Lobster Roll Sandwich Recipe - Delicious, but Can Be Expensive

Thanks to our daughter pointing out a nice and easy recipe, we had delicious lobster roll sandwiches last night. The recipe was from Real Simple magazine (http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/lobster-roll-00100000106298/index.html) Depending on the time of year, the lobster can be expensive.

The recipe serves 4. I scaled the amount of lobster and corn down to serve the three of us.

The recipe supposedly takes 20 minutes to prepare. It took me a bit longer, principally because the lobster did not come out of the shell as easily as I had hoped.

Ingredients

- 4 lobster tails (about 1&1/2 pounds total). The lobster tails I used were small and would not have produced that amount, so I calculated that this recipe calls for 6 ounces per person. It took six 3-oz tails.
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup fresh corn (from 1 ear) (The ear I bought yielded only 2/3 cup.)
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- Kosher salt & black pepper
- 4 potato hot dog buns (Publix didn't have the potato hot dog buns, so I used their tasty hoagie rolls.)

Directions

1. Fill a large saucepan with 1 inch of water and insert a steamer basket. Bring the water to a simmer and place the lobster tails in the steamer basket. Cover the pan and steam until the lobster is opaque throughout - about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the tails. Using kitchen shears, cut straight down the central membrane (the thin, paler pink portion on the inside of the tail) and pull apart to break the tail in half. Remove the meat from the shell immediately (to stop the cooking) and coarsely chop. Let cool.
2. Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the corn and cook, tossing, until tender - 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool. Reserve the skillet.
3. Into the bowl with the cooled corn, add the lobster, celery, mayonnaise, lemon juice, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Toss the ingredients to combine.
4. Brush the insides of the buns with the remaining two tablespoons of butter. Brown the buns, buttered side down, in the reserved skillet over medium heat until golden - 5 to 7 minutes.
5. Divide the lobster salad between the buns.