Lobster roll ingredients
 

Most of us, I imagine, don't bother with the leg meat that has to be sucked out of a fresh steamed lobster. I am an exception though, given the situation that most of my fellow diners don't bother to work at getting this part of the meat, I am happily rewarded with extra meat when they give up.

It appears that various restaurants that serve lobster rolls have different percentages of "leg meat". I would like to know, "How the hell do they get that leg meat out" to serve as the most un-enjoyable part of a lobster roll? I hope and am fairly convinced that they don't "suck it" out. So... how do they do it?

Personally, I would prefer less leg meat and more claw meat in my lobster roll. Is there a FDA, or "Gourmets of America" (totally made up organization) percentage of leg meat that can be included, and still call it a lobster roll?:laugh:

They purchase lobster frozen and mix it with other simple ingredieants. You can purchase just claw meat, claw and knuckle, leg and knuckle etc etc. Mostly all frozen meat. Hence the variation in size and price of the roll. Some places sell a 4 oz roll for $14.00 with side and others sell a 4oz roll with a side for $10.00. I don't know the actually "laws" concerning the percent of lobster but as long as it is lobster meat it is a lobster roll right? I do know that lobster is very expensive as is most seafood.

I didn't know that about places buying packaged lobster. Some smaller places like the Dairy bar in Center Harbor would buy packaged, but I guess I just assumed that most restaurants cooked their own lobsters and picked the meat out.

i would be surprised if any restaurants cook lobsters for lobster rolls. I also suspect that some suppliers have more leg meat than others ( likely less expensive)as there is a difference between restaurants in the amount of leg meat

cook their own
 

Pineedles
I'd be surprised if any small area restaurant cooked their own lobsters, and then peeled them, and made their lobster rolls. Very surprised, although I certainly may be wrong. I would think they just purchase the meat by the pound...way too labor intensive. Imagine the high school summer worker thinking "eh, a little shell never hurt anyone...". Major quality control issue.

how to get the leg meat out of a lobster
 

Here's a neat little trick we learned from watching "Good Eats" with Alton Brown on the Food Network for removing the leg meat from a cooked lobster:

Twist the legs off from the body. Using a pair of kitchen shears, cut off the "toe" just above the first joint. Then take a rolling pin and slowly roll it over the leg, starting at the narrow end. The meat will pop out of the wide end and you can pull it right out. You would think this technique would "squash" the leg meat, but it doesn't. Give it a try!

New Hampshire doesn't have a law regarding labeling of lobster rolls as Rhode Island does.That's why so many places used to use a lobster/langastino mix.No one that I know of picks their own meat because of the cost,but most use a mix of claw,knuckle and leg meat for a 100% roll.Do the math yourself at $18lb....a quarter pound of meat is $4.50,add a roll for .25 fries for .35,lettuce and mayo .10 and around .40 worth of paper goods and you have a grand total of $5.60. In order to survive.a restaurant has to run not much more than a 35% food cost,so a lobster roll should cost $16 or so.If you can find one for 10 or 12 bucks,that is a huge bargain and most likely found at a seasonal place without all the year round overhead.

Samiam, Your staement about no laws in NH sent me looking on Google. I found a surprising story below. The article wsa discussing the NTR (Normal trade relations with China. Just like high oil prices are partially caused by the "new" demand in China, guess we can blame them for the high cost of lobster rolls here in NE.:laugh:

"You may not know it but China was our largest foreign market for
frozen lobster in 1998," Deputy U.S. Trade
Representative (USTR) Richard Fisher said to the New England Council March
8, 2000 "With the China deal, we will do even better."

Great tip Beaner. I'll give it a try.

And lastly sa meredith. I'm glad I haven't had to contend with shells in my rolls, but I wonder if the best lobster roll you can have is the one you make yourself from scratch. It could be the least expensive too. Go Sox, although I still want the Division's top spot, the Twins ar only 1 1/2 games in back of us for the wild card.

Wow,good investigating,Pineedles....I always thought Japan was the biggest lobster customer.You are right that the best lobster roll is one you make yourself from scratch....but it is not the cheapest.This time of year new shell lobsters are mostly available.A one pounder only yields about 3 oz of meat.A 1lb hard shell yields about 4 oz. Average price this summer is around $7 per pound which equals $28 lb for the meat,compared to $18 for frozen.

Hardshell vs. softshell
 

I didn't know that a hardshell would yield more. I would have thought the opposite. We learn everyday something new. We have sales down here in CT at $5.99 per lb., but that is unusual. You may still be right though about Japan, as the report is many years old.

Its funny, I remember my parents let me only have legs when I was around 8 years old when they had dinner parties where they served lobster. That was a few years ago, but I also remember my mother telling me that when she was a child, her father used to bring home lobster for the "cheap" dinner each week. Less expensive than chicken! I just confirmed this story with my aunt last week while taking her back from the lake to her assisted living center in Bedford, NH.:laugh: What a scream lobster cheaper than chicken.

Market Basket has them on sale for $5.99 but it's a long haul for me as the nearest is Rochester.
When I started lobstering as a kid in 1956 or so we sold them all to one market in Gloucester for $.49/lb When I gave up my commercial license in the 1980's I was getting around $2.50/lb and they were getting scarce inshore.

To keep with the title 'Ingredients' Lobster and mayo on a standard toasted NE hotdog roll. NO celery or other junk in there.

There was a time when lobster was thought of as the food of the poor. In colonial days, it was used for fertilizer, it was so plentiful.

Hey, who wants to be regarded as being poor?!

Marketing strategy changed its status and people regard it as the rich folks food.

Some reading for a stormy day...

http://www.lobsters.org/tlcbio/biology.html

We had a little family party yesterday- I picked up a dozen 1 3/4 pounders from Captain Bart and had a great meal( he has the best seafood around IMHO)! Of course today with the leftovers I am mixing up some lobster salad- all claws, knuckles and a tail thrown in for good measure- no leg meat, guess I am lazy.

Buttered hot dog roll, a smidge of mayo and a bunch of lobby- those are the only ingredients in a great lobstah roll!

I just ate lunch...and you made me hungry again!!

Sorry Chip!! It was real good too.....:):)

History of Lobster
 

Seeker's post reminded me of an old fella from Maine who once told me that Maine fisherman in the early 1900's used to give the lobsters that got caught in their nets to the "poor people". (I didn't believe him :rolleye1:)

So having been reminded.. I decided to check it out. It seems the old fella was right.

Interesting site.

http://www.gma.org/lobsters/allabout...erhistory.html

oh.. and to stay on thread.. I agree no celery or other stuff except maybe a dash of Paparika. ;)

You're the best SteveA
 

Wow! I thought I knew how to research a subject ,but that article was way beyond what I have learned. Thank you, thank you! I will be passing this page to my aunts, (3 still surviving) and this article will bring back many happy memories.:D

six of us stopped at Sandy Point last night and all had the king stuffed lobster( stuffed with lobster) . all enjoyed the food and always a real treat to eat there

Sandy point
 

YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM My Fav.


:D

Love Sandy Point
 

Well, this will really let it out that I am older than dirt, but--what the heck--it is what it is. I worked at a seafood restaurant down at York Beach, ME, when I was in college. A couple years ago I got to go to Sandy Point for dinner. Loved it from the minute I walked in, because the whole ambience reminded me so much of a fifties seafood restaurant. The room, the smells, everything...and the food was wonderful. I had baked stuffed lobster, also; and I hadn't had that in years. Just to try to stay on thread, I agree that a lobster roll has just lobster and mayo....not that I have had one lately!

Just came across an interesting lobster salad recipe on Channel 7's website. Here is the link http://www1.whdh.com/features/articles/dish/BO84975
I would copy and paste the recipe, but don't want to get in trouble with copyrighted material...

Interesting.....
 

but you don't mess with perfection. Same as adding scallions, mizuma to Maryland crabcakes. It might taste good, but it ain't the same.

pineapple and watermelon??
 

And don't get me started on radishes. :eek: Yuck. That makes me cry thinking about it. I must be a purist. I'll take my weekly (or twice weekly. Or more.:D ) roll from Red Hill Dari. Perfection. And no freaking pineapple.

I didn't say it was a good recipe! :laugh:
Personally I add a small amount of celery, and that's about it.

Why Ruin the Lobster?
 

That was an interesting recipe, but see title, lol. When I worked in a place where we made lobster rolls, I used to shudder when I had to make one with heavy mustard, onions, and tomatoes -- as one customer ordered................ yech! lol

(PS - I know all you did was post the link -- but WHAT was that person thinking?!?!?!?

I agree...just a case of an overzealous chef trying to push the envelope...lol

What's in a Lobster Roll?
 

I am posting saMeredith's post from the WP thread, hopefully with his permission because he asks a very important question. What should be the makeup of a lobster roll and what should it cost?

The lobster roll tasted OK, good, but still just somehow does not look right with all that stringy leg meat. Yes, there was tail and claw pieces, but the leg meat was the primary make up of the roll. It tasted fine, just like lobster. Maybe I just don't remember correctly, did they always have all that leg meat? I don't think so, but am not sure.
If I had to guess, maybe with the costs of everything skyrocketing, this mix in of leg meat, or the meat being purchased by them is what is needed to keep the price reasonable. Maybe a roll of just chunks of tail and claw meat is no longer possible without charging 20/22 dollars.

So should LR Purveyors post their leg vs. claw/tail percentage? Would YOU like to read what this percentage is, before paying $12, $15, or $20 for a roll? Mickey Dees post the nutritional value of their cheeseburgers, so why not ask for a percentage of what the Lobster Roll is made up of? Whether you advertise 10% or 50% of the makeup as leg meat, as long as you price it correctly the customers will come. See sa's comments "It tasted fine " Posting the ingredients lets the consumer choose.

That's a fair question,Pineneedles,and one that deserves an answer.Used to be that a lot of restaurants used langostino's as a filler because it was less costly and and actually looks and tastes good.Lately,everyone wants to advertise 100% lobster rolls.....and that's where the fun starts. Fresh lobster meat claw/knuckle/tail is over $30 lb ,frozen c/k is around $18 and is what most people use,along with a little leg meat at $12 or so.Leg meat is sweet and tasty but doesn't look very good,so a little is great but a lot isn't,but saves a lot of money.But,wait....there is one more culinary trick.....leg and body meat at $6 lb....YUM...This is machine harvested and mostly tiny fragments of body meat,cartilage and who knows what else.....pretty nasty stuff but easily mixed with claw and knuckle and I don't think many places use it.

That's a fair question,Pineneedles,and one that deserves an answer.Used to be that a lot of restaurants used langostino's as a filler because it was less costly and and actually looks and tastes good.Lately,everyone wants to advertise 100% lobster rolls.....and that's where the fun starts. Fresh lobster meat claw/knuckle/tail is over $30 lb ,frozen c/k is around $18 and is what most people use,along with a little leg meat at $12 or so.Leg meat is sweet and tasty but doesn't look very good,so a little is great but a lot isn't,but saves a lot of money.But,wait....there is one more culinary trick.....leg and body meat at $6 lb....YUM...This is machine harvested and mostly tiny fragments of body meat,cartilage and who knows what else.....pretty nasty stuff but easily mixed with claw and knuckle and I don't think many places use it.
I agree with you Sam. All these restaurants that advertise 100% lobster meat are probably serving that. However, some make it a mixture including the filler of leg meat that lets them serve a hefty sized roll that is making customers say it is big in comparison to so and so. I agree that lobster meat is very expensive for the primo ie claw,knuckle,tail. I guess in the long run people want a gapping, full roll of lobster. As long as it taste like lobster, they will eat it and pay the price. Many consumers never actually purchase the 'filet' of lobster by the lb.

Samiam you know a lot about lobster rolls maybe next year you can do a best in the lakes region

Good idea ,Phoenix....how about instead of a "chowderfest" in Meredith every year,we could have a lobsteroll fest.That should put the question to rest.

I had a similar thought :) but the businesses at the Chowdah Fest donate the Chowdah to the cause as it's all for charity. You'd be hard pressed to find any business wiilling to donate enough Lobster rolls it would take to feed the masses that show up. As it is I'm sure the Chowdah cost is significant enough! I do realize you're kidding, but it would be an iteresting concept.

You are right about that EricP....I only suggested that with tongue in cheek. I did the Chowderfest one year and as I remember,it cost well over $1,000 in materials,payroll etc.Lobster rolls would be way more than the cost of chowder.