Mail-order oysters: A way to do a Big Night Out at home
Before the pandemic, my husband and I only ever ate oysters at restaurants, said Patrice Yursik in FoodAnd Wine.com. But with restaurant dining limited and oyster farmers still trying to make a living, we have discovered the miracle of mail-order services, which deliver fresh oysters nationwide in one or two days. Many sellers even include shucking knives and instructions, so if you, too, have resigned yourself to an oyster-less 2020, think again. Real Oyster Cult This husband-and-wife operation in Duxbury, Mass., has been providing overnight delivery of fresh mail-order oysters for 15 years, often in packages of six to 10 that present a variety of oysters from select locations throughout coastal North America. Current options include American Shuck’n Love, a 40-count package that steers a portion of revenues to buy supplies for frontline health workers. realoystercult.com Taylor Shellfish Portland, Ore., chef Derek Hanson recommends two fifth-generation, family-run oyster purveyors in Washington state, said Nikita Richardson in NYMag .com. Bellevue-based Taylor is the source of “legendary” Shigoku and Kumamoto oysters, while Hama Hama, on the far side of Puget Sound, also farms “some of the best oysters in the world,” including Blue Pools, Sea Cows, and Disco Hamas. taylor shellfishfarms.com and hamahamaoysters.com
Fulton Fish Market New York City’s 200-year-old fish market ships combo seafood boxes that mix wild Atlantic Blue Point oysters with split red king crab legs, said Amanda Gabriele on TheManual.com. The selection of Pacific oysters includes Skookums, Kusshis, and Hammersleys, and with Fulton, you can tick off all the other boxes on your seafood shopping list, including uni roe and Prince Edward Island mussels. fultonfishmarket.com