Go Shuck An Oyster: 06/01/2009

You may be fortunate enough to already know about Nantucket Wild Gourmet & Smokehouse but if you're not, find them at your local farmer's market or store. When you find them at a farmer's market stop by their tent, as they have great products and will give you samples of everything they make.

On one Saturday morning in Hingham, MA, at the farmer's market at Bathing Beach, I met Ken of Nantucket Wild Gourmet & Smokehouse. He gave me the run-down of their products. I tasted and absolutely loved the Real Wild Alaskan Smoked King Salmon, and the various spreads and dips made from fresh fish. I was thrilled to sample their spread made from smoked Bluefish, a delicious and rare treat. The word among those "in the know" is that the best way to prepare bluefish is to smoke it and make into a spread and Nantucket Wild Gourmet does exactly that, the results are incredible.

Some other products they sell are smoked tuna with kalamata olive dip, salmon pate, feta cheese and vegetable dip, roasted vegetable with goat cheese, and a hummus spread.

See below for days they can be found at local farmer's markets in your area. Definitely stop by the table and browse their wares, and have a taste! They also have a website, and have their Real Wild Alaskan Smoked King Salmon available for purchase online.

Tuesday - Vineyard Haven, MA

Wednesday - Hyannis, MA
Wednesday - Somerville, MA/Davis Square
Thursday - Brookline, MA
Thursday - Prudential, Boston

Thursday - Falmouth, MA
Friday - Copley Square, Boston
Saturday - Hingham, MA

For my dedicated readers, I'm sorry Nantucket Wild Gourmet & Smokehouse does not sell oysters but if you're up for trying something new, I'm sure you'll be pleased. You might even be interested in learning about the smoking process and the health benefits of Real Wild Alaskan Smoked King Salmon.

Recently I was at an oyster festival and I noticed volunteers collecting oyster shells for recycling. I wondered why and have since learned a lot. Here are a few of the basic reasons:

- the empty shells can be returned to the water to serve as homes for baby oysters;
- this helps to restore oysters and clean ocean water;
- many areas have a critical shortage of oyster shells - to properly manage oyster beds and maintain important oyster habitats, citizens and businesses must continually recycle the oyster shell that is removed from oyster beds; and
- recycled shells are used to build oyster reefs in protected oyster sanctuaries.

Unfortunately I'm not the first blogger to tackle this topic, so to find out more, read the Menu Pages Blog.

Here is a listing by State of oyster recycling projects:

North Carolina

http://www.ncfisheries.net/shellfish/recycle1.htm

http://www.ncangler.com/forums/f29/trash-treasure-new-oyster-shell-recycling-1875.html

http://www.smokeybay.com/nl-recycle-oyster.html

South Carolina

http://saltwaterfishing.sc.gov/oyster.html

http://score.dnr.sc.gov/deep.php?subject=6&topic=1

http://www.nowpublic.com/style/oyster-shell-recycling-area-charleston-sc

http://www.oyster.unh.edu/shell_recycling.html

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/09/14/scientists_want_you_to_save_those_oyster_shells/

Virginia

http://www.cbf.org/site/PageServer?pagename=state_sub_va_hamptonroads_oysterrestoration_recycle
http://www.lynnhavenrivernow.org/save-oyster-shells.aspx