Lobster Roll Eggs Benedict

If you know anything about me, you know I love brunch. You know brunch is a culture of its own, so much so that I wrote a whole cookbook about it called Brunch Life. When I had my restaurant, Bar Lisa Marie on Queen St. West in Toronto, Sunday brunch was our busiest time. We had a unique menu, not just your typical two eggs and bacon, but Double Pancake Pork Burgers, Fried Cornish Hen Chicken and Waffles, and a fan favourite, S'mores Pancakes. We had a couple of eggs benedict options too, and I am kicked myself now that I never thought to do this Lobster Roll Eggs Benedict for brunch service at my restaurant. There are lobster eggs benedicts out there, but I had never seen a lobster benny done as a lobster roll benny before and it turned out to be so decadent and delicious; the buttery lobster with lemon, toasted buttered brioche bun, poached eggs, creamy Hollandaise sauce and fresh dill and pepper for garnish.

The lobster roll is pretty straightforward to make. I used both claw and tail meat and cooked them on the Alchemy with some onions, lots of melted butter, fresh lemon juice and some salt. I used claw meat that was previously blanched, so started with tail meat first then added the claw meat on after so it could heat up and absorb the butter and lemon flavours. As I’ve mentioned before using the right kind of bun makes a huge difference. You have to have to use a brioche, top cut bun. It will make a big difference in your lobster roll, for the better. Don’t forget to butter the outside of your bun before you throw it on the plancha to toast. Once it’s a nice golden brown on the outside, you know it’s ready to go.

The step that is probably the most challenging in this recipe is the scratch-made Hollandaise sauce. Hollandaise sauce is notoriously finicky and needs the right kinds of temperatures, whisking and attention to pull together. Once you start the process of making your Hollandaise, you have to keep moving. It’s definitely an arm workout with all that whisking, but it’s so worth it for that rich and creamy sauce in the end. And of course, a benny isn’t a benny without the Hollandaise. Don’t be intimidated though, it’s well worth it to give it a try, because once your have it down, you’ll be making delicious eggs benedict at home for brunch, lunch or dinner (I don’t judge).

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Start by making your Hollandaise sauce. Add three egg yolks to a heat-proof bowl. Squeeze in the juice from half a lemon and start to whisk, continuing to whisk as you squeeze in the rest of lemon juice, a half at a time. Meanwhile, bring a small pot of water to a boil.

Once the Hollandaise starts to come together, add in salt and pepper. For the next step, make sure you have your melted butter ready.

Place your heat-proof bowl over your pot of water once the water is boiling. Pour in your melted butter, about a tablespoon or two at a time, while whisking together. Add more butter as needed, until the Hollandaise sauce comes together. Remove from the heat and add in your Tabasco sauce and Alchemy Brown Sauce, whisk.

Next, finely chop an onion and some fresh dill. Set the dill aside for later. You'll be using the chopped onions to make your lobster.

To poach your eggs, bring water to a bowl and add in white vinegar. Using a spoon, swirl the water to create a bit of a cyclone and then crack in your eggs, one at a time. Allow to cook for about 2-3 minutes or to desired doneness, and then remove from the water with a slotted spoon. Set aside.

To make your lobster, add your onions to the hot plancha and drizzle with canola oil. Let them cook and soften, about 1-2 minutes. Add your lobster tail on top of the onions and let it cook. Squeeze the juice from half a lemon over your lobster meat and allow to continue cooking about 1-2 minutes. Pour some melted butter over top.

Add the lobster claw meat to the tail meat and squeeze more lemon juice on top and drizzle with melted butter. Allow everything to cook together until the lobster is cooked through.

Once cooked through, remove from the grill and transfer to a bowl. Top with some chopped fresh dill and more melted butter. Set aside.

Butter your brioche, top-cut buns and throw them onto the grill to toast. Once lightly browned and toasted, remove from the grill to build your dish.

On a serving plate or tray, fill your toasted buns with the lobster. Add the three poached eggs on top and then pour the Hollandaise sauce over the lobster rolls. Garnish with fresh dill and cracked pepper.

And now for the full recipe...

Lobster Roll Eggs Benedict

Makes 4 lobster rolls

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

Hollandaise sauce:

2 lemons

½ lb butter, melted

3 egg yolks

Salt

Pepper

Tabasco sauce

1 tsp Alchemy Brown Sauce (stay tuned)

Lobster Roll:

2 lbs lobster tail and claw meat

2 lemons

¼ lb butter

4 brioche top cut hot dog buns

3 tbsp onion, finely chopped

2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped

Salt

Pepper

Poached eggs:

3 eggs

¼ cup white vinegar

Pot of boiling water

How to Make it

The first step is to make your Hollandaise sauce. In a heat-proof bowl, add in your three egg yolks. Squeeze in the juice from half a lemon and start to whisk, continue to whisk as you squeeze in the rest of lemon juice, a half at a time. Add in salt and pepper. Over a pot of boiling water, place your bowl to create a double boiler, add in melted butter, about a tablespoon or two at a time, while whisking together. Add more butter as needed. Once the Hollandaise has come together, remove from the heat, add in the Tabasco, Alchemy Brown Sauce and salt and pepper and whisk together. Set aside.

Finely chop your onion and dill. Set the dill aside for later.

To poach your eggs, bring water to a bowl and add in white vinegar. Using a spoon, swirl the water to create a bit of a cyclone and then crack in your eggs, one at a time. Allow to cook for about 2-3 minutes or to desired doneness, and then remove from the water with a slotted spoon. Set aside.

Place your chopped onions on the hot grill. Drizzle with canola oil, mix to combine and then allow to cook 1-2 minutes until slightly translucent. Add your lobster tail meat on top of the onions and squeeze lemon juice from half a lemon over top and mix. Allow to cook another 1-2 minutes, and then pour some melted butter over top. Once the tail meat is almost done, add in your claw meat - I used pre-blanched claw meat, so it just needed to heat up, adjust your cook times accordingly if you use raw claw meat. Squeeze more lemon juice on top, melted butter, and salt and pepper, and mix. Continue cooking until fully cooked through. Remove from the grill and place in a bowl, top with chopped dill and more melted butter. Set aside.

Butter the outside of your buns and place on the grill to toast. Remove from the grill once lightly browned and toasted.

To build, place all your buns on a plate and fill each one with the lobster meat. Add the three poached eggs on top of the lobster rolls, pour your Hollandaise sauce over top, garnish with fresh dill and cracked pepper.

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