Perfect Lobster Mac and Cheese Recipe

This lobster mac and cheese is incredibly delicious! The decadent lobster cheese sauce takes center stage, bursting with lobster flavor and perfect for any special occasion, whether it’s a romantic evening or a holiday celebration.

This lobster mac and cheese is all about rich, bold flavors. Instead of just adding lobster meat to a regular mac and cheese, we go the extra mile. We craft a deeply flavorful lobster cheese sauce using the lobster bodies, similar to the process of making lobster bisque.

The result is an incredibly flavorful mac and cheese, to the point that adding lobster meat becomes optional! The sauce itself delivers an intense lobster essence. While you can certainly include cooked lobster meat if desired, you might find it more fitting for other delightful dishes like lobster rolls.

Key Ingredients

• Lobster: Begin with 2 live lobsters, cook them to have perfectly cooked lobster meat and bodies ready for our cheese sauce. If preferred, your local fishmonger can cook the lobsters for you, but remember to request the lobster bodies back as they enhance the richness of our lobster cheese sauce. Remember, adding lobster meat to the mac and cheese is a personal choice. The bodies in our sauce provide plenty of robust lobster flavor, so you may opt to use the meat for another lobster dish instead.
• Aromatics: Given the elegance of this dish, we incorporate additional ingredients beyond the basics. Our sauce features onion, carrot, garlic, fresh thyme, bay leaf, and tomato paste. Once softened and sweetened, these aromatics are blended into the cheese sauce, imparting layers of flavor.
• Butter and Flour: These ingredients help thicken our sauce.
• White Wine: A dry white wine like Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, or unoaked Chardonnay adds depth. For a non-alcoholic alternative, use vegetable broth.
• Milk: Opt for whole milk for the creamiest sauce.
• Cheese: For this mac and cheese, a premium white cheddar such as Beecher’s or English cheddar is ideal. Gruyère would also be a delightful choice!
• Pasta: Choose your favorite short pasta shape. Given the special nature of this recipe, a fancier shape like cavatappi or torchiette can elevate the dish.

How to Make Lobster Mac and Cheese

The first step in preparing lobster mac and cheese is to handle your lobsters. Working with live lobsters may seem daunting, but our recipe guides you through the process. You can also find more tips on handling live lobsters in our lobster roll recipe!

Our method for dispatching the lobster is swift and efficient. Place the lobster on a cutting board, locate the faint cross where the head and body meet, and swiftly and firmly insert a large, sharp knife into this cross, severing the spinal cord and instantly killing the lobster.

Subsequently, separate the bodies from the tail, claws, and legs. Keep the bodies raw to use in creating our lobster cheese sauce. Then, cook the lobster meat in boiling salted water, remove it from the shells once cooked, and reserve it for adding to our lobster mac and cheese or another dish. The cooked meat keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

The secret to the best lobster mac and cheese lies in simmering the lobster bodies with butter, aromatics, and milk for about 30 minutes. During this time, the bodies infuse the mixture with rich lobster essence, surpassing any meat’s flavor contribution. After 30 minutes, discard the bodies and blend the sauce with cheese.

Finally, combine the sauce with cooked pasta, optionally add lobster meat, and bake in a casserole dish until bubbly. The result is truly amazing!