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00:00This week on Andy's East Coast Kitchen Crawl,
00:03we're sailing through the south shore of Nova Scotia,
00:06where I learn the ins and outs of lobstering.
00:09Well done, you're hired.
00:10Hit Peggy's Cove for some Acadian comfort food.
00:13Welcome home, Andy.
00:14And I help an old pal.
00:16Hey, Andy.
00:17Boil up the ultimate family supper.
00:19Ready to rock there?
00:19Ready to rock.
00:20Then it's back home from my take on a south shore classic,
00:24the iconic lobster roll.
00:26Look at that.
00:29I'm Andy Hay, and I'm on a mission.
00:32To explore the incredible food on Canada's East Coast.
00:37Getting up close and personal with the land, the sea, and the people.
00:45I was born and raised here.
00:47It's in my heart, and it's what fuels my cooking.
00:50Woo, baby.
00:55I'm always on the lookout for inspiration.
00:58Woo!
00:59And I'm finding it right here in my own backyard.
01:07Nova Scotia's south shore is chock full of iconic postcard vistas.
01:11Working fishing ports, historic lighthouses, rugged Atlantic shores, and charming towns.
01:17It's also the birthplace of Canada's most famous schooner, the Blue Nose, as seen on the dime in multiple postage
01:24stamps.
01:26This region, just southwest of Halifax, is made up of a series of picturesque coves along the Atlantic.
01:32I mean, look at the view.
01:35But when I think of the south shore, I think about home.
01:39I was lucky enough to grow up in a tiny south shore area called Prospect.
01:43I still come out this way all the time.
01:46And the one thing I know for sure is, no south shore adventure is complete without swinging by the Lightship
01:51brewery here in Lunenburg.
01:53How are we doing?
01:54Good, how are you?
01:55Lightship has the best selection of craft beers to choose from.
01:59Along with my favourite IPA, they serve up the most incredible view of Lunenburg's historic waterfront.
02:06Established in 1793, this perfectly preserved colonial-era town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
02:13There you go.
02:14Wonderful.
02:14Enjoy.
02:14Thank you very much.
02:15Take care.
02:19A cold beer?
02:21Ocean breeze?
02:22What else could you want?
02:24Actually, I know exactly what else I want.
02:27A plate of something fresh out of the ocean.
02:29And there's no place fresher than Dorymates.
02:32Hi there, how can we help you?
02:34At Dorymates, you can pick up the daily catch to cook at home, or sit down for a plate of
02:39whatever catches your eye.
02:40I'm going to go for the pan-fried haddock, please.
02:42Good choice.
02:43Not only is haddock a local fish, but at Dorymates, it's coming in fresh daily.
02:49The beauty of a dish like this is the simplicity.
02:53The haddock is coated in a seasoned flour dredge, popped into a ripping hot pan of sizzling butter,
03:00and served up with a super fresh cucumber salad and classic tartar sauce.
03:04Enjoy.
03:05I could not be more pumped to dig in.
03:11Mmm, yum.
03:12This is so good.
03:15Here in Lunenburg, the working waterfront is the heart of town.
03:19Known as the fishing capital of Canada for generations, these days, a certain crustacean is king.
03:25That's right, I'm going lobster fishing.
03:28And I am hyped.
03:32Gail.
03:33Hey, Andy.
03:34Permission to come aboard?
03:35By all means.
03:36I'm super excited.
03:37Good.
03:38Nova Scotia has some of the world's most abundant lobster fishing grounds.
03:42Captain Gail Atkinson has been fishing them on the Nelly Row for over 10 years, and making her living on
03:48the sea for 20 more.
03:51Lobstering is at the heart of her business, and she once led the country's first all-female lobster crew.
03:57I've heard that lobster fishing is some seriously hard work, but with Captain Gail as my guide, I've got this.
04:02Right?
04:05Are you a romantic about this?
04:07I'm a romantic.
04:08That's not a romantic.
04:10There is a freedom in it.
04:12You're hunting for a living, but in the winter, it's really intense.
04:18When you've got rough weather, heavy equipment, an icy deck, it must get pretty risky out there.
04:23It's the most dangerous industry in the country.
04:27But on this gorgeous spring day at the tail end of the season, the weather gods are smiling on us.
04:33We're heading out to the ovens.
04:35That headland right there, that's where they're waiting for us.
04:38Do you generally go to the same spots?
04:40I can tell you right now where I'm going to start this haul, and then I just move from there.
04:44Yeah.
04:44You just try to, like, think like a lobster.
04:50All right, we're going to get our pants on.
04:52Let's get your pants on.
04:52Get your pants on, man.
04:57I'll just get you to gaff that first buoy, and you can just hand it to me.
05:00I'm just aiming for the buoy.
05:02Yeah, just gaff it and just haul it right up.
05:04Just gaff it.
05:04Don't think about it, just gaff it.
05:07Gaffing on a lobster boat means using this pole with a hook to secure the rope connected to the traps
05:12in the water.
05:15I'm going to put this in the hauler.
05:17OK.
05:19Oh, here she comes.
05:20Look at that.
05:21Come on up.
05:24To board a trap, you grab the bridle like this.
05:27Sweet.
05:27And these are nifty little clips.
05:29Oh, cool.
05:30There.
05:30Look at that.
05:31Oh, it smokes.
05:31Look at that one.
05:33Oh.
05:35That's a beauty.
05:37So I think it's really important we put bands on these right away because they're going to be fighting.
05:42You can grab the big one at the back so they can't get you.
05:46Yeah.
05:47Get a band on the end of here.
05:48Then you just do this, a little flick of the wrist.
05:51So you just literally poke it in there.
05:52Yep.
05:52Open it up, a little flick of the wrist.
05:57OK, so just put it on and .
06:01I see.
06:01Oh, flick of the wrist.
06:02You got it.
06:03You got it.
06:03You got it.
06:03I see.
06:03I see.
06:04Put those in the crate and I'm going to head to the next trap then.
06:07OK.
06:09Gail dropped these traps yesterday.
06:12Specially marked buoys along with high-tech GPS systems guide captains to their traps.
06:17I get excited every time.
06:18I've done this tens of thousands of times.
06:21It's like Christmas every day.
06:22I shifted these traps around.
06:24Are they going to have anything?
06:25It's exciting.
06:26Oh, beautiful.
06:26Well done.
06:27You're hired.
06:28Forget about the TV show.
06:30Yeah, it's done.
06:31During lobster fishing season, from the end of November until the last day in May,
06:36Gail and her crew will drop and check as many traps as her license allows.
06:40Gail owns two licenses.
06:42At 250 traps per license, that's 500 traps she drops and checks daily.
06:48We got four.
06:49Yummy.
06:50We got it.
06:51We're laughing.
06:53There it is.
06:54Last but not least.
06:56Oh, that's another nice one.
06:58Oh, yeah.
07:00Oh, no!
07:02No!
07:03Let go!
07:06That was amazing.
07:07You were a natural.
07:08I'll be here next season.
07:09Absolutely.
07:09Show up on time.
07:10That's it.
07:14Coming up, Acadian history is brought to life.
07:17It gets thick and gooey and just so good.
07:29We got a foggy one here today, folks.
07:32I'm en route to Peggy's Cove.
07:34But the South Shore's most photographed lighthouse is not on the menu.
07:40Instead, I'm hitting up Café L'Acadie, where owner Gary set up shop to bring his rich Acadian
07:46food culture to as many people as possible, tourists and locals alike.
07:51Gary's known to be a font of information about Acadians, who are the proud descendants of
07:5617th century French settlers.
07:58And I feel like I'm going to be eating history on a plate.
08:02Gary's Acadian roots go back to Shetty Camp, Cape Breton.
08:04And though he's been living out this way for over 20 years, his memories of home are ever-present.
08:10My mom was an amazing cook of our cultural food.
08:14She knew how to get eight kids out of bed first thing in the morning.
08:18And the dishes that are on our menu are the dishes that I grew up on.
08:23One of the dishes is fricot.
08:25Fricot is kind of in the middle between a soup and a stew.
08:28But like a lot of Acadian dishes, fricot starts with the salt pork just to render the oil.
08:34Then we brown our onions and we brown our chicken.
08:37Once that's cooked, we add our diced potatoes and then we fill the pot with homemade broth.
08:43Simmer, add salted green onions.
08:46Salted green onion is very traditional in Acadian culture.
08:50This looks very comforting. This must feel like home.
08:54This is a dish that just permeates through the house.
08:58Oh yeah, that one's lovely.
09:00I didn't grow up eating fricot, but this still reminds me of my mom.
09:04Food is so much more than just nourishment, it's memories, it's culture, it's history.
09:08It's connection.
09:09It is.
09:10Yeah.
09:15Welcome home, Andy.
09:17That's lovely.
09:18With my heart and belly warmed by Gary's phenomenal fricot, I want to know more about the culture that created
09:24it.
09:24Who are Acadians?
09:26They're the French that arrived here in the early 1600s.
09:29They flourished here.
09:30They built dike systems all up the Bay of Fundy and made land that was not fertile, very fertile.
09:37That all changed in 1755 when the English threw the French out.
09:42But the food really is what connects Acadians all around the world.
09:47One of the recipes that we make is 250 years old.
09:50Wrappy pie is an iconic Acadian dish of rehydrated potato and chicken baked under a layer of salt pork.
09:57The texture inside is very soft and it's thick and it's kind of gooey.
10:03Gary scoops the wrappy pie into balls, freezes them, and then coats the bites in batter before deep frying to
10:09order.
10:10Every Acadian wants a corner piece of the wrappy pie because that's where all the crust is.
10:15Yeah.
10:16So these, you've got that nice crisp all around the soft texture of the inside of the pie.
10:25Oh, wow.
10:26We dip those in a sour cream with salted green onions.
10:30That texture is amazing.
10:32That gooeyness, but then you get that crunch on the outside.
10:34The green onion is a perfect condiment too.
10:37Absolutely lovely.
10:39We can't leave the table without having something sweet.
10:42So I want to introduce to you some Poudin Chaumeur.
10:47Oh, hey.
10:47Directly translated, it means poor man's pudding.
10:51In Gary's Poudin Chaumeur, a traditional sauce of maple syrup and brown sugar is poured over a thick cake batter
10:58and baked in the oven.
10:59All of the maple that gets trapped under the batter, it caramelizes and it gets thick and gooey and just
11:07so good.
11:10Looks perfect.
11:11Looks perfect.
11:11You've got that beautiful maple sugar sauce.
11:18That is beautiful.
11:19Dense and gooey and sweet, but not too sweet.
11:22It's got that smooth Nova Scotia maple.
11:25It's just a lovely way to end a lovely meal.
11:27Gary, thanks for having me here.
11:29What a beautiful place this is.
11:31Just to be in Peggy's Cove, it's pretty amazing.
11:34What else did you want?
11:35Coming up, I'm taking a crack at joining the Shore Club crew.
11:39Perfect.
11:40The juice.
11:41Now to do it.
11:48Today's a fun one.
11:49We're heading to the Shore Club.
11:51This place is an absolute legend on the South Shore as the place to come for a quintessential Nova Scotia
11:58lobster supper.
12:00A boiled lobster, clarified butter, an array of classic picnic salads.
12:05And do not forget the steamed mussels.
12:08Owned by the Harnish family since 1946, it's also been a huge part of my life for years.
12:14My in-laws got married here.
12:16My wife and I threw our wedding after party here.
12:19And we even went to high school with Luke, who's taking over as the fourth generation owner-operator.
12:24Today I'm going to be sneaking behind the scenes to actually cook their iconic lobster supper,
12:28and then serving it up to my friends and family.
12:36What's up, Luke?
12:36Hey, Andy. How are you, man?
12:38Doing great. Another season.
12:39Good to see you.
12:39Sir.
12:40You're putting me to work today.
12:41Yeah, we're going to be rocking later on.
12:43But let me show you out back.
12:44Okay.
12:44I don't think you've ever seen it out there.
12:45I've never been there.
12:46This is what we affectionately call lobster land out here.
12:50And this is our head lobster cook, Craig.
12:52Welcome to lobster land.
12:52How are you doing, Craig?
12:53I'm excited to be here.
12:54Right on. Good to have you.
12:55So how does this all work?
12:56We've got to get our ocean water in our pots first.
12:58Ocean water's key for a good lobster.
13:00Absolutely.
13:01And not just any ocean water.
13:02Luke does a weekly pickup from a nearby lobster fisherman
13:05to ensure Shore Club is cooking with cold, clean, fresh seawater.
13:12You're doing this every single week.
13:13You got it, man.
13:14Can't cook a lobster without water.
13:17Put it right on there.
13:19Now we're good to fill it.
13:21So people that aren't from around here might be wondering,
13:24why do you boil in seawater?
13:26From my experience, I find it adds like a real sweetness to it.
13:30Lobsters live in ocean water.
13:31And if you cook them in fresh water,
13:33they're just going to leach out all the salt that's in them.
13:36But if you cook them in the same substrate,
13:38you get this nice, sweet, juicy taste in the lobster.
13:40I love that.
13:42The pots are filled.
13:43So now it's time to get these burners fired up.
13:46Just hit the propane.
13:49Ooh, baby.
13:50Oh, yeah.
13:51That's like a jet engine.
13:52You can adjust the level here just with that little knob.
13:54OK.
13:55Woo-hoo.
13:56Here we go.
13:56Baby.
13:57And you just tuck it underneath.
13:59What do you normally do now?
14:00Soak in the sun for 30 minutes.
14:02I wish.
14:04There's no working on our tans when it's time
14:05to put the mussels on.
14:08Every lobster dinner at the Shore Club
14:10starts with an ample pound of them.
14:12We've got just a skim on the bottom of white wine
14:15and garlic butter.
14:16Beautiful.
14:16And after being steamed for 10 minutes,
14:18the mussels are plump, juicy, and begging to be tasted.
14:22It's perfect.
14:23Oh, God.
14:24We forgot one important part.
14:26We have to get the lobster land flag out.
14:28The flag of lobster land.
14:30Look at this.
14:31Now the people will know.
14:34And just in time, because the Shore Club is open
14:36and guests are coming in.
14:38We've got the water up to a good boil.
14:39All right.
14:40We've got our first order of the night.
14:41We're going head first.
14:42Head first.
14:43Right into that water.
14:44All right.
14:45Thank you for your service, Mr. Lobster, and straight in.
14:48Top back on.
14:49Top on, yeah.
14:49So we put them in for 15 minutes.
14:51Got another order.
14:52Drop some more lobsters.
14:54It's a controversial topic, but you guys do boil bands on.
14:57We do.
14:58One side argues that boiling band on
15:00leaves the lobsters with a rubbery taste.
15:02The other side thinks that's a crock of you-know-what.
15:06I've eaten a lot of lobsters in my life.
15:08It makes no difference.
15:10All right.
15:11All right.
15:11Ready to rock there?
15:12They're ready to rock.
15:13Oh, yeah.
15:13A couple victims in lobster land.
15:16There will be more.
15:17Keep the lid on.
15:17Keep the boil going.
15:18Ready to crack them up.
15:20Craig's going to show me how to break down a lobster,
15:22short glove style.
15:23So first things first, we get the bands off.
15:25Okay.
15:26We want that meat nice and accessible for the customer.
15:28So flip it over onto its back.
15:30Kind of bum's facing towards us.
15:31Yep.
15:32And open up the tail.
15:33Yep.
15:33You want to grab your knife, pointy part,
15:35right where the tail meets the torso.
15:37Dig it in, and then go down with the wrist,
15:39right to the end of the tail.
15:40Push right through.
15:40And then you've got some nice tail meat.
15:44Perfect.
15:45Whew.
15:46The juice.
15:46Nothing to it.
15:47That's it.
15:47Yeah, you might get a little bit of splash up.
15:50Flip them on the side and about mid claw.
15:52Okay.
15:52You want to just give it a little flick and dig it in,
15:55and then a little twist opens it up.
15:57And then the knuckle.
15:58That's a hard part to get into, too.
15:59So you just give that a little smash.
16:02There you go.
16:02And then right in there.
16:05Come on.
16:07Oh, look at the mess I made, Craig.
16:09Yeah.
16:10They're going to make it look messier in two seconds.
16:13You ready to be gobbled up?
16:16Craig and I better keep these lobsters coming,
16:18because 18 members of the extended hay clan
16:21are descending on the shore club today.
16:25There we go.
16:26Perfect.
16:27Oh, there's my family.
16:31What about this?
16:32It's a family tradition we look forward to every summer.
16:36All right, go get my seat.
16:37I'll see you in there, okay?
16:38Go get all set up.
16:41While I live out my lobster dreams with Craig,
16:43my family settles into the dining room.
16:45Hard work makes for a good appetite,
16:47and I am sure ready to join the party.
16:53Lobster's for everyone.
16:56Well, almost everyone.
16:57Did someone order the chicken?
16:58Yes, I did.
17:01What can I say?
17:02My mom loves the chicken.
17:04Now it's time to chow down.
17:06Oh, sweet lobster.
17:08Dip it in the butter.
17:09Oh, yeah.
17:11Mmm.
17:13I like that there's some labor involved.
17:15You got to work for it.
17:16You got to work for it.
17:17Dad will eat every crevice of this thing.
17:20Is baby G having any lobster?
17:22We'll wait a couple more months.
17:23That's really great.
17:24But we'll be back.
17:25We'll be back.
17:26We'll be back.
17:29I've fished them, I've boiled them, and I've cracked them.
17:33Coming up, we're making my take on a classic lobster roll.
17:44The South Shore is where I was born and raised, and being back home hits every time.
17:50It's a region steeped in history, rich in tradition, and deeply tied to the hard-won bounty of the ocean.
17:57Yummy.
17:59Now, back in my new hometown of Dartmouth, I'm inspired to draw on that bounty and a few of the
18:04lessons learned along the way.
18:09First, we shop.
18:13On most days of the week, I can be found at my local grocery store picking up everything I need,
18:18both for my family and for my socials.
18:22Today, I'm gathering some fresh and local ingredients to make an East Coast classic.
18:28How we doing?
18:29I might grab two if I could.
18:31It's something that's been enjoyed all along the eastern seaboard, from New England to Newfoundland,
18:36for over a hundred years.
18:37Wonderful.
18:38Thank you very much.
18:41And nowhere do I have fonder memories of its feature ingredient than on the South Shore.
18:45This is my take on the lobster roll.
18:48So for this recipe, you can use fresh or frozen lobster.
18:51It's lobster season here in Nova Scotia, so I grabbed a couple fresh guys, but I also have these frozen
18:56claws from Compliments.
18:58Both have that sweet, fresh-out-of-the-ocean flavour.
19:01These ones come fully cooked, so it could save yourself a step.
19:04First thing I need to do is break down this lobster.
19:06Remove the tail.
19:08Pop off the claws at the same time as well.
19:11I like to put the tail right in my hand and just give it a little squeeze.
19:15Break open the shell and just remove the tail.
19:18In my lobster rolls, I like to use the tail and the claws.
19:21Tail meat has a bit more of a bite, while claws are sweeter and more tender.
19:25But if you only have the claws, that works great, too.
19:27All right.
19:28Now, the trick I learned from my buddy Craig at the Shore Club.
19:31You're going to take your knife and give it a little one-two crack.
19:35I did it, Craig, I did it!
19:36Pop that thumb out of it.
19:38See if we can get it out as one.
19:41Come on.
19:43There you go.
19:44That's what you're searching for.
19:45How exciting.
19:46And then I'm just going to do the same thing with the knuckle here.
19:49The knuckle meat is arguably the best part of the whole lobster.
19:53I love it.
19:53Super tender.
19:55And sometimes there's moments where a knuckle will disappear while you're making it.
20:00I can't explain it.
20:01It just happens sometimes.
20:15Our frozen lobster claws.
20:18Nice and clean.
20:19Beautiful.
20:20Those came out lovely.
20:21All right.
20:22So we got all our lobster meat here.
20:23I want these to be like about that size.
20:26I like a big chunk.
20:33Okay, now we're going to make the dressing.
20:35I'm a mayo guy.
20:36Add in a couple tablespoons.
20:38And then one thing that I love adding into my lobster rolls is some fresh herbs.
20:42Two tablespoons each of finely chopped dill and chives.
20:46Now we're going to season it up.
20:48Half teaspoon of salt.
20:49Half teaspoon of freshly cracked pepper.
20:52Half a teaspoon garlic powder.
20:54And just a little bit of onion powder.
20:56Now what I think makes my lobster roll different the most is lemon zest.
21:00This is going to brighten everything up, make it fresh and just so clean.
21:05Oh, that smells amazing already.
21:07Mix this up.
21:08That looks perfect.
21:09Okay.
21:10The final element is toasting the brioche bun to the stove.
21:14I'm toasting this in about a tablespoon of melted butter.
21:17I love using brioche buns.
21:19They're soft, they're slightly sweet, and they toast up perfectly in the pan.
21:23Yum.
21:24The toasting adds like a depth and butteriness, not a step to be skipped.
21:29Buns looking perfect.
21:30Let's build a lobster roll.
21:31One of the key things about making a lobster roll is being as generous as possible.
21:38For having a lobster roll, let's have a lobster roll.
21:40A few chives on top.
21:42Best side dish to serve with a lobster roll is salt and vinegar chips.
21:46So I'm adding a few compliments kettle cooked on the side.
21:49This is my favorite way to eat lobster.
21:52Look at that.
21:57Mmm.
21:59It's simple, salty, sweet, just like the Nova Scotia's South Shore.
22:05Next time on Andy's East Coast Kitchen Crawl, it's Prince Edward Island's Northeast Shore,
22:10where I eat clams.
22:12I mean, it's so fresh.
22:13That just tastes like the ocean floor.
22:15Join a mussel farming crew.
22:16Don't be scared to jump on them.
22:18They ain't gonna break.
22:18Make a mussel dish of my own.
22:21The smell of these are outrageous.
22:23So good.
22:24And test my skills with a world-famous chef.
22:27I can't believe you're here to cook with us.
22:29Are you ready for a day?
22:30I've been waiting years for this, chef.
22:31I'm out.
22:32I have.
22:33Right.
22:36Move.
22:36Move.
22:37Move.
22:37Move.
22:37You
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