How to Host the Perfect Lobsterfest

A little planning, a lot of butter, and everyone pitching in — that’s the whole secret.

There are certain meals that simply taste better outside, with a view, and shared with people you love, and a lobster fest is at the very top of that list. Whether we’re up in Maine or hosting closer to home, we are always chasing the same thing: the freshest lobster we can find, prepared simply, and served in a setting that feels relaxed rather than fussy. Some of our very best summer memories have come from exactly this kind of gathering.

When we travel, we look for the same kind of place every time — casual, right on the dock, where the lobster practically walked from the boat to your plate. For more than twenty years, our go-to spot has been Boothbay Lobster Wharf which many of you will remember as The Lobstermen’s Co-op. It has changed its name over the years, but never its character. It’s still the kind of place where you order at a window, sit at a picnic table, and watch the water while you wait, and it remains one of the freshest lobster dinners we know of anywhere.

But you don’t need a coastline to pull off a proper lobsterfest. Some of our favorite ones have happened on a back deck or a picnic table in the backyard, looking out over nothing more exciting than the neighbor’s yard, with a big group of family and friends. Yes, cooking lobster for a crowd is more work than a quiet dinner for two. But here is the trick: get everyone involved, from start to finish, and the work turns into half the fun.

Here is how we divide the labor. First, someone needs to be in charge of cooking the lobsters themselves — a big pot, a rolling boil, and a timer, since overcooked lobster is a genuine tragedy. Next, someone handles the corn, husking it and getting it into its own pot or onto the grill. Someone else is responsible for gathering the sides — a good potato salad or coleslaw, a green salad, some crusty bread, whatever your family tradition calls for. Someone needs to be on butter duty, melting down high quality butter into little dishes for dipping, because there is truly no such thing as too much melted butter at a lobster fest. And someone should be setting the table, which includes the details that make the whole meal easier: a basket of plastic bibs, a stack of hand wipes, and plenty of extra napkins, because this is not a tidy meal and it shouldn’t try to be. Don’t forget the beverages, chilled and ready before anyone sits down. And finally, just as important as all the cooking, is your cleanup crew — assign it ahead of time, so nobody is stuck scrubbing lobster pots alone while everyone else has wandered off to watch the sunset.

We’ve put together our full Lobsterfest Supplies List to make all of this even easier to plan — everything from pot size to bib count to plates and napkins. Get our Lobsterfest Supplies List here →

Now, if you’re short on time, short on helping hands, or just don’t feel like wrangling live lobsters, there is a wonderful shortcut: set up your lobster fest exactly the same way, but serve lobster rolls instead of whole lobsters. Use the lobster roll recipe we shared in our last post — toasted brioche, a gentle swipe of mayonnaise, and big chunks of lobster piled high — and simply purchase picked lobster meat instead of cooking it yourself. We’ve had wonderful luck with Atlantic Edge Lobster in Boothbay Harbor, whose fresh-packed lobster meat is genuinely some of the best shortcut lobster we’ve found.

However you choose to do it, whether it’s a full lobster boil on the back deck or a lobster roll bar with store-bought picked meat, the goal is the same: good food, good company, and an experience that leaves everyone smiling.

Have a favorite lobster fest tradition of your own, or a go-to dockside spot you swear by? We’d love to hear about it.