Stuffed Maine Lobster

This is the kind of stuffed lobster you’d find at a white-tablecloth seafood house on the Maine coast. Whole lobsters get split open and piled high with a sauteed stuffing of scallops, shrimp, and crab meat bound with mayonnaise and seasoned with sherry.

The lobsters get a brief parboil first, just long enough to set the meat so they hold their shape when split and stuffed. Let them cool in the cooking water so they don’t tighten up from thermal shock.

Draining the stuffing mixture after sauteeing is key. Excess liquid makes the filling soggy and pools in the shell instead of mounding neatly. Once drained, the mayonnaise goes in and holds everything together while the cracker meal on top toasts into a golden, crunchy crust.

Pro Tips

• Don’t overcook the lobsters during the initial boil. They’re going back in the oven, so you want them barely cooked at this stage.
• Strain the stuffing well before mixing in the mayonnaise. Squeeze gently to release as much liquid as possible.
• Mound the filling high. It shrinks slightly during baking, and a generous dome looks impressive on the plate.
• Use cracker meal, not breadcrumbs. Cracker meal gives a finer, crispier crust that stays crunchy longer.

Variations

• Add diced lobster claw meat to the stuffing for an all-lobster filling.
• Substitute Ritz cracker crumbs mixed with melted butter for the cracker meal topping.
• Skip the sherry and add a squeeze of lemon juice and Old Bay seasoning for a Chesapeake-style twist.