Recreating Route 1, At Home

August 16, 2012

If you drive north on Route 1, you’ll eventually know you’re in Maine without so much as a welcome sign -- wild blueberry stands and bearded men selling seafood out of the back of their trucks start popping up like weeds every mile or so. But the best side-of-the-road treat in Maine? The lobster roll. (Having this mid-drive will change the way you travel forever. More specifically, it will point you north, every time.) 

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If you can’t make it to Route 1 this summer, here’s a recipe so you don’t miss out too much. It’s got the basics right. It involves a generous amount of sweet lobster piled into a buttered roll. But I will say, as a member of a family who drops the r’s off the end of words as soon as they cross the border, some Mainers swear by a different version. Try this one, and then come back here. I’ll tell you what it is. 

Lobster Roll Recipe from Leite’s Culinaria

See what other Food52 readers are saying.

  • Kenzi Wilbur
    Kenzi Wilbur
  • fiveandspice
    fiveandspice
Kenzi Wilbur

Written by: Kenzi Wilbur

I have a thing for most foods topped with a fried egg, a strange disdain for overly soupy tomato sauce, and I can never make it home without ripping off the end of a newly-bought baguette. I like spoons very much.

2 Comments

Kenzi W. August 16, 2012
Brioche is a deviation I think everyone can agree on.
 
fiveandspice August 16, 2012
Nice! We just had a gathering of friends for lobstah rolls! Everyone but my husband and I were die hard New Englandahs born and raised, so there were strong opinions about the lobster rolls. I quote: "celery is crucial, and mayo should be minimal. I also think that people's fatal flaw in lobster-roll making is trying to get too cute, "oh, look at me, I'm so sophisticated, so I'll add some quince paste and frisee"—ACK." No butter based rolls there, though there was heavy buttering of the buns, I was allowed to bring homemade brioche rolls after a lot of begging and promising they would be super white and good for toasting and buttering. They were the best lobster rolls I've ever had (even including the ones in Maine!).