Don't Skip This Step When Making Lobster Rolls

Fresh lobster rolls certainly hit the spot when you're dining al fresco on a warm day, but you can also make homemade ones any time of the year to satisfy your craving. As you might know, fresh lobster meat comes with quite the price tag, so you want to get it right without trial and error. There's a lot to know about how to buy and cook whole lobsters, but celebrity chef at this year's U.S. Open, Josh Capon, has some advice you should consider.

"Be sure to season your water before you cook your lobsters with salt," Capon explains. "Same as salting your pasta water. You want to create the flavor of the sea, which will help season the lobster meat while it's cooking from the inside out." You should be relatively generous with the salt to bring out the flavor of the lobster. For every quart of water, use a tablespoon of salt. And for reference, you'll need around three quarts of water for every 1½ pounds of lobster.

You'll add the salt to the pot of water before you bring it to a roaring boil. If you have access to clean seawater, you can use that and skip the extra salt in the pot. Otherwise, use additional ingredients and aromatics to add more flavor, like herbs, lemons, garlic, onion, celery, or even peppers for some heat. For another chef-approved technique, follow Martha Stewart's rule for cooking lobsters and add a splash of alcohol like vodka to the pot.

Once the water reaches a boil, it's time to drop the lobsters in the pot. Cook according to the recipe, but the internal temperature of the shellfish should reach 145 degrees Fahrenheit for safe eating. Use your meat thermometer to check the temperature, and the color should be bright red for double reassurance.

When the lobster is cooked, broken down, and prepared, test your skills with Tasting Table's buttery Connecticut-style lobster rolls recipe, which uses ½ pound of cooked lobster meat for two sandwiches. To pull off the best homemade lobster roll, be sure to leave some lumps of the meat for more flavor and texture in each bite and serve immediately while it's still warm. And to wash it all down with some booze, check out the best beer pairing for lobster rolls to complete your seafood meal.