There’s nothing more decadent than lobster — that is, unless you’re talking about a sandwich with bacon, avocado, and lobster. That’s the thinking behind Chef Joel Gamoran’s unbelievable lobster club sandwich, which is much simpler to whip up and even more delicious than you might imagine.
We asked Chef Joel to tell us the secret behind this spectacular dish, and he gave us the recipe (as well as his tips and tricks for getting the most out of your lobster) and an idea for an easy condiment that’ll take any sandwich from standard to stellar. Take it away, Joel!
We’ve all had a club sandwich: maybe at a country club, or a gastro pub, or even a plain old bar. It’s a triple-decker sandwich, so the bread is the foundation — make sure you use something that can stand up to the ingredients. We’re going to make a lobster club sandwich, and if you don’t eat lobster, you could use sauteed mushrooms, tofu, grilled chicken, or shrimp, and this would still be great.
I like to use buttermilk bread because it’s sweet and fluffy, so it’s perfect to pair with seafood. I usually start with live lobster, but if you don’t want to handle a whole live lobster, just using the tails is totally cool. And using frozen lobster is fine as well! Just thaw it fully before you start.
For the other ingredients, you’ll need a tomato, some bibb lettuce, a bit of dill and cilantro, lemon, avocado, and thick-cut bacon. Really thick bacon is important for a club sandwich. Apologies to my whole Jewish family.
Prepping the Ingredients
Start by cooking the lobster in heavily salted boiling water. If you’re using just the tails, they’ll take about 4 minutes to cook completely. (Just like shrimp, they curl up and turn pink as they cook.) If you’re using a whole live lobster, I like to put him in the freezer under a wet cloth for about 15 to 30 minutes beforehand, to kind of put the lobster to sleep. I’m trying to minimize the amount of stress he’s going through, and minimize the stress on myself. You pick up the lobster right between the arms, right behind the eyes, put them in the boiling water and cover with a a lid, then just leave them in the water for about seven minutes, then remove and put in cold water to stop the cooking process.
I’ve cooked bacon a million different ways but I especially like cooking it in the oven, since it cuts down on some mess. Lay the slices on a sheet tray and flip a wire rack on top of them to press them down, so they don’t curl up. Cook the bacon at 400 degrees for about five minutes, or until it’s crispy.
Condiments are very important here, so I like to make a homemade aioli. Start by putting half of a (peeled and de-seeded) avocado in the blender with fresh herbs, like dill and cilantro. Then squeeze in the juice of half a lemon, a swig of olive oil, and some salt and pepper to taste. If you like heat, throw in a dash of cayenne pepper.
Once the lobster’s cooked, remove it from the shell with a good pair of kitchen shears. And save these shells! They make incredible seafood stocks for things like risotto.
Remove the meat from the tails and claws, and even the legs. Always have trouble with those little lobster legs? Try this trick.
Assembly
We’ll use three slices of toasted bread for each sandwich. Start by spreading your avocado aioli on each slice. Then add a slice of lettuce, and then you add the lobster. And don’t you dare don’t you dare go light on the lobster. Then it’s a slice of tomato — add a little salt and pepper right on top of it. Then two slices of bacon. Then the next slice of bread! Repeat the same sequence as you assemble the next layer, then cover with the last slice of bread.
To hold it all together, I poke a couple of toothpicks through the sandwich, then cut it diagonally across the corners, diner-style.
Sure, this isn’t your everyday corner-pub sandwich, but this is how I do it! This is a sandwich that screams summer and love and pure comfort. And I hope you enjoy it as much I as do.
To watch the full tutorial, click below!
And to cook along with Joel in his virtual classes, check out his website for more info.
