Recipe: Classic Maine Lobster Roll

BOSTON (CBS) - Lobster roll is one of our favorite summertime eats, and celebrity chef Jasper White's Summer Shack has one of the best rolls in the city. This summer, why not try to make your own Classic Maine lobster roll at home? It's the perfect dish to make (and serve), when it's just too hot to cook or fuss, and it's a guaranteed hit with visitors.

This recipe is from Jasper White's Summer Shack Cookbook: The Complete Guide to Shore Food (W.W. Norton), which collects a full range of New England shore specialties. It's chock-full of recipes (from soups and seafood to sauces and desserts) White has developed over the years, and helpful tips on choosing and preparing seafood, everything you need for cooking this summer.

Classic Maine Lobster Roll

4 New England-style hot dog buns
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
4 Boston or Bibb lettuce leaves, washed and dried
Lobster salad (see next recipe)
4 dill pickle spears
Potato chips

Working Ahead
You can mix the lobster salad up to 4 hours ahead. Once the lobster salad is ready, this becomes
a very easy and fast dish.

1. Heat a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Spread the sides of the hot dog buns with the butter, using ½ tablespoon on each side. Place the buttered buns in the hot pan and toast, without moving, until golden brown on one side, about a minute. Turn and cook the other side, about 1 minute more. Remove form heat.
2. Open the buns and place in paper bun holder or on small plates. Place a lettuce leave to the side of each bun. Divide the lobster salad evenly among them. Serve with the pickles and potato chips on the side.

Lobster Salad
1 pound cooked lobster meat or 5 pounds live lobsters
1 small to medium cucumber (4 to 5 ounces), peeled, seeded and cut into ¼-inch dice
½ cup Hellman's mayonnaise
2 or 3 small scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
Freshly ground black pepper
Kosher or sea salt if needed

1. If you are using live lobsters, steam them until fully cooked and allow to cool to room temperature. Check and remove the meat from claws, knuckles and tails. Remove any cartilage from the claws and the intestine from tails.
2. Cut the lobster meat into ½ to ¾ inch dice. If using whole lobsters, you can pick all the meat from the carcasses for soup or stock.
3. Place the diced cucumber in a colander and let stand for at least 5 minutes to drain the excess liquid.
4. Combine the lobster, cucumber, mayonnaise, and scallions in a bowl. Season with a bit of pepper if needed; it is unlikely that salt will be needed. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Recipe excerpted from The Summer Shack Cookbook: The Complete Guide to Shore Food by Jasper White with permission from W.W. Norton. The Summer Shack Cookbook is available in bookstores and online.