Loaded Lobster Potato Salad

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I love the versatility of potatoes—they pair nicely with so many different ingredients and flavors. In this decadent recipe, rich cooked lobster meat is combined with warm buttery potatoes and an herb mayonnaise to create a luxurious lobster potato salad.

Don’t worry if you don’t have access to live lobster and want to try a different take on this recipe—just substitute the lobster for peeled and cooked shrimp!

Ingredients

32 oz (2 lbs) red bliss potatoes, washed and quartered, skins left on.
4 Tbsp melted butter
32 oz cooked lobster meat, from 3 large live lobsters
2 stalks celery, cut small dice
½ small red onion, cut small dice
1/3 cup cornichons, cut into thin slices
2/3 cup mayonnaise, whatever brand you prefer
Zest from 1 lemon
Juice from ½ lemon, or more, to taste
1 tsp white granulated sugar
¼ tsp cayenne pepper, or more, if you prefer more heat
2 Tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped
2 Tbsp fresh tarragon, finely sliced
2 Tbsp fresh chives, finely sliced
Kosher salt & freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

Begin by purchasing three large live lobsters.
Fill a large stockpot with 1 cup of water, and bring the water to a boil.
Once boiling, place the live lobsters in the pot with a lid.
Cook for 7-10 minutes, or until the shells have turned turn bright red.
*The steaming times here will vary slightly, depending on the size of the live whole lobsters you are trying to cook. In general, a 16oz live lobster will take roughly 6-7 minutes to steam, while a 32oz live lobster will take a few minutes longer.
Remove the cooked lobsters from the pot and set aside to cool.
Once the cooked lobsters are barely cool enough to handle, use a pair of kitchen shears to cut the lobsters in half lengthwise, cutting carefully down through the middle of the top layer of the shell on the tail.
Remove the tail from the body, and then carefully open up the tail shell and remove the tail meat.
Remove the meat from the claws.
Set the shells aside in a medium-sized bowl or on a plate.
Set the cooked lobster meat aside in a small bowl.
Fill a large pot about ½ full with water, and add the shells from the lobsters you cooked earlier.
Bring the water with the shells to a boil.
Season the mixture with salt until the water tastes pleasantly salty, almost drinkable on its own.
Once boiling, remove the lobster shells and discard them.
*The lobster shells are just being used here to flavor your potato water, which in turn will flavor the potatoes.
Add the washed and quartered red bliss potatoes to the seasoned boiling water and cook for about 20 minutes, or until completely fork-tender.
Drain the potatoes, combine them with the 4 Tbsp of salted butter, and gently stir them until the butter has melted and coated the potatoes.
Don’t be afraid if you break the potatoes slightly when you are mixing them with the butter at this stage.
Set the cooked, buttered potatoes aside to cool in a large mixing bowl.
Once the potatoes have cooled, add the cooked lobster meat from earlier, along with the diced celery, diced red onion, and sliced cornichons.
In a separate bowl, combine the mayonnaise, lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, cayenne pepper, along with the fresh dill, tarragon, and chives.
Whisk the ingredients together until fully incorporated.
Taste, and season with kosher salt & freshly-ground black pepper.
Pour the herb mayonnaise mixture over the potato and lobster mixture, and gently fold everything together until the potatoes and lobster chunks are evenly coated in the mayo.
Serve immediately.

Notes

While you can definitely make this recipe in advance, I love to fold in the warm lobster meat into the potato and herb mayonnaise mixture and serve the dish immediately while the whole thing is still warm. The lobster meat loses some of its essence if it is stored for a while in the refrigerator after it has been cooked.