The Future of French Oysters

Check out this great interview on SeafoodSource.com about France’s dwindling oyster production.

April 21, 2010 – 9:48 am | By nellie | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

New Yorkers for Markets

Yesterday we had the honor of representing vendors of New York food markets at a press conference held by City Council Speaker, Christine Quinn. Along with other council members and supporters, Speaker Quinn called for a permanent market at the site of the former Fulton Fish Market.

“The new market should represent the culinary talent, diversity and entrepreneurism of our local food industry and of the history of this great neighborhood and this great part of Manhattan, which has been a critical part of the food history of New York City.”

As a representative for the vendors, I discussed how as a child I would visit the Fulton Fish Market with my father. What impressed upon me the most was the great sense of community and vitality of the market. When W&T was given the rare opportunity, as a distributor, to participate in the New Amsterdam Market, we had a chance to share high-quality, fresh, and unique seafood with the public, but not only that, we got to meet and network with other like-minded vendors, thus launching more events and partnerships.  Markets are more than just about food, they’re also about community. We are very lucky to be a part of such a robust effort and it would only benefit New Yorkers to have a permanent market in the space.

Below are some links to some of the press coverage:

April 16, 2010 – 10:29 am | By nellie | Posted in Events | Comments (0)

Banquet Plans

We are so honored to participate in New Amsterdam Market’s A Winter Night Banquet this Friday evening. W&T Seafood will be hosting an exclusive East Coast oyster tasting prior to the dinner and we’re very excited to share our love with oysters and hope to cultivate a few more ostreaphiles!

A few weeks ago, we were also lucky enough to participate in the planning meeting for the dinner. Chefs and purveyors were not the only ones in attendance, participants were invited as well, which added to the great community-centric vibe. Purveyors shared lists of seasonal items and the chefs, Sara Jenkins and Odessa Piper, shared menu ideas that had everyone salivating! Also be sure to check out our post on the New Amsterdam Market’s blog on “taste of place.”

If we don’t get to see you at the dinner tomorrow night, the market will be starting up again in May so we hope to see you at our stall.  After tomorrow’s dinner, we’re all headed off to the annual International Boston Seafood Show– an annual trade show for the seafood industry.  When we get back, we’ll be sharing some more news about upcoming events, so don’t forget to check back or sign up for our mailing list for  more details!

March 11, 2010 – 10:33 am | By nellie | Posted in Events, oysters | Comments (0)

Class is in Session

Mathew guiding the class through the recipes.

Last night we had our very first Oysters 101 class at the Brooklyn Kitchen Labs. Much to our delight, it ended up selling out and we had a roster of 15 oyster enthusiasts. It was a great opportunity for me to geek out on all the oyster knowledge I’ve collected over the years. I was worried that the participants would find some of the history and science a bit dry, but surprisingly, everyone was very engaged and asked a ton of questions. The space and test kitchen at Brooklyn Kitchen Labs is also very comfortable. We were able to set up a few stations for group work and it was a nice way for people to meet also help each other through the shucking and recipes.

I led the first half of the class and discussed oyster history, aquaculture techniques, triploid oysters, sustainability,  oyster appellation and species, oyster shopping tips and most importantly how to shuck and eat an oyster! We had a class full of excellent shuckers! I was expecting this part of the class to take a lot longer, but it was amazing– most people were able to shuck after one try and spent the rest of the time slurping down and tasting oysters! We took a quick break so that the class members could visit the Meat Hook before it closed. If any of you are in the neighborhood, run, don’t walk to the Meat Hook. We used their bacon in one of our recipes and I can’t decide which I preferred more: our oysters or their bacon!

Shucked oysters, ready for some Rockefeller topping

After the break, Mathew took over with the cooking portion. We made Oysters Rockefeller, Spicy Mignonette Sauce, Cocktail Sauce, and Oysters Stew. In the future, we’ll make the sauces at the very beginning of class so that people can dress their oysters when they’re tasting. I like my oysters pure and unadulterated, but I should be considerate of other people’s preferences!

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Mathew had prepped all the ingredients in the beginning of class, so there was no prepping required. We asked everyone to shuck a few more oysters for the recipes but aside from that each recipe took a maximum of 15 minutes! By the end of class, we were feasting on baked and stewed oysters.

The two hours flew by and before we knew it, class was over. We definitely  have plans for another class at the Brooklyn Kitchen… so if you missed it last night, be sure to sign up for our mailing list so you’ll be the first to know when our next class is posted.

February 4, 2010 – 4:01 pm | By nellie | Posted in Classes, Events, Shellfish | Tagged | Comments (0)

Oysters 101 Class at The Brooklyn Kitchen Labs

Whew! It’s been a while since we’ve updated here, but we hope everyone had a great holiday season. We’ve got a lot in store for 2010 and wanted to share some exciting news.

We’ll be hosting a class at The Brooklyn Kitchen Labs on Wednesday, February 3 at 6:30 PM. It’s our inaugural class and it all came about because of the interest we noticed from a lot of the New Amsterdam Market goers. At the markets, customers often asked us to show or tell them in more detail the differences between various oysters as well as how to shuck. We are always happy to share, but it’s tough when you have a line of hungry oyster slurpers! So we thought the best way to share our expertise was to create a class and a hands-on environment where one could learn to shuck and become a true oyster aficionado!

The class details are here. Come out and show your support! We promise it’ll be a great time because there’s nothing like the feeling of opening your first oyster!

January 15, 2010 – 2:19 pm | By nellie | Posted in Events, Shellfish, Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Last Market Day of the Season!

With the holidays and the last market day (Sunday, December 20) of the season coming up, we decided to get a little creative and offer up a gift box option. After much thought, we created an Oyster Gift Lunchbox! Why a lunchbox? We were looking for an easy yet attractive way to transport oysters, yet keep them cool, and in a leak-proof container… and these beautiful, original, and authentic miner’s  lunchboxes manufactured by L. May Fabricators in Canada fit the bill.  L. May’s boxes have been known to last 50 years! These are definitely not novelty lunchboxes! My favorite parts of the box is the the top compartment, where you could include a bottle of wine or hard cider. The upper part of the box has a support “latch” that keeps a bottle in place. So the box definitely makes for a great host/hostess gift for a holiday party.

We’ll be offering the boxes with a dozen oysters of your choice (choose from Malpeques, Moon Shoals, Blue Points, and Wawenauks), a shucking knife, and a mini-guide on oyster taste profiles as well as illustrated directions on how to shuck an oyster. We’ll also include a gel pack inside the box to keep your oysters nice and cool in transport.

Pre-order an Oyster Gift Lunchbox! Shown here with a dozen Blue Point oysters and shucking knife.

Pre-order an Oyster Gift Lunchbox! Shown here with a dozen Blue Point oysters and shucking knife.

We have a very limited supply of these boxes, so if you’d like, please pre-order by Friday, December 18th. The price of the box is $65 if pre-ordered and $70 if purchased at the market. All payments can be made upon pick up at the market. Place your orders by emailing info [at] wtseafood [dot] com with the subject line “Oyster Gift.”

Even if you’re not getting a gift box, we hope you stop by to slurp down some oysters on the half-shell or pick up a few to try your hand at shucking at home. If you’re a novice shucker, we’ve even got a video to get you up to speed. All it takes is practice!

This Sunday’s menu will include:

  • Moon Shoals (Duxbury, MA)
  • Blue Points (Oyster Bay, LI)
  • Malpeques (P.E.I., Canada)
  • Wawenauks (Damariscotta River Estuary, ME)
  • Blue Mussels (P.E.I., Canada)

Hope to see you there! For directions and a map, visit the New Amsterdam Market web site.

P.S. We didn’t forget… we definitely owe you some photos and linsk from our last market day. We sold out of our oysters by 3 P.M. and will plan to bring more, but get there early so you don’t miss out!

December 14, 2009 – 5:44 pm | By nellie | Posted in Events, Shellfish | Comments (0)

Aw Shucks!

We’re getting ready for another day at the New Amsterdam Market tomorrow. The weather is looking great and we’re all quite excited to share some beautiful oysters and mussels.

Oysters are the perfect complement to any Thanksgiving feast. Aside from oyster stuffing, you can incorporate oysters into your meal by simply shucking and plating them and offering a few condiments. For those of you who are new to oyster shucking, below is a video of how to shuck an oyster.

We’ll be selling a variety of oysters as well as professional shucking knives for those of you who would like to try at home.

Our menu for tomorrow includes the following:
Oysters ($1.25/shucked and $1.00/loose)
- Island Creek from Duxbury, MA
- Moon Shoal from Duxbury, MA
- Malpeque from P.E.I., Canada
- Blue Point from Oyster Bay, Long Island

Mussels ($6.00/two pound bag)
- farm-raised from P.E.I., Canada

For those of you who need some oyster inspiration for Thanksgiving, New York Magazine featured oysters three ways for their Thanksgiving special. Check it out here.

We hope you can make it and look forward to meeting some happy slurpers!

Details and directions to tomorrow’s market:

Location
South Street, between Beekman Street and Peck Slip
On the East River waterfront in Lower Manhattan

Time
11:00am to 4:00pm

Map
To get directions using Google Maps, Mapquest or Yahoo! Maps, or GPS use “120 South Street, 10038″ as the address.

Map to the New Amsterdam Market

Map to the New Amsterdam Market

November 21, 2009 – 7:14 pm | By nellie | Posted in Events, Shellfish | Comments (2)

Our First Market Day

We had a blast at Sunday’s New Amsterdam Market. The weather was perfect: sunny yet dry and cool. We had a team of five with lots of help here and there (everything from unloading the products, setting up, to making a run for quarters and singles!). By 9:30 AM we were all set up an ready to go. We took time to walk the market and check out other vendor offerings. We even had some early interest from passerbys, who were excited to see fresh shellfish on display and asked when the market would be open. In hindsight, we should have taken advantage of the hour we had before the official 11:00 AM opening time and eaten a huge sandwich and hydrated, because we did not get one break during the remainder of the day!

We would have never guessed that the public had such an appetite for oysters! We offered three types of oysters (Island Creeks, Wellfleets, and Moon Shaols) all from Island Creek Oysters. They were a big hit! Folks were so excited to see a variety and taste a contrast between all the oysters. On average, most people ordered 3-6 pieces. Many also purchased a knife and some loose oysters so that they could shuck at home. One customer went home with a bag of 40 oysters. Nothing gets us more excited than seeing happy slurpers with a smile on their face after tasting our oyster offerings. By the end of the day, we shucked and sold close to 1,000 pieces!

We also offered a cooked mussel dish in a garlic and white wine broth. It was also a hit seeing as the smells of cooking mussels were wafting through the air enticing potential customers. We also sold our Captain Louie’s mussels by the bag and many people were excited to cook them for dinner that evening.

After a long day of shucking and meeting fellow shellfish lovers, we were all definitely quite exhausted, but we’re already psyched for the next market day on November 22! If the stars align, we will definitely be returning. What would you like to see at our next market event? We’ll definitely be shucking more oysters! But would you like to try some more cooked shellfish dishes as well? Possibly an oyster stew or mussel chowder? We’d also like to offer shucked oyster meats at the next market since it will be so close to the Thanksgiving holiday and our west coast oyster meats are just perfect for stuffing.

Some photos from the day. We didn’t get many pictures after setting up because our stall was packed from the time we opened!

Our offerings

Our offerings

Our display

A shot of our oyster selections

Calm before te storm

Calm before the storm. Nellie, Tony, and Alice before the opening bell.

Our #1 shucker for the day, Morgan

Our #1 shucker for the day, Morgan

Captain Louie's mussels

Captain Louie's mussels

Overall display

Overall display

We’re not the only ones who had a good time! Check out some great blog posts about the market and our shellfish over at Food Mayhem, High/Low Food/Drink, The Faster Times, and Cheese and Reality.

And also a very special thanks to Dana Drummond of Atlantic Aqua Farms who stopped by to help us with the market Dana shucked a tremendous amount of oysters for us and we couldn’t be more grateful!

October 27, 2009 – 11:28 am | By nellie | Posted in Events, Shellfish | Comments (0)

New Amsterdam Market and Other News

It’s been a while since our last post and a lot has been happening.

First off, we’ll be featuring mussels and oysters at the New Amsterdam Market this Sunday. Be sure to stop by for a sample of cooked mussels or shucked oysters. If you love them (which we’re sure you will!), you can purchase some to take home. We’ll also be offering recipes and guides on how to prepare mussels. We hope you can make it and support the local market culture as well as try some amazing fresh shellfish!

Some more details about the market:
New Amsterdam Market will hold the second of four monthly markets–part of their first Fall Market Season–on Sunday, October 25, 2009, from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Come meet the growing roster of vendors and support New Amsterdam’s mission to revive and reinvent the regional public market in the City of New York. Farmers, producers, and purveyors will sell fresh seasonal produce, meats and dairy, wild-gathered greens, breads, cheeses, fermented foods, fruits, wine, and cider–all from the Northeast.

Each of the monthly markets will have a different focus that will demonstrate the breadth and scope of our vision for a permanent public market in the City of New York. The October market will be smaller in size, and will highlight Meat Vendors and Purveyors more prominently.
The markets are held on South Street, between Beekman Street and Peck Slip in Lower Manhattan. The market will also offer prepared foods to take away and enjoy along the public piers on South Street.

A map of the market site location

A map of the market site location

And we’ve finally caught up with the social networking craze and started a fan page on Facebook! Become our fan and learn more about upcoming events and new products.

We hope to see you at the market on Sunday and if not, on Facebook!

October 20, 2009 – 4:11 pm | By nellie | Posted in Events, Shellfish | Comments (1)

Product Highlight: Mediterranean Mussels

One of the reasons I look forward to summer is prime Mediterranean Mussel season. For the at-home cook or four-star chef, these mighty morsels are very easy to cook and only require a few simple ingredients to enhance their existing full-flavor. We will begin offering Mediterranean Mussels in late May. Be sure to give us a call to place your order.

Credit: Christopher Conrad

Credit: Christopher Conrad

Common Name: Mediterranean Mussels

Scientific Name: Mytilus galloprovincialis

Origin:

These mussels were discovered in Puget Sound in 1989. Puget Sound is located in Canada, north of Seattle, Washington.

Brief Description:

  • Don’t confuse Mediterranean Mussels with Blue or Edible Mussels– both are found on the East and West Coasts in North America and are of the same species
  • Mediterranean Mussels are popular with chefs and diners alike because their meats fill up the shell, they are sweet and contain no grit
  • Their smooth glossy blue/black elongated shells make for great plating and presentation
  • Most Mediterranean Mussels are farmed-raised, therefore, they are easy to clean and prep.

Handling:

Mussels should be eaten as soon as possible after harvest. They should be able to close their shells when handled. Discard broken gaping shells that do not close when tapped firmly a few times. Just like clams, if stored in the refrigerator, cover them with a damp towel to prevent from drying out. Also, mussels with their beard still attached will have longer shelf-life. If removed too early, it will drastically shorten their shelf-life; therefore, remove it before you cooking. Most debearded live mussels have a shelf life of 7-10 days, although this decreases to 5-7 days after mussels have spawned. Live mussels should be held at 35-38°F in ice, which must be allowed to drain as fresh water will kill mussels. Frozen mussels have a shelf life of six to nine months.

Grading:

Three available sizes:

  • Small (~21/lb)
  • Regular (~15/lb)
  • Large (~10/lb)

Availability:

Year-round, but meat yields and harvests decline after spawning. Mediterranean mussels spawn in winter, which means these mussels are in perfect condition during the summer months, when they are most sought after.

Sustainability:

Mediterranean Mussels are grown on ropes suspended from wooden rafts– an environmentally benign farming method.

Taste:

Mediterranean Mussels have a delicate, yet complex flavor and a buttery texture.

Credit: Christopher Conrad

Recipes:

April 22, 2009 – 10:08 am | By nellie | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Comments (0)