lobsters don’t still continue cooking from the heat as we don’t want them to become overcooked and rubbery!
- Using kitchen shears with the meat side of the tail up, cut the hard vertebrae/underbelly of the tail down the center. Remove the meat and chop it up into large chunks
- To a mixing bowl, add the lobster, scallions, mayo, half of the melted butter, celery salt, Old Bay and the other lemon half’s juice. Mix well and put in the fridge for at least 15 minutes to cool and set a little (even better if it’s in the fridge a couple of hours)
- Just as you’re ready to take the lobster back out of the fridge, prepare the buns by using the remaining melted butter and brushing it onto the insides of the rolls. Heat a frying pan on the stove and lay the buns butter side down and press with a spatula for about 2 minutes until lightly browned
- Fill each roll with desired lobster meat and enjoy with some potato chips!
Jeffrey's Tips
NOTE: Do NOT put a live lobster in an Instant Pot. They will die a slow death since the water takes a few moments to boil up to come to pressure as opposed to being tossed into already boiling water on the stove where they go to Lobster Heaven in seconds. If you REALLY want to have claw meat, you can either boil them on the stove OR do the dirty deed before you throw it in the Instant Pot with this method (Spoiler Alert!: It’s not pleasant to watch and it takes a lot of work with body parts still moving after separation…soooooo…I suggest you just use fresh tails)
Try adding 1/8 teaspoon of Lobster Better Than Bouillon to the butter mixture! Just leave out the celery salt.
Want celery? Add about 1/4 cup of it diced (I just prefer the crunchy scallions instead!)
Not into lobster rolls but just want to eat the lobster tails dipped in melted butter? GO FOR IT! You’re done after step 5 – just leave the tail in tact once you remove it from the shell!
Or use it for any other number of ways – also great for a lobster bisque or a lobster mac & cheese!
Laurice Robinet
How long do you cook a smaller amount of lobster tail? I have two 4 oz frozen.