About your seafood — Sea Forager

Posts in Mollusk

Penn Cove, P.E.I., or Mediterranean Mussels

With the wind and wether keeping our local boats off the water, we are super happy to celebrate sustainable aquaculture this week with Mediterranean mussels. These beauties are a special treat from the crisp waters of Totten Inlet, Washington. Approx 2.5lbs per order.

Steam these beauties in beer or wine and inhale the intoxicating scent of the sea! Check out the Fishwife's mussel recipes and be sure to send us photos of your culinary creation.

INFO PAGE: Click for more info!

BRING A BAG! Store in the fridge with a damp towel but do not submerge in water. Discard any shells that don't close when you tap them, or remain closed after cooking.

Preparation (be sure to read this)

Most of you guys will be familiar with mussels but in case you are not, here are some things you need to be aware of:

Mussels open up when they die. If any of your mussels are open before you cook them, tap them a few times: if they close up, they are still alive. If they do not close up they are dead and should be discarded.
As far as cooking mussels goes, nature provided mussels with a built in timer for boiling or steaming. Pour about a cup of beer, wine, or water, in a nice big pot and add your mussels. Cover with a nice tight lid and steam, shaking occasionally. When the mussels open up (even a little bit) they're done. Those mussels that do not open up should be discarded. Or check the Fishwife's recipe for a more fun version, but the principle is the same.
Rinse them well before cooking. And remove the beards! The mussels' beards are the bryssal fibers that connect them to the structure that they grow on. Pull these fibers off before you cook them.

ORIGIN: from the crisp waters of Totten Inlet, Washington

METHOD: Aquaculture

RECIPES: Easy steamed mussels with wine, Drunken Mussels with Fennel & Lemon, Coconut mussels, Seafood chowder with leeks, spicy thai mussels, Summer cioppino

MolluskKirk LombardJanuary 26, 2021Mussels

Oysters

PLEASE NOTE:

SINGLE orders will be in BROWN bag WITH a label - only take the order with your name on it
DOUBLE orders will be in MESH mesh bags WITH a label.

Chill the champagne (or beer!) and grab a lemon, and think of something to celebrate because you’ll be getting *18* Miyagi Miranda oysters from Stretch Island, WA. We happily support aquaculture facilities, especially these guys – a small, local family owned business that produces a great product, smaller quantities and higher quality.

A perfect example of sustainable aquaculture, these oysters are an important part of the future of seafood. While you're chilling the champagne you can keep your oysters cool by putting them in a bowl covered with a damp towel in the fridge. As with all shellfish, they are highly perishable and are best enjoyed immediately.

AW, SHUCKS: PREP: These are "smalls" so we’re throwing in a few more than usual. Our advice is simply to shuck 'em and enjoy them raw or with a squeeze of lemon. You can also enjoy them grilled or broiled. Need a shucking primer? ...VIDEO shuck, and enjoy!

METHOD: Aquaculture

ORIGIN: live from Stretch Island, WA

RECIPES: OYSTERS! Raw, broiled, or BBQ'd

INFO PAGE: Click for fishery info!

MolluskKirk LombardDecember 16, 2020Oysters

Cove Mussels

These beautiful cove mussels are very rarely sold retail anywhere except in Tomales Bay. They also happen to be the only mussels currently raised in Tomales. So this is the most local mussel you can get unless you pick yourself, which I can show you how to do.

Steam these beauties in beer or wine and inhale the intoxicating scent of the sea! Check out the Fishwife's mussel recipes and be sure to send us photos of your culinary creation.

BRING A BAG! Because mussels are brought to you alive, they will arrive in a net bag so bring some kind of drip-proof bag or container to carry your mussels in. Store in the back of your fridge covered with a damp towel but do not submerge in water. Discard any shells that don't close when you tap them, or remain closed after cooking.

Preparation (be sure to read this)

Most of you guys will be familiar with mussels but in case you are not, here are some things you need to be aware of:

Mussels open up when they die. If any of your mussels are open before you cook them, tap them a few times: if they close up, they are still alive. If they do not close up they are dead and should be discarded.
As far as cooking mussels goes, nature provided mussels with a built in timer for boiling or steaming. Pour about a cup of beer, wine, or water, in a nice big pot and add your mussels. Cover with a nice tight lid and steam, shaking occasionally. When the mussels open up (even a little bit) they're done. Those mussels that do not open up should be discarded. Or check the Fishwife's recipe for a more fun version, but the principle is the same.
Cove mussels are grown in the wild. They are a tad more rugged than the machine cleaned and sorted varieties. Rinse them well before cooking. And remove the beards! The mussels' beards are the bryssal fibers that connect them to the structure that they grow on. Pull these fibers off before you cook them.

ORIGIN: Tomales Bay, CA

METHOD: Aquaculture

INFO PAGE: click for more fishery info

RECIPES: Easy steamed mussels with wine, Drunken Mussels with Fennel & Lemon, Seafood chowder with leeks

Enjoy!

MolluskKirk LombardAugust 31, 2020Mussels

Abalone

We are lucky to celebrate sustainable aquaculture this Wednesday! We will be delivering live red abalone for our Neptune's Delight members. We are getting these little beauties from American Abalone Farm in Davenport, Ca., just north of Santa Cruz. Tom has a very cool operation there, nurturing abalone from water brought in just steps away from the beach.

Red abalone is a native snail-like univalve mollusk, legal for sport harvest and aquaculture in California. It is a super local and sustainable ocean product (rated “Best Choice” a la Seafood Watch). As in the wild, abalone eat marine algae (seaweeds) which are harvested in a sustainable manner by clipping the blades so they grow back. Fun fact: the colors on the abalone shells are a result of the different seaweeds that they eat.

These abalones are three years old, and are a true delicacy. You will receive six per order and they are small, but incredibly flavorful. Each fillet is about 1 oz, and will make a delectable appetizer or dinner for two rounded out with some sides. And of course these fine fillets come inside a gorgeous shell that you can enjoy long after your meal is through!

ORIGIN: Davenport, Ca.
METHOD: Aquaculture
PREP TIPS from the farmer: Your live abalone will be sealed in an oxygenated plastic bag. Do not open the bag until you’re ready to remove the shells and cook it. You should remove the meat from the shell as soon as possible. You can store your fillets in the refrigerator for up to a week, or freeze immediately. (VIDEO)

Open the bag and place your abalone on a towel (it may attach to your counter-top). Sponge off any bits of seaweed on the bottom of its “foot.”
Hold the shell in your hand with the head facing you. Using an oyster knife, butter knife, or spoon, insert between the foot and the shell, and scoop the foot out. The viscera will either stay in the shell or come out, just discard it. Trim off the head at an angle, and rinse.
The abalone will tighten and become very firm when removed from the shell. It will naturally relax after a few hours in the refrigerator. This is not a substitute for tenderization. The best time to serve your abalone as sashimi is right after the natural relaxation has occurred. If, like us, you can't wait, just go ahead and tenderize before cooking.
Tenderizing: not necessary if you plan to eat it raw, steamed, or slow cooked. Place the abalone inside a towel and pound both sides of the meat until it’s flexible enough to fold. Don’t pound too hard or you will split or crush it. When you're done it should drape over your fingers. But go easy, honcho!

RECIPES: Pan Fried Abalone with Lemon-Sriracha aioli, Abalone with pine nuts, lemon & butter

VIDEO: How to remove your abalone from the shell and clean it

WINE PAIRING: our friends at tableWINE in Pacifica assure us that a a lightly fruity Prosecco would be delicious! (Andreola Verv Prosecco)

MolluskKirk LombardMay 6, 2018Abalone