When it comes to making the perfect lobster roll, William Michael Harden is not eager to share his recipe.
“It”™s a secret, damn it,” said Harden, with a laugh. “The biggest secret I can reveal is that everyone overcooks lobster. They overcook the hell out of it. You only need to cook it for a very short amount of time in boiling water. I”™ll cook it for seven minutes, but it will not be cooked for a second over seven minutes, no matter what size the lobster is. And it then immediately goes into an ice bath. It keeps the meat soft and sweet and juicy and perfect. If you overcook the meat, it can very quickly turn into a big red rubber ball.”
Harden, a former Coast Guard captain and a licensed lobster fisherman known to his friends and fans of his LobsterCraft eatery as Captain Mike, also refuses to settle for any old bun.
“I do not use the store-bought rolls, I hate them,” he said. “We have our rolls made for us every morning, at four o”™clock in the morning by Muro”™s New York Bakery in Norwalk. Seven years ago, we worked for about six months until we got the rolls exactly as we wanted them. And since then they”™ve been cranking them out for us. The consistency is fabulous.”
There is one noticeable ingredient absent from Harden”™s lobster roll. “I don”™t do the mayonnaise thing,” he said, noting that he is not serving the cold meat-with-mayo Maine lobster roll, but the warm mayo-free Connecticut variety. “For me, a hot buttered lobster roll in the winter is certainly the bomb.”
LobsterCraft has been part of the Fairfield County food scene since 2012 when a pair of food trucks began plying the region. Harden”™s lobster rolls, which include a spicy variation called “The Heat Wave” and a flank steak-stuffed version known as “The Surf and Turf,” generated a loyal local fan base that includes nearly 4,000 Facebook followers.
But Harden had difficulty getting a more permanent grounding: a brick-and-mortar operation in Darien opened in 2014 and closed two years later, which Harden attributed to a “partnership that didn”™t work.” In its latest iteration, LobersterCraft now has a home within a 380-square-foot former bakery at the rear of the Colonial Plaza complex on Fairfield”™s Post Road.
LobsterCraft”™s trucks no longer offer curbside service in Fairfield County ”” one vehicle had briefly enjoyed a highly trafficked spot at 1 Penn Plaza in Manhattan ”” but are used today for catering, parties and food truck festivals. In the new Fairfield location, Harden has found what he considers to be a win-win situation.
“It”™s just perfect for us. It”™s a very small space and supports the food trucks perfectly for our catering and our private events. And it also allows people to come in and buy rolls. One of the biggest questions I get is, ”˜Where can I buy these rolls when I can”™t find your truck?”™”
Harden had a soft opening in Fairfield on Dec. 3 and a grand opening on March 10. The first few months were a bit rocky.
“We came in and we burned the bacon and spilled the bisque,” he recalled. “I must have burned 100 rolls. The sinks overflowed. Everything happened in the first couple of months. And when we figured everything out, we cut the ribbon. And I ran out at the grand opening ”” I was expecting 50 or 60 rolls and we burned up 100.”
The initial loose footing seems to have stabilized, as Harden recognizes a growing number of repeat customers and fields constant inquiries from lobster lovers arriving at his location on Monday, the one day his business is closed.
Looking forward, he is eager to make use of a newly purchased boat for lobster dinner cruises sailing from Norwalk. He owns another boat that is part of a Maine co-op that provides LobsterCraft with its chief ingredient. Harden is also exploring the potential for additional small locations that can accommodate both pedestrian traffic and serve as the main kitchen for his trucks.
However, there is one thing that will kill Harden”™s appetite: any mention of the lobster roll served at McDonald”™s during the summer. “Don”™t talk about it,” he said with an if-looks-could-kill seriousness.
