Lobster Salad
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This Lobster Salad recipe is a copycat of the Duryea’s lobster cobb salad in Montauk and it tastes just as good as theirs, if not better! It’s a combination of fresh lobster meat, salty bacon, fresh tomatoes, crispy lettuce, and a light and creamy dressing.
This Lobster Salad is fantastic all on its own, but could also be paired with Air Fryer Filet Mignon for an elegant surf-and-turf meal, or a batch of crispy Sweet Potato Fries!
Why You Will Love This Lobster Salad Recipe
- It actually leaves you full. Most salads leave me wanting more, but this one is full of flavor, crunchy texture, and protein to keep you satisfied!
- The most impressive salad you’ll ever serve. If you want compliments on a dish for the rest of your life, make this salad. It’s irresistible and the dressing is so addicting.
- Easy to make. While there are a lot of steps, if you break them down they’re things you probably do on a regular basis (cook bacon, hard boil eggs, shell a lobster…you know, the basics).
Duryea’s Lobster Cobb Salad Recipe
Duryea’s is famous for their iconic $97 lobster cobb salad. While that might sound like a steep price for a salad, it serves 4, is absolutely DELICIOUS, and has so much lobster meat in it, that it’s worth every penny.
I knew I wanted to order the salad but I also wanted to try their lobster roll so our bartender gave us the genius idea of ordering two toasted buns with the salad. We stuffed some of the salad into the buns and It was just like eating a lobster roll!
There’s a lot of steps to this salad but the bulk of it can be easily prepped ahead of time. When I serve this salad for guests, I’ll make the dressing, bacon, and eggs the day before. I’ll also shred the cheese ahead of time and store it in a ziploc bag in the fridge.
Shredding the cheese off the block tastes so much fresher than the pre-shredded cheese and while it’s an extra step, it’s worth it in a salad like this one.
Ingredients You’ll Need
For the Salad
- Lobster meat: Use nice high quality lobster as it’s the star of this salad!
- Bacon: Adds some extra savory flavor and crunch.
- Butter
- Lettuce: I like to use gem lettuce for this salad.
- Eggs
- Avocado
- Cherry tomatoes
- Scallions
- White cheddar cheese
- Herbs: Fresh tarragon and chives add pops of vibrant green and herbal flavor.
Tarragon Dressing
- Mayonnaise and buttermilk: Using both of these ingredients results in a deliciously creamy dressing with the perfect consistency.
- Champagne vinegar: Helps balance the creamy dairy ingredients with some sweet acidity.
- Herbs: More tarragon and chives to tie into the salad!
- Aromatics: Combine garlic and shallots for a nice depth of savory flavor.
- Dijon mustard
Ingredient Substitutions
- Greek yogurt: Make the dressing a bit lighter by swapping the mayo and buttermilk for Greek yogurt. Add a tablespoon or two of water to thin out the dressing if necessary.
- Greens: Instead of gem lettuce, butter lettuce or any combination of mixed greens you like also work well!
- Cheese: I like white cheddar cheese for a nice light color, but you could use another kind of creamy cheese like brie or camembert which pair well with lobster.
- Vinegar: If you can’t find champagne vinegar, white wine vinegar will work just fine.
- Bacon: Much like the Greek yogurt, you can make a slightly healthier substitute by using turkey bacon instead of traditional bacon.
How to Make Lobster Salad
Step 1: Make dressing. Combine dressing ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth and combined.
Step 2: Cook lobster. Boil a pot of water and cook all of your lobster until the shells are bright red and the meat is white and opaque.
Step 3: Cook bacon and eggs. Boil the eggs in the same pot you used for the lobster and bake or fry the bacon until it’s crispy.
Step 4: Assemble salad. Toss the lettuce with the dressing and add the rest of the ingredients, then serve and enjoy!
How to Cook a Lobster
For convenience, I used frozen claw meat that I found pretty easily in the freezer section of my grocery store. I was worried it wouldn’t be enough, so I added 2 lobster tails as well! Another option is to buy a 2 pound lobster (it may seem like a lot but some of that weight is the shell) OR buy a pound of tail, or a mix of tail and claw. Here’s how to cook lobster so it’s perfectly tender for your salad:
- Lobster Tails: For an easy option, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the tails in the boiling water until the meat is opaque and the shells are nice and red. You could also butterfly the tails by cutting the shells down the middle with some kitchen shears, then bake them at 425º covered in butter and your choice of herbs.
- Whole Lobster: If you’re cooking an entire lobster, boiling is typically the best option. If you’re cooking a live lobster, place it in the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes first to sedate it and make the process easier. Then submerge the entire lobster in the boiling water and cook for 8 to 10 minutes for every 500g of lobster (a 2-pound lobster will take anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes). Once the shell is red and the tail has tightened against the rest of the body.
No matter how you cook it, you’ll want to check for an internal temperature of 135 to 140º to ensure the lobster is fully cooked through.
Recipe Tips
- Prep ahead of time: Many of the ingredients can be prepared beforehand. Boil the eggs, cook the bacon, slice the tomatoes, and prepare the dressing ahead of time to cut down on prep time. This salad has a lot to it, but it’s well worth the effort!
- More flavor: Add extra herbs like dill or parsley to the salad and/or dressing for even more refreshing herbal flavor! Another option is to squeeze some fresh lemon juice over top of the finished salad.
- Substitute the protein: Instead of lobster, you could use imitation crab, cooked shrimp, or poor man’s lobster for a more affordable option.
What to Serve with Lobster Salad
A fantastic pairing option for this salad is a nice buttered roll, and that way you can also make yourself a lobster roll to enjoy alongside the salad. Other great options are to serve alongside this super easy Air Fryer Corn on the Cob or a Baked Corn Casserole, or a healthy veggie like Air Fryer Broccoli or Asparagus Salad.
Frequently Asked Questions
I recommend enjoying this salad right after you’ve put it together for the freshest flavor and best quality. You can make it a few hours ahead of time and keep it in the fridge until you want to serve it, but I don’t recommend storing it for longer than a few hours. It may be fine overnight, but check for quality before enjoying leftovers.
Made from monkfish, poor man’s lobster is a substitute to lobster that’s much more budget-friendly. It has a similar sweet and fishy taste with a firm but tender texture, which makes it a great alternative to lobster, which can be somewhat expensive.
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Lobster Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Lobster Salad
- 1 lb lobster meat, tail & claw
- 6 strips of bacon, cooked
- 1 tbsp melted butter
- 2-3 heads of gem lettuce, roughly chopped or torn
- pinch of kosher salt
- 4 eggs
- 2 avocados, diced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions
- 1/4 cup sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded off the block
- fresh tarragon and finely chopped chives for garnish
Tarragon Dressing
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 tbsp champagne vinegar
- 2 tbsp fresh tarragon
- 2 tbsp fresh chives
- 2 small garlic cloves
- 1/2 of a large shallot, chopped
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with foil. Arrange the bacon on the baking sheet in a single layer and cook for 15-20 minutes or until done to your liking. When finished, transfer the cooked bacon to a paper towel lined plate to cool before chopping.
- While the bacon is cooking, prepare the dressing. Add the mayonnaise, buttermilk, champagne vinegar, tarragon, chives, garlic, shallot, dijon mustard, and salt to the bowl of a food processor or blender. Mix on high until fully blended, taste and adjust as necessary (I usually end up adding more herbs because I love them!). Then set aside for later.
- Next, fill a medium-sized saucepan with salted water and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Use a kitchen shears to cut the top of the shells (and the full length of the underside of the tail) to remove the lobster meat. Gently place the shelled lobster meat into the water, reduce it to a simmer, and cook the lobster tail for about 1 minute per ounce (usually about 6-8 minutes for an average tail).Once the meat is opaque and tender, remove the tail from the water and allow it to cool before cutting into bite-sized pieces (leave the claws in tact). Place the lobster meat in a small mixing bowl and toss with 1 tbsp of melted butter, then toss with 2-3 tbsp of the dressing to make a lightly coated lobster salad.
- Use the same pot of water you used to cook the lobster to cook the eggs. Bring the water back up to a rolling boil and carefully drop in the eggs. Cook for 10-11 minutes, then run them under cold water, peel, and finely chop them.
- Toss the lettuce in a few tablespoons of the dressing and a pinch of flaky salt. Transfer it to a large serving bowl and mix in the bacon, eggs, avocado, tomatoes, scallions, cheddar cheese, and half the lobster salad. Top the salad with the remaining lobster salad and some fresh tarragon and chives. Serve with the remaining dressing on the side and garnish with more fresh tarragon and chives.
Notes
- You can often find pre-cooked, shelled lobster meat in the frozen section of your local grocery store. Although fresh tastes best, this makes preparing the salad much easier!
- You can make this dressing a little lighter by substituting the buttermilk and mayonnaise for Greek yogurt. If you do this, add about 1-2 tbsp of lemon juice to the dressing and thin it out with water 1 tbsp at a time until it’s reached your desired consistency.
- The dressing should be a pale green color, if it’s not it probably needs more herbs!
- For presentation, I like to save about 1/4 of each ingredient to place on top of the salad.
- I like to toast some brioche hotdog buns in a pan with a little bit of butter and then fill them with the salad. It’s almost like eating a lobster roll!
