- Hey, we are Sorted.
- We've been eating and traveling together
for well over eight years,
and we reckon we've worked out a formula, or set of rules,
to increase our chances of the best food
and travel experiences possible.
- [Barry] We've spent the last 24 hours in Portland, Maine
researching world-class lobster.
- [Jamie] Because today, Baz and I are going to use
what we've learned to go head-to-head
in an ultimate lobster roll battle.
- [Ben] And we'll be using our rules along the way
to give ourselves the best chance
of having experiences and meeting people
that we will remember forever.
We call these Game Changers.
- Round Two, ready?
- Yeah.
(peaceful music)
(rock music)
- Best time of the day, apart from waking up,
is breakfast, and so we've come to Becky's Diner,
which is one of your recommendations
to come for the most authentic breakfast in Portland.
- A lobster roll with curly fries, please.
(people laughing)
- To make the most of the Portland seafood,
Baz got lobster benedict, Ben, a haddock Reuben,
Jay, steak omelet.
- Breakfast done, fueled up on food,
now Barry and Jamie have two hours
to go and source all the ingredients,
lost and hungry style, for their ultimate lobster roll.
Three, two, one, go!
- Move, move, move.
(energetic music)
- As it was getting later in the morning,
I wanted to get fresh hot dog buns
before places started selling out.
So I set about finding some bakeries
that had been recommended to us
by our Portland viewers.
No brioche, no hot dog buns,
but I did get snacks.
(Mike laughing)
- [Barry] Whilst I decided to get fresh lobster first,
in case it turned out to be difficult to get hold of.
It wasn't.
Turns out, looking for lobster in Maine isn't that hard.
Driving down the road, sign says,
"Turn left for live lobster"
so, we're gonna do just that.
Feel like I'm in a movie, this is ridiculous.
- [Ben] I think it's just a farm, Barry.
- [Barry] So this is Caitlin,
she runs the farm with her family.
- [Ben] She took us out back,
where we saw the lobsters in the big pods,
and she had some monsters,
but she pointed out, actually,
the smaller, softshell lobsters are better for lobster roll.
- [Barry] Yeah, they taste sweeter,
and they retain more saltwater.
- [Ben] She also said, steam them,
you don't lose any of that flavor
into the lobster cooking pot,
and she even threw in some seaweed to enhance that steam.
(energetic music)
Baz had actually picked up some fresh ingredients
the day before at the farmer's market,
so next to grab was his bread,
but would that prove as much of a struggle
as Jamie was finding?
(Jamie panting)
Turns out, no.
- Couple dollars, as easy as that.
- That place looks and smells amazing,
they have incredible bread, but no rolls.
They bake all of their bread there, but no rolls!
- [Mike] Jamie decided to shelve the rolls
for the time being,
and focus instead on fresh scallops and fresh lobster.
- [Jamie] Do you think I could win a battle
with a make your own Maine lobster roll kit?
- [Mike] You'd beat Barry with it.
- [Jamie] I would beat Barry.
Look at the size of that!
Oyster crackers - this is what I need to put in my stuffing.
Lobster, lobster, lobster.
Do we have to put the seatbelt on in the car?
Roll Gate has put us severely behind,
so I had to rush a little bit,
so, why don't we put the camera down, and drive?
We're at Big Sky Baking Company,
I phoned them, they have exactly what I want,
as long as they haven't run out.
Bread down.
Hello!
- This is it, the conclusion
to our Portland, Maine lobster adventure.
Two normals, one ultimate lobster roll each.
Boys, get to it.
- Right, I am making--
I am making a brown butter and cider lobster
in a brioche roll,
and while that idiot is making lobster wrong,
I'm going to start off with a wasabi charred slaw on top.
Maybe too many twists in one place, but, give it a go.
I must think that after ten years of cooking at Sorted,
my julienne skills are on point.
I don't know how I'm still screwing this up.
I'm really nervous about this bit,
because at Bite Into Maine,
they had a delicious wasabi mayonnaise
mixed in with their lobster.
What I'm trying to do is, I'm trying to make
a wasabi paste vinaigrette.
I've never used wasabi powder,
I have no idea if wasabi and lemon really work.
How hot's that gonna be? Gah.
And then I'm making my dressing,
which is lemon juice, wasabi powder,
olive oil, and some cider.
It couldn't go worse.
On it's own, it's quite vile, but I think,
once combined together, delicious.
There's a spoon there.
- I am gonna be making a stuffed and baked lobster roll,
served with lobster butter, mmm.
Step one, done.
Step two, my lobster has been in the freezer
for about 20 minutes,
I'm going to put it into a pan of boiling water
that's been salted, for about ten minutes to cook through,
get it out, let it cool down,
and then I can pick it.
Next, my stuffing.
Now, this is where I'm getting a bit clever.
This is from Boone's, we had a baked and stuffed lobster,
and it was incredible, and I thought,
if I could take that and put it into a lobster roll,
it would be sensational.
It's basically a lot of butter,
with fried onions, garlic, thyme,
some crackers, breadcrumbs, and herbs,
scallops, and of course, my lobster meat.
Now, Baxter, off of Highroller, told me
that we only want to use the knuckle and the claw meat
from the lobster, because the tail is just too big.
And also, the knuckle and claw are much more tender.
Oh, oh, my beer, I've put it down somewhere,
I can't finish it.
Most places that we went
for a traditional Maine lobster roll,
had clarified or drawn butter with it.
I'm going to use this for my butter.
- Time for my lobster.
We're in Maine, when in Maine, we're eating lobster,
I've gotta do what's gotta be done.
Oh, my goodness, oh God, whoa.
So, for my lobsters, I am steaming them.
This is because, if you boil them,
you lose some of the lobster flavor into the water,
and it helps stop them overcooking.
I've got an inch of water in a pan,
bring it up to a boil, put a colander over top of that,
and then I'm chucking on some seaweed.
This seaweed will help infuse the lobsters
with its natural seaweedy flavor.
Then, just take your two lobsters,
put them into the pan,
put the lid straight on,
and give it 15 minutes so they cook perfectly.
And it's as simple, easy as that.
With my lobster now chilled,
it's time to crack it open and pull out that lobster meat.
I'm using all of the lobster meat,
apart from the darker head meat.
This is a local cider that I've picked up
from the farmer's market,
but it's not a normal cider.
It's a funny color,
it's actually got aronia berry in it,
which is another local berry,
which tastes a bit like cranberry,
but is slightly more tart.
My plan is to reduce this down
to about a shot glass worth,
and then add that to my browned butter,
which I'll then be tossing over my pulled lobster.
- To finish off my stuffing,
I'm gonna put everything into a bowl.
That's my lobster meat, my scallops,
my breadcrumbs, my oyster crackers,
my onion, garlic, and thyme mix,
some parsley, salt, pepper, and some lemon juice.
Really important to catch any pips.
And I'm bringing it all together
with my lobster butter, which, I have to say,
is the best smelling thing since,
no, it's just the best smelling thing, that's it.
Now traditionally, that would get stuffed
back into the lobster shell, baked, and then served, ta-da,
but because we're going to put this into a lobster roll,
I'm gonna bake it off in a pan, for about 10 minutes,
with a few more breadcrumbs on top,
and it's gonna cook the scallops and crisp up.
It's going to be amazing.
- Now, at Eventide, we had the most unbelievably indulgent
brown buttered lobster.
I'm gonna try my best to recreate that.
I'm just now waiting for that to turn
a nice and nutty brown color,
and then I'll add my beautiful cider reduction
that I made earlier, it looks a little bit like cough syrup.
So far, I'm perfectly poised to win this one.
That is well-balanced.
Right, for my bun, I've gone for a brioche loaf,
buttering it on all four sides
- Yeah, that's alright.
- And I'm gonna grill it.
How are your basic hot dog buns going?
- Yeah, sure mate, but have you ever had them
smothered in lobster butter?
- You can try rolling it in glitter, mate, see what happens.
- Baz, is it a burnt brioche bun you're using?
I hear charcoal was a food trend in 2016.
Maybe that's what he's playing off.
- Boys, start making them look pretty, plate 'em up.
- You know what, it's coming together,
it's not a classic, but I think I like it.
- Last minute...
Last ten seconds, nine, eight, seven, six,
five, four, three two, one,
step away from the lobster.
(epic music)
I've had a lovely day.
- Well, apart from all the rushing around,
I have also had a lovely day.
- 'Bout to get better.
- I know, four lobster rolls!
Baz, before I tuck in, any final thoughts?
- I really wasn't sure how it's gonna come together,
but I could not be prouder of that.
- Literally bursting with lobster meat inside.
Oh, the first thing you get is that buttery, crunchy,
sweet brioche, and then you get a little bit of acidity
from your crunchy chard, and the bitterness of chard.
But, the overriding flavor is that kind of,
sweet, nutty brown butter, with the cider,
and the texture of the lobster, steamed really well.
Look at the claw there, it's like bouncy, it's just cooked.
Jamie, before I take a big mouthful of this, any last words?
- For me, this was about combining
my favorite lobster roll experience
with my favorite lobster experience of our research.
Do I pass the scratch and sniff test?
- Again, you've got a good squeeze,
but you have still got those crispy bits,
those charred bits, I can smell the lobster butter.
It's amazing how what is essentially lobster
from the same area, wrapped in bread,
can taste so different.
The first thing you get is that garlic,
and the onion, and the thyme,
and the parsley, and the lemon,
all the freshness, and then, you're just left
with that lobster butter, which is intense,
'cause you've used the shells.
The lobster meat itself, you've gone pure claw and knuckle,
which means every bit looks amazing,
looks cliche lobster, and it tastes great.
Both paired with delicious drinks,
but today, my winner...
By a lobster shell,
is Jamie.
- Oh!
- The garlicky-ness in there is amazing,
I don't know how traditional it is to Maine, but what it is
- We've come all this way
- Is delicious.
- What is happening to the world?
How is Jamie winning battle after battle after battle?
- Try yours, try each other's,
and you'll see how close it is.
- I was really enjoying this holiday
- Dig it in. Notice I go back for Barry's.
- Yeah, where, is -- eat a winner!
- Yeah, how do I eat yours? Do I just go in from the top?
- You've never struggled.
- We had such an amazing time in Portland,
and we definitely do not take for granted
the fact that we get to travel and eat
for a job with our best mates.
- So we wanted to bring attention
to some of the local heroes in Portland
who are doing wonderful things
for people in their local communities.
People who are, quite literally, passing it on.
- So yeah, Wayside, we're a hunger relief agency,
based here in Portland, Maine,
and we operate a food rescue program
where we have two trucks out on the road,
and they go to different grocery stores,
they go to farms, and pick up food
that is perfectly good to eat,
but would otherwise be thrown away.
And we bring that back here
to our warehouse, where we sort it.
That's how we end up planning our menus
for our community meals.
- What's in the boxes?
- Don't know yet, just anything.
- [Mike] It's like a mystery box.
- [Wayside Rep] It is!
- That we're supposed to literally cook
this much food is terrifying.
That's Jamie's portion.
- Today it's pasta and sauce,
and Carly's making some beautiful salads.
It's perfect.
- Yeah!
- We have other folks that can't quite afford
enough food to get by, so they rely on these meals
to help them get through the month.
The majority of our work is done by volunteers,
countless volunteers, hundreds of volunteers,
and, you know, it's nice to be able to have a job
where I'm making a difference, I feel.
- [Ben] The great thing about the lost and hungry rules
is you spontaneously experience a destination.
- [Barry] However, you need a great-looking,
and great-feeling, city, with exciting food options
for it all to work.
- [Mike] And Portland really does
have it all, and more.