Summer may be winding down, but you still have plenty of time to savor one of the season’s most quintessential foods: lobster rolls.
You don’t need a trip to New England to enjoy the freshest ocean delicacies from Maine. Like many great restaurants that have figured out how to deliver meal kits nationwide, several Northeast seafood restaurants are delivering DIY lobster roll kits across the country, either directly or through Goldbelly. These premium bundles include succulent, fresh-from-the-boat lobstah meat and condiments—or already-dressed lobster salad—and split-top buns or rolls to make outstanding sandwiches at home.
Indulge in end-of-summer deliciousness with a taste of coastal Maine’s prized harvest. Here are seven of the best lobster roll kits you can have shipped to your doorstep in a hurry.
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McLoons
Image Credit: courtesy Goldbelly This family-owned lobster shack on Spruce Head Island, in midcoast Maine, is a popular stop for road trippers. Fortunately, McLoons’ award-winning menu favorite—sweet, meaty lobster on their signature half butter-half mayo rolls—can also be enjoyed by the masses at home. McLoons sources directly from local lobstermen for their DIY kits, which feature freshly cooked and picked tail, claw, and knuckle meat, locally-made Casco Bay sea salt butter, split-top buns, mayo, roll sleeves, and instructions. Add-ons include homemade blueberry bread pudding and whoopie pies.
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Luke’s Lobster
Image Credit: courtesy Luke's Lobster Sustainable seafood company Luke’s Lobster is shipping their popular lobster roll kits straight from the source in Maine to anywhere in the continental United States. Choose a four or eight pack, each with premium knuckle and claw meat, split-top buns, and Luke’s secret seasoning for easy assembly at home. Additional bundles pair the rolls with fresh oysters, crab claws, lobster mac ’n’ cheese, whoopie pies, or a wild Maine blueberry pie. Pro tip: the lobster can be delivered either fresh or flash frozen, depending on how soon you want to serve it.
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The Clam Shack
Image Credit: courtesy The Clam Shack A Kennebunkport staple, this small stand has been serving up irresistible seafood and award-winning lobster rolls since 1968. The Clam Shack’s signature dish is a quintessential taste of Maine: freshly-caught new shell lobster (which is sweeter and more tender) piled on a toasted, locally-made round bun with a choice of mayo or a drizzle of butter—both being the winning combo. Their build-at-home kits are shipped overnight and include one or two pounds of hand picked lobster meat, mayonnaise, Kate’s butter, lemons, homemade signature rolls, and instructions on how to make it just like they do at the Shack.
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Hancock Lobster Co.
Image Credit: courtesy Hancock Lobster Co. Dating back to 1946, this family-run company based in Topsham, Maine, knows more than a thing or two about lobster. Their ready-to-assemble kits come with lobster salad (sweet chunks of claw and knuckle meat lightly tossed in mayo with salt and pepper) made fresh the day the order ships out, along with New England-style split-top buns. Choose from several sizes and configurations, some including clam chowder, lobster gazpacho, handmade whoopie pies, or maple cream blueberry cakes.
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Get Maine Lobster
Image Credit: courtesy Get Maine Lobster This gourmet retailer ships sustainably-sourced Atlantic lobster from Portland docks to your doorstep—and quickly. Their classic kit includes perfectly cooked and flash frozen claw, knuckle, and leg meat, split-top buns, a secret spice blend, and detailed cooking instructions. Or, kick your lobster roll game up a notch with the extravagant ‘Black Tie’ version, which includes pillowy brioche buns and white truffle tarragon butter kissed with Maine sea salt to drench your lobster in.
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Eventide Oyster Co.
Image Credit: courtesy Eventide Oyster Co. This James Beard award-winning, Maine-based purveyor makes an outstanding—and original—lobster roll. Their take on the New England classic features succulent lobster meat doused in nutty brown butter and served in a soft, fluffy steamed bun. It may be untraditional, but it’s unforgettably delicious. For the first time ever, kits to make the famed rolls (which include lobster meat, brown butter vinaigrette, steamed bao buns, and chives for garnish) are available nationwide.
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Beal’s Lobster Pier
Image Credit: courtesy Goldbelly Since opening in 1932, not much has changed at this family-owned working lobster pier in Southwest Harbor. The crustaceans are caught right off the family’s own dock, cooked in sea water from the harbor, and picked by hand all on the same day. Beal’s famous Maine lobster rolls come piled high with fresh meat (1/4-pound per roll) in buttery brioche buns. Available in several sizes, their make-at-home kits are shipped directly from the shop via Goldbelly and come with potato chips.
