Naturally, Southern Living has a Southern twist on oysters. Do not confuse these with Oysters Rockefeller which are traditionally made with Spinach. This more Southern dish relies on the natural bitterness of greens to complement the sweet and salty flavors of our fresh Rappahannock River oysters.
RECIPE CREDIT: SOUTHERN LIVING; PHOTO CREDIT: ANTONIS ACHILLEOS; FOOD STYLING: EMILY NABORS HALL; PROP STYLING: KAY E. CLARKE
]]>Directions
Holiday party season is practically here. Try out this simple recipe for grilled oysters with white wine butter sauce that’s a perfect way to wow your party guests — and make you happy with their tasty goodness.
Recipe and Photo Credit: Vindulge
]]>Things change a bit on the farm as we go into winter. Right now the water is still in the low 70s and the oysters are still growing. This is a sweet spot for growth, and we’ll get one last surge as the oysters start to fatten up for hibernation. Once the water gets below 60, growth will slow, but won’t really stop until it gets down to the low 40’s; with that said, growth is effectively done below 50.
This means we are making a last push to get everything tumbled and split out before the cold settles in. Once the water temperature gets toward 50, we’ll stop tumbling the oysters. It would be too much stress on them to do that when they are getting close to hibernation. They would use too much energy repairing the shell we chipped and they would be unlikely to make it untill spring.
Like any animal that hibernates, oysters stock up on food for the winter. They do this by storing up a lot of glycogen in their bodies, and they use that as an energy source to make it through the winter. So if we stress them and cause them to burn energy too fast, they’ll starve before spring.
The nursery also has to be set for the winter. The upweller will get shut off by the end of November, so we need all the little guys to get big enough to either take out to the farm, or at least get big enough to move to the platform. Because the platform doesn’t have a pump and relies on the tide, we can leave oysters on it over the winter.
With the tumbler out of use and the upweller turned off, it’s time to make a dent on our never ending task list that grows out of control over the summer. We’ll be spending our time hand sorting oysters on the water; repairing and building new gear; and getting to some of the projects we’ve been dreaming of but just couldn’t make the time to start. But first, we have to spend the next six weeks getting everything ready for winter!
]]>Note: You can also broil the oysters instead of a grill isn’t available. Preheat your broiler with the oven rack 3 inches from heat. Place oysters in a single layer in a jelly-roll pan. Broil 4 minutes or until edges curl and butter drips over the shell.
Recipe Credit: Southern Living via MyRecipes.com; Photo Credit: Hector Sanchez; Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas
]]>We ended up taking seventeen bushels of live oysters, which came out to about 3,000-3,200 oysters. We also threw in four bushels of oyster shell we’ve collected over time thanks to folks returning their shells to us. 3,000 oysters represents about half of what we are currently planning to move from the farm to the reef, so we’ll have one or two more trips in the near future to finish up (let us know if you want to help).
It was important to get them there at this time of year, as we wanted to make them available for wild oyster larvae to set on and establish a new permanent living oyster habitat. Wild oyster larvae start setting over the summer and love to make other oyster shells as their home. We hope that this will be the start of a bustling habitat in Meachim Creek that will also help stabilize the ecology in the creek.
Many thanks to everyone who donated to this project. It has made a huge difference for us and given us some stability while allowing us to do the good for the environment that we exist in part to do. If you've been thinking about donating and haven’t gotten to it, we are still accepting donations at this website. The next 3,000 oysters are currently unsponsored and donations help us replace the revenue we’ve lost due to COVID and by not selling these oysters. One day we hope we’re big enough that we can easily afford to regularly donate oysters to reef projects, but right now, we’re still a tIny family farm trying to find solid ground.
In more exciting news, we are finalizing a lease off of Belle Isle State Park that we’ll be partnering with Friends of the Rappahannock on as well. They are already working on a living shoreline project at Belle Isle, so the ability to establish an oyster restoration site in the same area is a great opportunity to expand their education and good works for the Rappahannock River and in turn, the Chesapeake Bay.
]]>While the Chesapeake Bay does not have an annual “green gill” event, we have something just as interesting; we call it Cinnamon Season. Every spring, we get a red algae, Myrionecta Rubra, that impacts the color of oysters in the Rappahannock. Myrionecta Rubra is a non-harmful red algae that is common along the Atlantic coast during spring and fall. It impacts different parts of the Bay at different times depending on conditions, but it is a very regular occurrence. We likely see it in the spring due to rains and subsequent runoff carrying nutrients into the water.
While Haslea pigment stains the gills of oysters, Rubra impacts our oysters a little differently. The pigment typically passes through the gills and builds up inside the oysters so the oyster typically looks normal unless you puncture it while shucking, letting the pigment flow out of the oyster; if that happens the liquor can turn anywhere from a pinkish-red to a muddy red color.
While the pigment generally passes into the oyster’s gut without discoloring the oyster, the pigment can be intense enough to stain the body of the oyster, or even the inside of the shell a little bit. Given that we’re graced with these tinted oysters annually, they’ve been given a nickname for their reddish color: Cinnamons.
If you have heard of the term “red tide,” then red algae might trigger some alarm bells for you, but feel free to turn them off. Rubra is definitely not toxic (and we always confirm it’s Rubra with the Virginia Institute of Marine Scientists). Plus, not all red algae is toxic, and not all toxic algae is red; hence, the term “red tide” is being phased out in favor of “harmful algae bloom,” or “HAB.” Both the Virginia Department of Health and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) check for and track HABs and have a website in which you can see current blooms, so you can rest easy and enjoy your Cinnamons. I know we will.
]]>Having so many oysters in a relatively small space makes taking care of them easier as there all easily accessibly so can quickly clean their temporary and make sure they’re not too crowded. As Taryn likes to say, it’s like running a hostel for rocks. We just have to make sure they have a relatively space where they’re not too crowded before they move on.
We could never manage 500,000 seed oysters on the farm as the equipment they need requires daily attention. 1mm oysters need a surface that’s got holes that are smaller than they are so they don’t fall out and the water can bring food in; something this tightly woven is extremely easy to get dirty and clogged, so we clean the screens daily to get rid of any algae and moss that may grown on them or sediments that collect as the water flows in from the creek. If we were to keep these baby oysters in the river, we wouldn’t have time to care for our older oysters and Aaron would have a permanent sunburn from practically living on the river. So it just makes sense to keep the small stuff at arm’s reach for easy access.
Our nursery actually consists of two parts: our land-based upweller and our floating dock. Our upweller is the aforementioned tank where we start our 1mm oysters when we first get them from the hatchery. We have a pump that forces as much as 10k gallons of water an hour to fill the upweller from the bottom up so that water must also drains out of pipes that are near the top of the upweller. These discharge pipes are inside each of the buckets, so water can only leave the upweller if it has flowed up through the buckets.
This upward flow is why it is called an upweller. Since the oysters are sitting on mesh at the bottom of 28 buckets, the only way the pumped-in water can leave the upweller is by flowing up through the oysters — providing them a buffet of algae and an ample supply of oxygen from the creek. The constant flow of creek water is the only way we know for 500,000 oysters to live in such a small space.
When our 500k 1mm oysters first go in, they usually only take up two to four buckets. Over the next six to eight weeks, these oysters will grow enough to fill all 28 buckets. When these guys start getting up to ¼”, we start separating them out from the smaller oysters. Anything that is ¼” or larger will get moved to the other piece of our nursery, our floating dock.
The floating dock is just what it sounds like. We use this to grow our oysters from ¼” up to ¾”. We hang special baskets off of the dock and let the tidal flow in the creek provide these oysters with food and oxygen as opposed to a pump. We can rely on nature instead of a pump because these baskets are a little less densely stocked than in the upweller and are a larger mesh that allows more water to flow through the gear. The flow is a lot less than the pump provides to the upweller, so the oysters on the floating dock grow more slowly, but the slow growth is worth dealing with. If we wanted to grow them more quickly, we could modify the dock to use a pump to create a floating upweller system, or flupsy. Someday we might, but we like that our system does not use an electric pump because it’s better for the environment and we don’t have to rely on our rural power grid to make sure the oysters are getting what they need.
While the oysters are on the floating dock, we take them out periodically and run them through our tumber using a tube with holes sized to sort out seed. This tube has ⅝” holes in the first half, and ⅞” holes in the second half. So when oysters go through the tube, the small ones fall through first. These small ones go back to the dock, while the larger ones are ready to go out to the farm!
The last notable part of our nursery, and Aaron’s favorite part, is the Webbed Fleet. They came from Taryn’s sister, who decided that if we had a giant tub of oysters, that tub should have some rubber ducks. Our fleet of rubber ducks help us differentiate the oysters, as we eventually have different sizes, different ages, and sometimes even oysters from different family lines all in the upweller at the same time. We need to keep all of these separate to track growth and identify any issues with particular groups of oysters. Rubber ducks aren’t the most technologically advanced system, but they will always be a part of the farm in some form as it evolves.
]]>2020 was brutal for Rogue Oysters -- and the entire oyster industry. We did not come out unscathed as we only sold 20% of what we had available, but we are committed to making the most out of a tough situation.
Friends of the Rappahannock (FOR) has a goal of restoring 125 acres of oyster beds in the lower Rappahannock by 2025 and we've been committed to helping! We're partnering with FOR to use Rogue's soon-to be-homeless excess oysters in joint oyster reef restoration projects. We're giving oyster lovers the opportunity to sponsor oysters in their transition to oyster reefs throughout the Rappahannock.
]]>Friends of the Rappahannock (FOR) has a goal of restoring 125 acres of oyster beds in the lower Rappahannock by 2025 and we've been committed to helping! We're partnering with FOR to use Rogue's soon-to be-cageless excess oysters in oyster reef restoration projects including a joint venture. We're giving oyster lovers the opportunity to sponsor oysters in their transition to oyster reefs throughout the Rappahannock.
For every dollar donated to FOR, we will put at least two oysters into one of their reef projects. For every 10 oysters that get sponsored, we’ll donate an oyster.
Tex-deductible oyster sponsorships will be collected online (here) by FOR and the oysters will be used at FOR's discretion. These tax-deductible sponsorships will contribute to FOR's restoration efforts in the Rappahannock River while also supporting our farm as we emerge from the pandemic and try to get back on track. We think of it as a win-win given that contributions are simultaneously supporting oyster restoration and oyster aquaculture committed to sustainable practices!
The oysters we're using are mature oysters at a three inch or greater size; this means that as soon as they are placed on the reef, these mature oysters will already be able to filter up to 50 gallons of water a day -- making it easier for grasses to grow and provide habitats for sea creatures. While the oysters are very unlikely to reproduce, they will still provide all of the other benefits that oyster reefs are famous for and provide the shell so desperately needed for oyster larvae to set on and establish habitats.
[To learn more about the benefits of oyster reefs, check out this article from NOAA covering all the ways reefs help the environment and the economy.]
Exactly where the oysters end up will depend a bit on how many oysters end up getting donated. The first location is going to be Meachim Creek in Topping. The image above show our farm and the planned site. The yellow star is the farm and the red star is the planned site.
The image below is a close-up of the site in the creek. The area in red is the target area for restoration. This is the location where we put down some oysters last year and we are excited that it is going to be part of FOR’s larger restoration effort! A couple of other likely locations are Urbanna Creek and Carter’s Creek, both of which are active FOR restoration sites. The more oysters that are sponsored, the more oysters there are to spread around!
While we could just donate these oysters (and we will definitely donate our fair share), we’re a small farm that needs the revenue to survive. We've already put in the work raising these oysters, and taking a total loss on them would be a great challenge for the farm to overcome, possibly too great. Sponsoring oysters for our project with FOR allows you to support a family farm and reef restoration.
If this project speaks to you, please visit FOR's donation page here to make a donation and don't hesitate to share with others who might also want to support this effort.
]]>This month we are sharing a recipe we tested out a few weeks ago with an ingredient we got from our friends at The Fermented Pig. It uses Finocchiona, which is a fennel salami. If you don’t have fennel salami, just pick a salami or other cured meat you like and go with it!
And that's it! The salami will dominate the flavor up front, but the oyster flavor will come out behind the salami with the olive oil tying it together. We tried it with and without the parmesan. It was very good both ways, but we always opt for cheese!
]]>If you are having a hard time shucking, it is not necessarily you. It might be! But it might be the knife. Yes, even if you have our knife.
We like our knife and offer it because it is very versatile, but that does not mean it is the best fit for you. There are knives with shorter blades, slimmer blades, wider blades, and curved blades. It is just a matter of finding a blade you are comfortable using.
We like a thinner, pointy blade, but those will make some people too nervous to use. And if you aren't comfortable with your knife, shucking is not going to go well. We use both the knife we sell and another knife that we ground down to a short, slim blade.
It started out as a wider, curved blade, but I just kept changing it until I could shuck pretty easily with it.
There are also a few handle types that give you a different grip and a control over the knife you might prefer to the one you have now. And since most oyster knives can be had for under $20, you don’t need to invest too much into trying a new knife. It’ll be well worth it if it makes shucking a little easier.
]]>2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons butter
1 to 2 dashes of hot sauce
2 slices (rashers) smoked bacon (rindless, finely sliced)
12 to 24 oysters shucked
This recipe can be cooked on a grill set to high heat as well, or if you would rather bake them at 400 for about 10 minutes, that is fine as well. The above recipe will produce oysters that are hot, but not necessarily fully cooked. Baking for longer will more fully cook oysters, and also is much more forgiving than broiling if you don't get the timing just right.
Recipe and photo courtesy of The Spruce Eats.
]]>It’s that time of year again when the oysters are going to start growing soon and we need to finalize our farm operations plan. Sadly, part of the plan this year is figuring out what to do with excess oysters (and we have some exciting, uplifting ideas). Thanks to our amazing customers, in 2020 we ended up keeping sales at about 60% of our 2019 total. All things considered, we are thrilled with that number as it was enough to get us to this point. But that is still 40% fewer oysters sold and only 20% of what we had available to sell, and those unsold oysters are a problem.
The pandemic has depressed sales for longer than anyone really thought, and while there is some light at the end of the tunnel, we are probably still a few months away from the market really getting back to normal. With that in mind, we have to be realistic about how many oysters we’ll be able to move between now and then. Sadly, that number will not be what we need it to be for our farm to operate as it should.
Farms only have enough grow out gear to handle the size of the crop they expect to grow and sell. When oysters are sold, that frees up gear that is then cleaned and put back in rotation. So if we grow a set number of oysters, but don’t sell them, they still take up gear and less is freed up to put into rotation for smaller oysters that are growing. At some point, the farm will just run out of gear. At that point, the choice has to be made on what to do with the excess oysters. Normally, any extras would just be sold on another market. For example, we occasionally sell some oysters to local shucking operations. However, the pandemic has made that less of an option.
We are building new gear to handle more oysters, but most of that gear is needed for growing our young oysters. Even if we decided to build enough gear to hold all of our oysters, we would never be able to keep up with all that gear without hiring more help and probably getting another boat. All those excess oysters are getting big, and big oysters take up a LOT of gear. We can fit about 1,000 of our average 3” oysters in one of our cages. That number drops to 500 to 600 for our larger oysters. You can see how we’ll run out of gear really quickly once the oysters start growing again! And it’s hard to hire more help or buy new equipment when the root of the issue is a lack of sales. So as spring approaches, the practical thing to do is clear off as many of our larger oysters as we can, and hope the market begins to recover as our smaller oysters grow to market size.
To that end we have a few ideas including giving folks the opportunity to sponsor some good works with oysters.
The first idea is obviously to sell as many of them as we can. So this month we are shifting back to more pickups through the month so we can get to more people, and running a ‘Clear the Farm’ sale where we’re giving folks 25% off for orders of $50+ spent on oysters (accessories do not count). So call your quarantine buddies and start planning some oyster parties! You can buy oysters by clicking here.
Another option we are looking at is using the excess oysters on a reef. This would be similar to the SOAR program by the Pew Trust and The Nature Conservancy, which bought oysters from farmers for use in restoration projects. It is a wonderful program, but Virginia was not included in the project. However, just because we were not able to participate in that program does not mean that we can’t just do it ourselves!
So we are going to start taking sponsorships to support planting our oysters on our restoration projects. We have a few spots in mind on our current leases, and are talking to a potential partner about this idea and potentially other spots.
A third option is to try and get these oysters into the hands of folks in need or just in a need of a pick me-up like our First Responders. This has been a trickier option as most food banks offer either dry goods or frozen goods. Most do not have refrigeration as part of their setup. We think there are still options to make this work, one of them being us just loading up the truck and parking at the food bank locations, but that probably won’t work for many locations just due to distance and scheduling. We're also trying to find a partner to get oysters in the hands of First Responders and those who are risking their lives to take care of others. There are a lot of logistics to work out so we’ll post some announcements as soon as we get some plans solidified.
If anyone has resources that can help us plan these projects, please don't hesitate to reach out to us.
Hopefully through these three options we can get some oyster off the farm and clear up some gear for this coming year!
In the meantime, don't hesitate to take advantage of our 'Clear the Farm' sale and buy oysters here.
]]>Around this time of year, the rumors start up about aphrodisiacs. Chocolate, strawberries, spicy peppers, and of course, oysters, just to name a few. So is an oyster an aphrodisiac? Well, it’s both simple and complicated. The short answer, biologically, is no. There is no evidence that oysters, or any other food for that matter, contain any chemicals, compounds, nutrients, or anything else that specifically impact your libido.
With that said, there is some justification to this claim for oysters. Per Smithsonian Magazine, oysters are high in zinc, which aids in the production of testosterone. They also contain certain amino acids, as well as serotonin, which activate the pleasure centers in the brain. Good stuff, but none of that actually increases or impacts desire, which is what would make the oyster an aphrodisiac.
The zinc, serotonin, amino acids, and all the other healthy stuff in oysters can make you feel good after eating them. They are a nutrient dense, lean protein. So of course your body is getting a boost from all those nutrients and you aren’t getting bogged down with a lot of carbs, sugars, or fats. This isn’t unlike how you might feel really good after exercising, or watching a funny movie. You feel good and the pleasure center of your brain is ready for a good time, but none of that actually crosses the line from generally feeling good to specifically desiring a little intimate time with your partner.
The only thing that really makes any food an aphrodisiac is your belief that it is. If you associate a food with a particular feeling or emotion, when you have that food, it helps put you in that frame of mind. It’s kind of like how everyone associates champagne with a celebration or special event; we’ve all just kind of agreed that’s what champagne is for. When people see champagne being served, they ask “what’s the occasion?” and that connotation assists with setting a frame of mind. It’s the same with oysters. They can help, but only if you’re in the right frame of mind.
So in short, if you think oysters are aphrodisiacs, then for you, they are. They are full of things that will make you feel good and get your brain ready for a good time, but you still have to point your brain at which good time you want.
So, to assist, say it with me: "Oysters are an aphrodisiac."
To dive into more of the science and learn more, read the Smithsonian Magazine's article here.
Directions
Recipe & Photo by Thrillist.
]]>Possibly the most popular questions we receive is: "How do I store my oysters?"
The most important principle to remember is that oysters should be kept cold until they're cooked or eaten, but there's a little bit more to it to keep them alive, fresh and safe.
]]>The most important principle to remember is that oysters should be kept cold until they're cooked or eaten, but there's a little bit more to it to keep them alive, fresh and safe.
Good storage starts when you pick them up. Wherever you get your oysters, they should be coming out of cold storage. Once they come out of cold storage, the clock starts on you getting them back into cold storage. You have a max of two hours to accomplish this. After two hours, bacteria present in the oyster will start to multiply and the likelihood of something causing an illness will go up. The oyster itself won’t be bothered by this and will still look and taste just fine, so don’t rely on that alone as a way to judge if they are safe to eat. This is the same rule that applies to all meat products. It is just extra important with oysters since the likelihood of them being eaten raw is pretty high.
If you have a cooler with you when you pick up your oysters, make sure that you have enough ice/cold packs to actually keep them cold. You also want the oysters to sit on top of ice/cold packs and ideally not touch the sides of your cooler. Heat will transfer into your cooler from the bottom and sides first, so you want that heat hitting ice instead of oysters. Also, if you are using ice, this will keep the oysters sitting up on the ice and not down in the ice melt. Oysters and fresh water don’t go together.
Once you get them home, they should go straight into your refrigerator. The FDA recommends fridges be kept at 40 degrees fahrenheit or below. This works well for oysters, as at 40 degrees, they think it is winter time and they’ll basically go into inactive mode. It is also best if you can keep them from drying out. The easiest thing to do is just put them in a bowl with a damp cloth over them. It doesn’t have to be enough to drip on them, just enough so that the shells won’t dry out. This will help ensure a maximum shelf life.
Kept at a proper temperature and prevented from drying out, an oyster can live in your fridge for up to a month, or even a little longerHowever, understand that the longer your oysters are out of the water, the more likely you are to lose a few. Always check to make sure the oysters are closed before you eat them.
It is recommended that if you are going to eat them raw that you do it within 7-10 days of the harvest date. To find out the harvest date, ask the place you are getting your oysters from to check for you, or to show you the harvest tag. If you get them from us the tag should be in the bag when you get your oysters. After the 7-10 days it is recommended that you cook the oyster as the flavor and texture of the oyster can begin to change and it might not taste as good raw. Pretty much, the longer it is out of the water, the stronger, more concentrated the flavor will become. If the oyster is still closed, it is safe and you can still eat it raw. Shucking champion Shucker Paddy did a two part Instagram post on this for oysters he kept in the fridge for over 30 days. However, please note that it is super important that your fridge hold at the proper temperature. Remember that a live oyster is not necessarily a safe oyster.
If you know you aren’t going to eat the oysters for a bit, just shuck and freeze them. Use a freezer safe container, shuck them, stick as much liquor in the container as you can and then add water to cover the oysters.
If you want to store them in a cooler for whatever reason, that is perfectly fine. With that said, we do not recommend doing this unless you are going to be eating them soon. Oysters will tolerate being kept on ice, but it is not the ideal. Oyster do not like being cold, and while keeping them on ice at 33 degrees might not seem like that much less than 40 degrees in the fridge, it is possible that it will shorten the shelf life of the oyster. Plus, you are now having to check that you have enough ice and that you oysters aren’t sitting in water. And if they are in there long enough, at some point you’ll need to repack them to make sure there is ice all around them, not just on top.
]]>Happy New Year! We hope everyone had a great holiday season. We had a very busy but very good December on the farm doing one last big push in 2020. We’re very excited for 2021.
This month is going to look a little different in that we’re only doing two pop-ups. As much as we'd like to hit every location this month, pop-ups take A LOT of time, and we need some of that time this month to prepare for the next growing season which will be here in as few as 10 weeks.
We’ll be returning to other locations in February — just in time for Valentine’s/Galentine’s Day — and March. We hope to add February (and maybe even March) dates in the next week so check out our Where to Find Us page to see if we’re ready for you to place an order for future dates.
Our biggest project is building new cages. We doubled the number of baby oysters we grew last year and as they start getting bigger they'll need somewhere to go! Last week, Aaron and Eric started working on building the latest top-secret design for our new cages and will be experts by the time they build all 1000!
The hardest part of pop-ups is knowing how many oysters of each size we have available during the growing season, as the oysters grow at variable rates; frequently, you’ll grab a cage and it won’t contain what you expect. We love the Winter because oysters essentially hibernate giving us time to reorganize and create an inventory that’ll be accurate for a few months instead of weeks; this means hours a day spent hand-sorting on the boat while taking in the scenery and trying hard to ignore the cold.
Alexandria: Jan. 16, 11a - 12:30p @ Mas Seafood
Fredericksburg: 3p - 4:30p @ FXBG Food Co-Op
If you’re craving oysters somewhere else or at another time, you can always visit us at the Farm or we’re happy to ship.
Click here to order fresh oysters for this week.
We received a copy of a study to be published in the March 2021 issue of Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology that finds that oyster aquaculture provides habitats that are equal or in some cases better than oyster reefs in terms of creating active, healthy aquatic ecosystems. In other words, if you keep eating farmed oysters, you’ll help us keep providing a place to live and eat for Rockfish, Blue Crabs, eels, and all the other sea creatures in the Rappahannock River. Read our blog post to learn more from a Humanities perspective or access the study if you love the scientific method and statistics.
Click here for the step-by-step directions to make Three-Cheese Baked Oysters.
One of the big reasons oyster shucking is so daunting is that many people are afraid of hurting themselves, so we’re fleshing out our shucking guide with tips for protecting your hands.
The most important thing you can do to protect yourself while shucking is to use an oyster shucking knife — be it ours or someone else’s. The knife is designed for the shucking process so they just work, and you don’t have to worry about breaking that fancy paring knife you got for Christmas or impaling yourself with a screwdriver trying to make it work.
The next thing you can do is cover your hands while shucking. There are options from chain-mail gloves to tea towels that are intended to protect your hands in different ways. Chain-mail gloves can be quite pricey, but will do the best job. Cut-resistant gloves aren’t fool-proof, but they’re the best value and super convenient as you can order gloves (and shucking kits!) from us and pick them up with your oysters. These gloves give you a good grip and will save you from hurting yourself while shucking the right way and lessen the damage if you shuck the wrong way. Tea towels work on the fly and do best to protect you from the sharp edges of the oysters; with that said, they can work like a bulky glove if used with a shucking knife while doubling the towel over and remembering that it’s about finesse, not force.
Here’s our comprehensive shucking blog post and video if you need a refresher on safe shucking.
Many, many thanks again for your support,
Taryn & Aaron
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]]>We received a copy of a study to be published in the March 2021 issue of Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology finds that oyster aquaculture provides habitats that are equal or in some cases better than oyster reefs in terms of creating active, healthy aquatic ecosystems. In other words, eating farmed oysters helps provide a place to live and eat for juvenile fish, blue crabs, eels, grass shrimp and all the other sea creatures in the Rappahannock River.
]]>For those of you wondering, “trophic transfer” is basically the passing of energy by one thing eating another thing. Depending on the scientific body, there are four to five trophic levels in the Marine Food Pyramid that lay out how marine animals will typically eat the biggest food source they can that is readily available and less dangerous than themselves. Whatever is left over after a feeding session decomposes and feeds organisms at the bottom of the food chain. And there you have it: The Marine Circle of Life.
For a little more detail on the levels, Trophic Level One (e.g. phytoplankton) is the producer level that makes their own food using light and available decomposed matter. Trophic Level Two contains herbivorous critters that treat Level One organisms like a buffet (e.g. oysters!). Trophic Level Three is made up of larger, carnivorous critters that eat Level Two organisms, and Level Four are your apex predators at the top of the food chain that eat what they want, but usually items in the level below them. The diagram above from University of Waikato helps make it clear using five levels instead of four.
We digress so back to the study. In a natural setting, an oyster reef serves as habitat for a lot of small animals, and even a nursery for some larger ones. Reefs are home to juvenile blue crab, small crabs like mud crab, grass shrimp, eels, small fish like skillet fish and blennies, mud worms, and plenty of other species like pipefish and even seahorse. These guys are all lower on the trophic scale. Because they choose to make a home on the reef, this attracts animals from the higher trophic levels. So big fish are attracted to reefs because they know there is food available there.
Fun Fact: Locally, oyster reefs are called “rocks,” and Striped Bass are often found hanging out at these “rocks” hunting for food. This is why, locally, Striped Bass are called “Rockfish.”
So oyster reefs are basically hotbeds of aquatic activity. They serve as a hiding spot for smaller organisms; provide a nursery function by providing an egg-laying area and place for juveniles to hide; and ultimately, provide ample hunting grounds for larger predator fish.
This experiment set out to determine if oyster aquaculture encouraged an equivalent trophic transfer as natural reefs. And they did! All farms studied provided a greater or equal level of trophic transfer. Float farms and rack-and-bag farms were used in the experiment, with float farms performing better. Rack-and-bag farms are located in shallower water near shore, with some being intertidal, which likely contributed to the lower performance.
The reason oyster farms have similar effects on trophic transfer is that oyster farms resemble natural reefs in all the ways that matter to the environment, but simply take on a different form. Our oysters are the same species of oyster that are already in the water; we are NOT introducing a non-native species that will adversely impact the ecosystem. Our oysters are already a part of the ecosystem, so they fit into the natural order almost immediately. Also, oysters do not require feed, fertilizer, or any sort of additive to be added into water, nor do we need to do any plowing, fencing, clearing, or anything that alters the environment and might impact the biodiversity of the area.
Regardless of the type of farm, oysters (and the farming gear) provide an area for sea creatures to find shelter and eat. So whether it is a reef or a farm, the oysters are providing the same ecological function. In our case, our farm is placed in an area that it otherwise barren. Further inshore there is underwater grass, and further out from shore in the deep water, there are natural oyster beds. But our farm sits on barren sand … or it was barren till our farm showed up and created a habitat!
Our farm is an on-bottom farm at a greater depth than used by rack-and-bag systems so we’re a little different than what was studied. However, we believe our farm probably falls in somewhere close to the float farms. The sheer number of critters that live in our gear is a great sign, and the schools of Rockfish that follow us around in the summer waiting on us to lift a cage, as well as the dolphins that regularly visit, strongly suggest that we may have created a healthy ecosystem on the farm. Of course this is anecdotal, but we think our oysters are making a big difference in the circle of life in the Rappahannock River and we’re standing by it!
]]>Here's another simple, cheese-forward alternative to Oysters Rockefeller with just enough bacon to make the heart sing.
Photo and Recipe Credit: A Spicy Perspective
]]>One of the big reasons oyster shucking is so daunting is that many people are afraid of hurting themselves, so we’re fleshing out our shucking guide with tips for protecting your hands.
]]>One of the big reasons oyster shucking is so daunting is that many people are afraid of hurting themselves, so we’re fleshing out our shucking guide with tips for protecting your hands.
The most important thing you can do to protect yourself while shucking is to use an oyster shucking knife — be it ours or someone else’s. The knife is designed for the shucking process so they just work, and you don’t have to worry about breaking that fancy paring knife you got for Christmas or impaling yourself with a screwdriver trying to make it work.
The next thing you can do is cover your hands while shucking. There are options from chain-mail gloves to tea towels that are intended to protect your hands in different ways. Chain-mail gloves can be quite pricey, but will do the best job. Cut-resistant gloves aren’t fool-proof, but they’re the best value and super convenient as you can order gloves (and shucking kits!) from us and pick them up with your oysters. These gloves give you a good grip and will save you from hurting yourself while shucking the right way and lessen the damage if you shuck the wrong way. Tea towels work on the fly and do best to protect you from the sharp edges of the oysters; with that said, they can work like a bulky glove if used with a shucking knife while doubling the towel over and remembering that it’s about finesse, not force.
Here’s our comprehensive shucking blog and video if you need a refresher on safe shucking.
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We are closing down the nursery now and hope to have the upweller cut off within the week. Water temperatures have let us run it much longer than normal, but it's finally time to call it. We'll keep some of our small seed on the tidal flupsy over the winter, but it won't be much. We'll soon kick off preparing for the next grow season by building new cages that we've designed to make things a little easier when working the farm.
Sadly, one of our employees, Joshua, left us this past week. Joshua's school will be starting in-person classes soon and his program is on the other side of the state. Thankfully, Eric is going to take on some extra hours for now to fill the gap.
Just in time for the holidays, we're launching an oyster starter kit and shucking gloves! Pair our Rappahannock River oysters or a Rogue Oysters Gift Card with a shucking knife and pair of cut-resistant shucking gloves to get that special someone started with fresh oysters at home.
The shipping carriers are beyond capacity again and we do not have full faith that oysters will deliver on time the week of Christmas. While we are not shipping the week of the 25th, we are recommending getting oysters a week before Christmas if you plan to cook them. The order deadline is Dec. 14 to be shipped Dec. 16.
We're not recommending shipping oysters to be eaten raw for Christmas as we'd normally recommend shipping the week before as a workaround, but this year that would put you at the end of the window to eat oysters raw before the flavor and/or texture change. While we'd love to ship you oysters to eat raw for Christmas and they may be perfectly fine, we do not want anyone disappointed for the holiday.
We're hoping that UPS gets a slight reprieve the week after Christmas and are moving our shipping for the week of New Years to Mon, Dec. 28. If you want oysters shipped for New Years, be sure to place your orders by Dec. 25.
UPS is no longer guaranteeing delivery timelines so cannot guarantee deliveries by a certain date, but we will include extra gel packs to keep your oysters safe in case they get delayed a day and recommend you select Next Day Shipping.
Back in June, we set out two small test sites in Meachim's Creek in Topping. We had a chance to check on the condition of those sites and things look good! The flow of the creek and tidal movement has spread the shell out a bit as expected. While some of the shell sank into mud and sand, the majority remained above and fairly clean -- meaning it isn't getting buried under shifting sand or sediment and may provide a good home to wild oysters.
Speaking of, there are live oysters! Those oysters may be some that we placed or they might be new oysters; it's hard to say, but either way, it's a good sign! And as a bonus, a pair of ducks were over one of the sites eating off the bottom. So six months into the project and we already have ecological benefits!
Most importantly, we wish you the happiest of holidays!
Many, many thanks again for your support,
Taryn & Aaron
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]]>Roasted butternut squash, candied pecan, and cranberry relish:
Ingredients,
1 cup sugar
1 cup of water
1/2 cup cranberry juice
16oz bag of cranberries
6-8 oz chopped pecans
8oz Small-medium diced butternut squash.
Salt
Pepper
Cinnamon
Olive oil
1) Place olive oil, salt, pepper, and cinnamon in a bowl and mix.
2) toss diced butternut squash in mixture and bake for 10min or until soft at 375
3) add water, sugar, and cranberry juice In a sauce pot and bring to a boil.
4)Once it begins to boil remove from heat and add cranberries. Return to heat set on low-med
5) cook cranberries for 2 min 3 min max, remove from heat and then remove 2/3 of the cranberries and set aside.
6) blend sauce mixture with the remaining cranberries. (Immersion blender is preferred, but if you do not have one simply dump into a household blender and blend until smooth)
7) return blended mixture to heat and add the chopped pecans, allow to simmer for 8-10min
8) remove mixture from heat, add cranberries that were set aside and cooked butternut squash.. immediately remove from sauce pot and place in a dish to cool (note, you can pour mixture into a bowl and then add cranberries and squash if you’re worried they will continue to cook and become mushy)
Again, have fun with the recipe. Feel free to remove the butternut squash and add orange zest instead have at it! or leave it out completely. Prefer a different type of nut other than pecan, go for it! Want to leave out everything except the cranberries, that’s fine too!
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We hope you're ready as the savory heat of the oysters will have you telling Grandma to retire her recipe.
]]>Ingredients:
Directions:
Remoulade
Ingredients:
Directions:
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we’re featuring what you would call “Not Your Grandmother’s Mignonette.” We hope you enjoy this pucker-inducing addition to the holiday table. Finally, there’s a cranberry sauce worth getting excited about on the Thanksgiving table.
We wanted to make things simpler and better so today we’re re-launching our website. Read more to check out what’s new.
]]>We wanted to make things simpler and better so today we’re re-launching our website
Now you can pick any product and indicate if you want it shipped or where you want to pick it up. You’ll be able to order as far ahead as we can plan. You guys will be able to reach out to us and we should consistently get the messages. We now have the tools to keep making your online experience better, which hopefully will give us more time to focus on the quality of our oysters and connecting with y’all.
We’ve also added a blog that includes recipes, tips & tricks, farm updates, funny stories and more reasons to care about the Rappahannock River and the rest of the Chesapeake Bay Estuary ecosystem.
If you have any issues, feel free to chat us or email us at hello@rogueoysters.com.
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