In search of the perfect lobster roll
The Big Dig
GBH News
4.8 • 2.1K Ratings
🗓️ 8 April 2026
⏱️ 35 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In the 1980s, six women on an island off the coast of Massachusetts began selling lobster rolls as a church fundraiser. Today, people travel by car, boat, and plane just to taste these hallowed summer treats.
Today we bring you an episode from one of our favorite food podcasts, “The Sporkful”, in which host Dan Pashman travels to Martha’s Vineyard to uncover Grace Church’s secret recipe. Plus, Daniel Gritzer from Serious Eats breaks down the science of why frozen lobster might be better than fresh.
https://www.sporkful.com/the-secret-to-grace-churchs-lobster-rolls/
Find more from The Sporkful, wherever you listen to podcasts or at www.sporkful.com
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We talked a lot this season about fish: the cod, the haddock, the flounder. We heard about monk fish and grey sole, hake and halibut. But if you’ve ever spent a summer in New England, you know that if there is one food we take more seriously than our fish, it’s our shellfish.
So today I’m excited to bring you an episode from one of my favorite podcasts – The Sporkful – in which host Dan Pashman travels to Martha’s Vineyard to uncover the secret recipe of his favorite lobster roll. Plus, Daniel Gritzer from Serious Eats breaks down the science of why frozen lobster might be better than fresh.
As always, Dan and the team have a special knack for telling stories about food that also help you understand the world. You can find all their work wherever you are listening right now, just search for “The Sporkful.” And please enjoy: The Secret To Grace Church’s Lobster Rolls…
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Disney's Zootopia 2 is the highest grossing animated film of all time. |
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| 0:43.5 | Support for the Big Dig comes from Good Now Farms Chocolate, creating award-winning chocolate from single origin cacao, sourced directly from farmers throughout Latin America, ensuring |
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| 1:14.4 | We talked a lot this season about fish. |
| 1:17.2 | Of course, the cod, the haddock, flounder. |
| 1:19.9 | We heard about monkfish, gray soul, hake, halibate. |
| 1:23.8 | But if you've ever spent a summer in New England, |
| 1:27.3 | you know that there is one food we take |
| 1:29.3 | even more seriously than our fish, and that is our shellfish. |
| 1:33.9 | When it comes to lobster rolls, people around here have very, very strong opinions. |
| 1:39.5 | So today, I'm excited to bring you an episode from one of my personal favorite podcasts, |
| 1:45.4 | The Sporkful, in which host Dan Pashman travels to Martha's Vineyard to uncover the secret |
| 1:51.4 | recipe of his favorite lobster roll. |
... |
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