TulaneLSU's Connecticut style lobster roll and New Orleans style blue crab roll

Friends,

In our household, the great debate after Uncle's annual and famed Lobster Steam is how to eat the leftovers: Connecticut or Maine style. Connecticut is home to Yale, which my third choice of college, so I have always been warm to it. It is a beautiful state, as is Maine, but butter is better to mayonnaise in every quantifiable way.

Louisiana has long known that serving shellfish with butter or oil and a bread-like starch is an excellent way to eat seafood. It took New Englanders until the 1930s to discovered, accidentally, that their extra lobster meat would make for a great sandwich. Perry's in Milford, CT , which is but a ten minute drive to Yale, is credited with the first lobster roll, which was heated lobster meat in a pan with butter stuffed into roll. Perry's closed decades ago, but somehow has received credit with the sandwich's invention.

The inferior Maine lobster roll, served cold and with mayonnaise and sometimes slaw, did not become popular until the 1950s. I have never enjoyed one of these, even when lobster is substituted with Dungeness or blue crab meat. Mayonnaise and seafood do not belong together. Ever. Both sandwiches are now popular throughout the country and I noticed the people in Seattle seem to love them. They run $30-$40 in Seattle.

My Connecticut style roll is easy to make. Below are ingredients and steps.

Ingredients:
-Four ounces of claw and knuckle lobster meat per sandwich
-Brioche hot dog buns (my favorite now are the Aldi precut Brioche hot dogs buns $3.50/six)
-Good butter (I used the grass fed cows butter from Ireland available now at Aldo for $3.50/ eight ounces)
-Fresh parsley
-Fresh chives
-Fresh tarragon (if you do not enjoy licorice flavor, omit)
-Lemon
-Black pepper







Steps:

1. Prep the above ingredients and chunk the lobster into bite sized cubes

2. Butter a pan and toast the buns on each side to level of toastiness you prefer. You can also butter the buns and toast in a toaster.



3. Heat the butter and lobster in pan along with the parsley and optional tarragon. You can also toss in some black pepper.



4. Stuff the lobster into the hot dog buns. Sprinkle with fresh lemon juice and chives if desired.








I have had twelve lobster rolls since yesterday and they still taste quite good. I am going to try the same recipe using lump crab meat to see which is better.

These sandwiches require a good dessert. This afternoon I worked on a Key lime meringue pie and it works well with the lobster roll.





I also highly recommend the German truffle assortment available at Aldi's. A box of 16 is just $4.50 and makes for a much better cheap dinner gift than a bottle of wine poison. The strawberry rhubarb is delectable.



Yours,
TulaneLSU

P.S.

It took several days, but I have finally secured some lump crabmeat. I looked for jumbo lump, but I was unsuccessful. I did not let Mother know that I was going to use lump crabmeat. She believes it is undeserving to be in our house, and if you show up with a dish that uses lump rather than jumbo lump, she will quietly slip money into your coat or pants pocket, as she will assume you are destitute.

While recently in Seattle, I noted several seafood shacks sold Connecticut style Dungeness crab rolls. I considered, "Why do we not in New Orleans have blue crab rolls?" The meat of both are quite delectable, and the blue crab is a bit cheaper than Dungeness. So here is the first ever TulaneLSU New Orleans style blue crab roll. The ingredients and construction are simple.

Ingredients:
-one pound of lump blue crab
-one tablespoon of plain bread crumbs
-several squirts of Great Value mustard with dill
-a few dashes of Old Bay seasoning
-a brioche hot dog bun from Aldi
-butter to your liking

Instructions:
-in toaster, lightly toast hot dog bun
-while toasting, heat butter on stove top
-add bread crumbs, crab, mustard, Old Bay
-stir until mixed and warm
-put crab in bun







I thought it looked boring, so I jazzed it up with some masago and salmon roe. I must say, it was delicious, probably better than the lobster roll. When the Poorboy Tours of New Orleans rolls, I will try to convince one of the poorboy restaurants to add this TulaneLSU's New Orleans style blue crab roll to the menu. It is really good!