New England Lobster Rolls

Ingredients

• 2 servings pepper black freshly ground
• 0.3 cup celery stalks (from 1 medium celery stalk)
• 2  hotdog buns 
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt plus more for seasoning
• 1.5 pound pd of lobster whole
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise 
• 1 tablespoon butter unsalted at room temperature

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• baking sheet
• pot
• aluminum foil
• cutting board

Directions

1. For the lobster salad:Fill a large pot with 1 inch of water and stir in the measured salt.
2. Add a steamer rack to the pot. (If you don’t have a steamer rack, lightly bunch a long piece of foil so that it looks like a rope. Then make a figure eight out of the foil rope and set it in the pot.)Bring the water to a boil over high heat.
3. Add the lobster to the pot head-first, cover with a tightfitting lid, and return the water to a full boil. Reduce the heat and cook at a gentle boil until the lobster is bright red, about 14 minutes from the time it went into the pot. Check its doneness by pulling on an antenna: If the antenna comes out with no resistance, the lobster is done.
4. Remove the lobster to a rimmed baking sheet and let it sit until it’s cool enough to handle.Using your hands, twist and separate the tail from the body. Twist and remove both of the claws where they meet the lobster body; set the claws aside. Discard the head and torso.Starting with the tail, remove the small, wispy flippers on the underside of the shell. Using a fork, pierce the exposed tail meat and slowly twist and pull it out of the shell in one piece. Rinse any white debris off of the tail meat and set it aside on a cutting board. Discard the shell of the tail.Twist the claws and separate them from the legs; set the legs aside. Gently wiggle and pull the smaller part of the pincer shell off each claw. Using a seafood cracker, gently crack the claws, remove the meat, and set it aside on the cutting board. Crack the legs, remove the meat, and set it aside on the cutting board. Check the meat for any cartilage or shell and discard it. Coarsely chop the reserved meat and place it in a medium bowl. (You should have about 1 cup.)
5. Spread the butter on the outside of the buns.
6. Heat a medium frying pan over medium heat until hot, about 3 minutes.
7. Place the buns in the pan butter-side down and toast until golden brown, about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Flip and toast the second side until golden brown, about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Divide the lobster salad between the buns and serve immediately.