The Best Lobster Salad

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In the land of seafood, lobster is king.

Actually, I don’t know if I can name a land where lobster isn’t king. Well, I guess in “The Little Mermaid,” Sebastian was merely an advisor and distinguished court composer. Though there’s a lot of debate regarding whether that character was a lobster or a crab.

Anyway. I digress.

You know you’re about to have a royal dining experience when you spot the classy crustacean on a menu.

And although you may be dying to don yourself in the white bibb and polish your finest set of seafood crackers until they shine, indulging in lobster doesn’t always mean you have to go the full Monty.

Lobster meat finds its way into many a comfort food that you can enjoy with no white tablecloths required. Need proof? Brief anecdote ahead.

Every so often, my dad calls on plump morsels of rich lobster meat to enhance his homemade mac and cheese.

He weaves the nuggets alongside funky taleggio, aged cheddar, and gooey fontina for a dinner so delicious that the only thing required alongside is a pair of sweatpants and a cozy spot in the living room.

Yes, my family makes gourmet food and eats it in front of the television on wicker trays, because we prefer comfort and silly rom-coms over stuffy dining room tables.

P.S. Whoever said seafood and cheese don’t belong together is not welcome on our sofa.

Instead of thrusting wiggly live crustaceans into a vat of boiling water, I always observed my dad using the tails. Not only do you have to literally face your dinner when you go with the first option, but it’s no secret some folks believe the tails contain the best meat of all.

Why go to all that trouble when the best meat’s in there, and they’re easier to prepare? It’s slightly firmer, so the chew gives it an ideal texture to marry with other ingredients.

If you’re brave enough to cook live lobsters (Mrs. Doubtfire sure was!), you can make the job a little easier by using a stockpot with a steamer basket instead of placing them directly into the hot tub. I like this one that’s available from the Bayou Classic Store via Amazon. Instructions for prepping whole lobsters are included below, so keep reading!

Looking for more options? A variety of convenient seafood pots offer an easier removal method for preparing our little shelled friends. Read our review of the best lobster, clam, and crab pots now.

Whatever approach you take to get crackin’, just make sure there’s plenty to go around. In this case, you won’t need too much.

The real beauty of this dish lies in the fact that it’s a salad. You’re able to fill in the blanks on the plate with fresh vegetables like cucumber instead of using more lobster meat, which can get pricey.

Think of this dish in contrast to classic lobster rolls, for example, where you want nothing but meat, butter, and more meat.

Here, the burst of juicy cherry tomatoes match the lobster’s sweetness, while diced cucumbers add refreshing crunch and avocados bring a silky mouthfeel. Light and fruity white wine vinegar, grassy dill, and green onions create an elegant dressing to harmonize all the flavors.

It’s important to not oversaturate the delicate ingredients, and rather, dress them lightly so their personality still comes through. Since lobster is king, after all, you want to pull those succulent hunks front and center.

Don’t forget to say, “Yes, your majesty,” to an ice-cold golden ale alongside, if that strikes your fancy. Or check out our roundup of supremely quaffable NA options if you prefer a tasty beverage sans alcohol.

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Cooking By the Numbers…

Step 1 – Gather and Prep Ingredients

Wash all of your produce and separate the lettuce leaves. The outer leaves of butter lettuce are usually large and work well when you’re using it as a “bed” for something, but you can also cut them into bite-size pieces. I like to plate some of the smaller leaves right in the center, under the salad ingredients.

Butter lettuce is very soft and tender, but if you’d prefer something heartier, you can substitute mixed greens or arugula. Use about 2 cups per person.

Chop the dill, dice the cucumber, and halve the cherry tomatoes.

The easiest way to dice a cylindrical ingredient like a cucumber that tends to roll around on the cutting board is to first slice a small strip off one side so it sits flat. From there, slice the cucumber lengthwise into slabs.

Stack the slabs and slice them lengthwise into strips, keeping the cucumber intact by holding the pieces together, and then run your knife through the strips crosswise to make quarter-inch cubes.

You can also cut the cucumber into half-moons if you prefer that shape.

Halve the cherry tomatoes. Grape tomatoes also work well, and a multi-colored mix adds a nice pop of color.

Halve and pit the avocado and cut into bite-size pieces. You can also slice the avocado into strips or chunks, but I prefer to cut it similarly to the cucumber for an elegant presentation.

Step 2 – Make the Dill Dressing

Feel free to substitute another light-colored acidic ingredient for the white wine vinegar, like lemon juice or champagne vinegar.

The dill and green onions add some texture to the dressing. If you’d prefer it to be smoother, you can use a food processor or blender to break the ingredients down a bit more. You can also add 1 to 2 teaspoons of mayo to help emulsify and thicken the dressing.

Prepare the dressing by adding the green onions, dill, mustard, salt, pepper, and vinegar to a small bowl, and stir to combine. Slowly pour in the oil, whisking continuously, until the dressing comes together. Taste some on a piece of lettuce and adjust the salt as needed. Set aside.

Step 3 – Cook the Lobster

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and prepare a large bowl of ice water nearby. It’s best to use a pot with a steamer attachment, which will help you easily cook and remove the lobster from the bubbling water.

Lobster tails – which are easy to work with and readily available at most seafood counters – are typically sold with about 5 per pound, which gives you enough meat for the 4 servings in this recipe. This may vary, of course, depending on size. You want to have about 4 ounces per person.

The rule of thumb for tails is about 1 minute of cook time per ounce, so make sure to reduce the cooking time as needed if you purchase smaller ones.

Add the lobster tails to the pot, cover, and reduce the heat to medium. Cook until the meat is firm and pinkish-white and the shells are bright red. For me, this took about 8 minutes.

Using tongs, transfer the tails to the ice bath. Remove after they’ve cooled to the touch, in about 5 minutes.

If you’d prefer, you can also start with live lobsters. Select ones that are about 1 1/2 pounds each. You’ll aim to end up with about 4 cups of cooked meat to use in this recipe.

Carefully drop the lobsters headfirst into a large pot of salted boiling water, cover the pot quickly, and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer until the lobsters are fully cooked and the shells are bright red, for about 10 minutes.

Using tongs, transfer them to the ice bath and remove after they’ve cooled to the touch, in about 10 minutes. Crack the shells of the claws, knuckles, and tails, and then remove the meat. You can also leave the claws and knuckles whole, and coarsely chop the larger pieces of meat from the body and tail as described below.

Step 4 – Remove the Meat from the Shell and Chop

Place each tail on its side and use the force of your palm to press down and crack the shell. It’s okay if it doesn’t crack perfectly down the center and comes off in pieces. You can still pry the shell open with your fingers and scoop out the meat.

For a cleaner cut, you can use kitchen shears to snip down the top of the shell, pull or cut it away on the sides, and then remove the meat.

Coarsely chop the meat into big chunks. You want the lobster to look nice and plump, but it should be about bite-size since you want to have some room on your fork for the other salad ingredients too.

Step 5 – Toss with the Dressing

Lay the lettuce leaves down on 4 individual salad plates to create a bed for the rest of the ingredients. Drizzle each bed of lettuce with about 1 tablespoon of the dressing.

In a large bowl, add about 1/3 of the cucumber and cherry tomatoes, and all of the lobster meat. You can toss all of the cucumber and cherry tomatoes in now if you prefer, but using less gives the seafood in the mix more room to shine.

Pour in all but about 1/4 cup of the remaining dressing and gently fold the ingredients together.

Step 6 – Assemble the Salad and Serve

Making sure the succulent chunks of seafood take center stage, plate the salad in even mounds in the center of each lettuce bed.

Scatter the remaining cucumbers, tomatoes, and avocado around the lobster salad in the middle. Drizzle each plate with the remaining dressing and serve.