RECIPE: Loaded Tuna Melt

Loaded Tuna Melt Serves 2 The tuna sandwich to end all sandwiches! This recipe is inspired by one of our favorites from Palace Diner in Biddeford, Maine and uses our brand new Tuna in hand-churned Galician butter. Lemon zest, dill, capers and a generous slice of iceberg

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RECIPE: Weeknight Tinned Clam Pizza

Weeknight Clam Pizza Serves 4 A white chopped clam pizza is both a New England staple and marriage between two of our great loves –pizza and clams! You can use steamed littleneck clams or tinned clams or cockles in brine, paired with a store-bought dough for easy

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RECIPE: Ghia Blood Orange Mignonette

Ghia Blood Orange Mignonette Start the new year off with a delightfully herbal, peppery Ghia Blood Orange Mignonette! This recipe is can be made in bulk and kept in the refrigerator to be used as needed. Ingredients: 24 fresh Island Creek oysters 1/2 cup Ghia Aperitif 1/2  cup

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RECIPE: Patatas Tonnatas by Chef Caroline Glover

Patatas Tonnatas by Chef Caroline Glover Try chef Caroline Glover of Annette in CO’s riff on a patatas bravas (the classic Spanish tapa) but with Güeyu Mar tinned tuna loins, in what she calls, ‘Patatas Tonnatas’! Tonnato Sauce: 2 cups mayonnaise 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar 1

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RECIPE: The Surf ’n Turf Po-Boy by George Motz

The Surf ’n Turf Po-Boy (Fried Island Creek Oysters on a spicy burger patty, fully dressed) by George Motz Makes 1 large sandwich The classic Po-Boy is one of the greatest sandwiches in America. I will never forget my first one many years ago, the flavor and

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RECIPE: Woods Hill Table Razor Clam Pasta with Lamb Bacon

Woods Hill Table Razor Clam Pasta with Lamb Bacon By Chef Charlie Foster Locally raised lamb bacon and briney tinned razor clams nestle in glossy ribbons of homemade tagliolini pasta. A sauce of white wine, garlic, and zingy Calabrian chilies. DINNER IS SERVED! Chef Charlie Foster not

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RECIPE: State Street Provisions Oyster Chowder

State Street Provisions Oyster Chowder By Chef Graham Lockwood  Chef Graham Lockwood, of State Street Provisions, has crafted this delightfully comforting recipe for Oyster Chowder that will keep you warm throughout a cold winter night. It features oysters from our farm when they’re at their plumpest. Ingredients

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RECIPE: Squid Ink Risotto

Squid Ink Risotto Serves 6 This recipe is inspired by Chef Abel Álvarez, the mad genius behind Spain’s Conservas Güeyu Mar. Every one of Abel’s artisanal tins are cooked on a wood-fired grill before being canned giving them a beautifully smoky flavor. This recipe uses the Güeyu

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RECIPE: Island Creek Tinned Clam Pasta

Island Creek Tinned Clam Pasta Serves 4-6 Like Spaghetti Alle Vongole but easier! We adapted the classic Spaghetti Alle Vongole, swapping out fresh littleneck clams in shell, for our beautiful and shelf-stable tinned Clams in Brine. This is the perfect dish to whip together in less than

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RECIPE: Latkes with Caviar

Latkes with Caviar Serves 6-8 For this author, the holiday season means latkes, AKA potato pancakes that are served during Hanukkah. Latkes are everything good about fried potatoes, and when served with the traditional toppings of sour cream and applesauce, are the perfect balance of sweet-salty-savory. They’re

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RECIPE: Classic Mignonette

Classic Mignonette Yields enough for 12 oysters It’s hard to beat a classic. If you’re gonna top an oyster with anything beyond a squeeze of fresh lemon or a dash of hot sauce, let it be a classic Champagne mignonette. It’s bright and zingy while still letting

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What makes a jumbo oyster?

Jumbos. They remind us a bit of ourselves: a little weird looking, rough around the edges, but still quality on the inside. It’s why we love them. But they are no less worthy than you or I, or our favorite “regular” 3-inch Island Creek. They are strong,

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RECIPE: One-Pot Mussels, Clams & Lobsters

The Defroster One-Pot Recipe Ingredients: The Defroster (2 lobsters, 2 lb. of mussels, 2 doz. littleneck clams) 2 medium shallots (jullienned) 4 cloves of garlic (sliced) 1 bottle of white burgundy 1 lb. of unsalted butter 2 lemons Fresh parsley Baguette Instructions: 1. Get a big ass

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RECIPE: Grilled “Angry” Oysters

Grilled “Angry” Oysters (makes a dozen) INGREDIENTS: 1 dozen oysters 1/2 lb. unsalted butter (room temp) 2 tbsp. of chopped flat leaf parsley 1 tsp. smoked paprika 1 quarter pound of chorizo (medium diced) 3 lemons 1 orange and zest 1 fresno chile (diced) kosher salt to

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RECIPE: Squid in Ink Bruschetta

Squid in Ink Bruschetta with La Quercia ‘Nduja  What you’ll need: La Quercia ‘nduja Ramon Peña Squid in Ink Olive Oil Ciabatta or Italian bread Garlic cloves Jalapeno Red wine vinegar Lemon A few favorite fresh herbs (we suggest basil, parsley, mint, and oregano) Halved cherry tomatoes

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RECIPE: Deviled Roe

For those just entering the world of tinned fish (welcome!), you might be familiar with the popular tinned tuna, sardines or octopus, but some of our offerings may be new territory for you. Such as the Tinned Hake Roe. You may be wondering, should I try this?

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RECIPE: Octopus Panzanella Salad

Octopus Panzanella Salad (serves 4) This Greek-style bread salad is a quick addition to brighten up any summer meal. It is colorful, flavorful, SO quick to make, and the perfect way to utilize your tinned fish. It easily lends itself to substitutions based on what you have,

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A quick guide to enjoying Tinned Fish the Island Creek way

There are many beautiful things about tinned fish: they are shelf-stable, they are rich in omega-3s, they can be enjoyed in a myriad of ways, and they have the ability to transport us to the balcony of our pied-à-terre in Europe in the summertime (at least in

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RECIPE: Baked Oysters

Baked Oysters Recipe by Chef Jeremy Sewall (Row 34 & Island Creek Oyster Bar) Recipe makes 12 oysters 12 Island Creek Oysters, shucked and bottom shell saved 2 tablespoon canola oil ½ cup minced white onion 2 teaspoons minced garlic 4 slices bacon, chopped fine 2 tablespoons

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RECIPE: Red’s Best Sea Scallops with Pasta

Red’s Best Sea Scallops with Pasta Recipe by Chef Jeremy Sewall of Row 34 and Island Creek Oyster Bar Recipe makes 4 portions Scallops are so versatile and delicious. This recipe is best made with smaller scallops, but, honestly, any size will work! If you don’t have

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RECIPE: Crispy Oyster Sliders

Island Creek Oyster Bar’s Crispy Oyster Sliders Recipe by Chef Jeremy Sewall of Row 34 and Island Creek Oyster Bar Recipe makes 8 sliders⁣ Chef Jeremy put this recipe together keeping in mind that a quick run out to the store is not realistic these days, so

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VIDEO: May your gloves stay warm, and your boots dry.

 While we aren’t sure what 2020 will bring, there is one thing about the New Year that we know for sure…come January 1, you’ll find us where we’ve always been: knee-deep in the ocean tending to the oysters that started this crazy adventure. And we hope

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A Letter on the Winter Solstice

Friends, Today marks the winter solstice: a specific moment in time when we are given a glimpse of hope in an otherwise dark and cold season. The beauty of being an oyster farmer is that you don’t need a calendar to know where you are in the season.

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VIDEO: Angels on Horseback Recipe

Yes, Dana likes it raw. But she also likes it wrapped in bacon (and BONUS, topped with caviar or roe!) Straight from the Island Creek Kitchen, Dana shows us how to drink…uh…wow this holiday with the simplest show-stopping recipe you’ll make this holiday season. Angels on Horseback

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From the banks of Miam-ah, Oklahoma

In the early Spring of this year, our team flew to Miami, Oklahoma (yes, you read that right!) to learn more about the newest product to excite our tastebuds: Paddlefish Roe. Comparable to the complex, earthy and salty flavors of Sterling and Marshallberg Caviar, Paddlefish Roe is

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RECIPE: Island Creek Oyster Stuffing

Island Creek Oyster Stuffing Recipe One common theme you’ll find at our Island Creek Thanksgiving table is classic New England dishes. From whole boiled lobsters, oysters on the half shell, and cooked shrimp with Row 34 Cocktail Sauce, to one of our family favorites: Island Creek Oyster Stuffing.

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VIDEO: Giving thanks to the Bay

We farm oysters in the very water where the Mayflower arrived four hundred years ago. We live on the land cultivated by generations of farmers and foragers that came before us. We feel the same seasonal cues deep in our bones, reminding us each fall that it’s

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It’s Fat Oyster Season | Fall Farm Update

Sorry kids, vacation is over! Just last month it seemed like summertime would never end. Daylight hours felt as long as the line at our Raw Bar Truck, leaves were still a perky green, and our dusty sweaters were buried deep in closets where they belonged. Now

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The Forgotten Fruit: Foraging Rose Hips

  Rose hips are appealing because they are often forgotten. These dense rose plants are known for their sprawling nature, taking over the dunes of New England in the summer time, peppering the coast with beautiful pink and white “beach roses”, and protecting our coast line from

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Give Squid A Chance

When most people think of fishermen and others who make their living from the sea, they often think monolithically. They envision the lobsterman or the “goddam sword boat captain” or, well, the oyster farmer.  The reality is that so many people making a living in our coastal communities rely

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Island Creek Goes Clamming

Robert teaches us how to spot, size and cook clams in time for Labor Day. Watch it go down.    The benefit of living/working/playing on the water is the bounty of the bay. Sure, we grow oysters, but we also spend our free time swimming, fishing

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Foraging Sea Beans

Sea beans, the mystical asparagus of the marsh, is one of my favorite things to forage. Sometimes foraging feels dangerous (mushrooms) or elusive (truffles), useless (pine needles?) or even just not delicious (dandelion greens). But not sea beans! Stumble upon them once in the marsh and you’ll

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Harvest, cull, count, wash, bag. Repeat. | Summer Farm Update

What does ‘peak summer’ mean to you? Is it hazy afternoons licking melted ice cream off your hands or waiting in line for the perfect lobster roll? For oyster farmers, peak summer is marked by 12 hour days on the water and shuttling gear from one corner

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WATCH: Bill’s July 4th Angry Oysters Recipe

Angry Oysters July 4th Grilled Oysters Recipe by Bill “Yum Yum” Weiss If you follow the Island Creek sales team on the insta (@oysteresses) you’ll notice all that juicy food content as of late. Turns out we aren’t just a bunch of salty oyster farmers. A lot

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Robert’s Mojito Recipe

As Head of Operations, Robert spends his time running around the farm doing a whole lot of operational things; packaging, inventory, maintenance, managing, digging, tweaking, training, etc. One day he’s building garden beds for fresh vegetables (and mint for mojitos!), the next day he is setting up

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Growing Up Oyster | High Tide Oyster Farm

When we arrived to meet Chris Warner and his son Garrett at the Starbucks in Bath, ME, we took a quick look around and immediately saw two pairs of muddy knee high rubber boots sitting in the corner. A sure fire sign of an oyster farmer. “I’m

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The Norumbega Boys

Eric Peters greets us wearing a proud “Bates Dad” hat, and says the guys have been looking forward to this. I can only imagine who these “guys” are that are looking forward to having their picture taken. Usually farmers are on the slightly reserved side, shying away

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Jordan Kramer: A true (Maine) Renaissance Man

Maine is pretty magical. Just 30 minutes north of busy Portland, you can quickly end up in what feels like the middle of the nowhere. Earlier this spring we found ourselves driving down a winding road, thickly lined with trees, fallen pine needles, an occasional home tucked

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She’s A Badass Mother Farmer

Meet Cara Joly, one half of the team behind Joly Oysters. She’s a badass mother farmer. Along with her husband, Jon, they started growing their own oysters in 2016 in Dennis, MA. Not only is she a farmer, but a freelance interior designer and mother to two

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Maine Month: Meet Snow Island Oysters

The thing about oyster farming is that everyone starts for different reasons. Some people can’t get enough of how the taste, some inherited prime farming land, others studied their biology, and some are like the Quahog Bay Conservancy. Founded by Pat and Mary Scanlan in 2014, the conservancy’s

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Maine Month: The Second Coming

Ahhhhhh, Maine. Ayuh, it’s tough to wrap your head around exactly what Maine does to you, but we’ve never met anyone that didn’t like it (unless they visited in February). There is the obvious essential vacation vibes ranging from lobster rolls and fried clam shacks to old-money

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We’re warming up! Spring Farm Update

We’ve made it! The frosty sweep of winter is almost behind us and spring weather is emerging from the lingering chill. Our oysters have spent the winter months in subdued hibernation (YES, oysters hibernate!) – which means no filtering of water, no eating, and no strengthening of

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Boston Runs on Oysters and Why You Should Too…

We all know oysters are the ultimate food (duh.), but did you know that there is more to our beloved little bivalves than shucking, merroir, and good times? Oysters are actually one of the ultimate “power foods” for athletes, especially endurance athletes. Admittedly, summer evenings at our

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Reuse, Renew, Recycle… Oyster Shells!

The winter is the perfect time for pondering new topics and lately, we’ve been thinking about oyster shell reclamation. As you know, we send oysters ALL OVER the country. Over the course of the year, we’ll sell over a million oysters. They’ll be rinsed, beautifully shucked, and

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Oysters Are For Lovers

Before the Roman Empire…people were using oysters to set the mood.   Casanova was even rumored to eat oysters on the regular to woo the many, many women he bedded. And amongst all the eye-roll-inducing oyster puns that regretfully exist, ones about oysters “making you a better

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#FBF Tales from The Road: 24 hrs in Chicago

The National Direct to Chef program is one of the largest branches of Island Creek Oysters. Through this operational beast, we sell oysters, caviar, and razor clams directly to over 700 of the best restaurants in the country! Most of the time, our oyster salespeople are tethered to

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High Season in the Oyster Hatchery!

Generally, the winter is a quieter time for oyster farmers. The bay is emptied of its moorings, boats and oyster plexes. The shoreline is tucked in with a blanket of frost. It’s a time for tinkering, repairing, power washing, and reorganizing. Beneath this sleepy facade, however, brews a squall of

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Island Creek’s Guide to Party Survival

At Island Creek Oysters, we know how to party. You could call us veterans of the sport. We’ve had LOTS and LOTS of experience hosting, attending and ruining parties over the years. You don’t have to be that guy who rolls around on the ground and makes a scene

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Baby It’s Cold Outside! December Farm Update

Nature fully dictates the rhythm of an oyster’s biology. As oyster farmers, it’s our responsibility to harness these kinetic changes to make the most perfect oyster possible. And as New Englanders, we have to work within the extreme swing of the seasonal pendulum. We harvest 52 weeks

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HOW TO SNACK: Holiday Guide for Eating Caviar + Oysters

It’s officially HOLIDAY PARTY SEASON. Have you worn the same ugly sweater to multiple parties already (no shame, but come on)? Are you OVER making travel plans, shopping for presents, and trying to figure out what the heck you’re going to do with the oysters and caviar

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What Is Merroir & How Can It Help You Be An Oyster Pro

Walk into any oyster bar these days and you’ll be met with a seemingly endless list of oyster varieties; west coast, east coast, and likely several from the same town. As you ponder the list and attempt to choose the type that you want to order, the notion

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Our ears are buzzing! See who listed oysters on their holiday gift guides this year.

It’s here. The one-week countdown to the holidays. You might be struggling to find the perfect gift, wondering what to bring to your neighbor’s holiday party, or brainstorming an unforgettable Christmas Day menu. We may be biased (because it’s how we roll), but oysters check all the

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All About: Marshallberg Caviar

Let’s get real – Caviar is awesome but also intimidating. Like choosing a bottle of wine from an extensive list, the choices are confusing and the often-steep price tag can mean that the stakes are HIGH. Add to that a history of smuggling, overfishing, and environmental degradation

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All About the Island Creek Trio

Twenty five years ago, Skip Bennett brought oysters to Duxbury. This was extraordinary because until this point there were no oysters, wild or otherwise, in Duxbury Bay. Fast-forward to present day, we’re still farming and Duxbury has become the largest oyster producing town in Massachusetts. This boom in

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How Much Should You Get? The Oyster & Caviar Calculator

Hosting a party can be a lot of pressure. It’s like your one big chance to prove how awesome, charming and put-together you secretly are to all of your friends and family. You have to send cheeky invitations and curate a Spotify playlist that magically appeals to

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It’s A Family Business in Warren Cove

Meet the family behind the Warren Cove Oyster. With Thanksgiving on the horizon we at Island Creek Oysters are reminded of what we are grateful for; our family. And here on the south shore of Massachusetts, family means our neighbors, too. Just 8 miles south of our

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The Shop, Portland’s oyster hotspot

Oystender: Similar to a bartender but deals in the art of shucking and serving oysters. Knowledgeable, consistent, humorous, well trained and full of amusing anecdotes. Took my first trip up to see our brethren in Portland, ME. Figured there was no better time to celebrate with them

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Moon Shoal Oysters Spotlight!

Agriculture and fishing date back to Barnstable’s founding in 1639. Fast forward 379 years and history is still being made, one delicious oyster at a time, thanks to Jon Martin and his dedicated crew at Moon Shoal Oysters. Jon and his team live their lives on their

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Oysteresses

Stillness in the pre-dawn light and the low drum of the motor as the boat draws close to the carefully sectioned, geometric grid of the area known to the community as, ‘The Farm.’ Hopping off of the skiff on to the tide, the cool water surrounds the

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Reuse, Renew, Recycle…Oyster Shells?

As daylight hours have become shorter in New England, my new indoor, cold weather obsession activity has become researching oyster shell reclamation. Very cool, I know! Island Creek has been involved with a few oyster shell reclamation projects in the past, with organizations such as the Billion Oyster Project,

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Pro-Tips from the Road

I never expected a meeting with a chef to depend on the availability of a flat-head screwdriver. Yet, there I was in a glimmering jewel-box of a dining room in downtown Miami, rolling up my sleeves and asking the GM for a screwdriver, my palm outstretched like

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36 Hours In The Life Of An Oyster Girl

I’ve never thought of myself as being a particularly talented person. Now, you shouldn’t feel too badly for me. I don’t feel slighted in life. Despite my lack of superior athleticism and the fact that I likely won’t ever win a grand Prize- Pulitzer, Nobel or otherwise–

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An Oysterman’s Supplemental Income

I drag an eight afoot tin skiff to the waterline two hours before low tide. I load the skiff with the tools of my trade: a black fish tote, a five gallon bucket, a smaller bucket with the bottom cut out, mesh shellfish bags, and a few

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Some Oysters Have A Story

Hey, guess what? That oyster you’re about to eat had a cooler Tuesday than you did. No offense. A week ago, I had the privilege of visiting the First Encounter Oyster farm in Eastham. Lows were hovering at a willful 19 degrees, with winds anticipated to reach

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Ever wonder what oysters do all winter?

As most things in the natural world, oysters endure rather than enjoy the winter. Oysters spend the spring, summer and fall happily filtering cool, salty bay-water, extracting nutrients from plankton, and growing the meat inside their shell. As the bay cools in November oysters begin to ready

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Life on the Bay in December

It’s not hard to tell when December casts its wintry pall across the bay. Daylight hours are cut in half and skim ice forms on the marsh and tidal inlets.  Where have the days of 5 o’clock dawn and eight o’clock twilight gone? I guess to the

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Summer Foraging Guide

Sun’s out, air’s fresh, the water’s warm. The Summer accepts no excuses from those who sit inside and lament boredom. The Summer reserves no sympathy for those who decline the open invitation to partake in all of the magnificent festivities the season has to offer. A little

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Anne Goes to the Farm

I’ve worked at Island Creek for about 2 years now.  When people ask me what I do for a living I say “I work for an oyster farm!”  People sort of give me the “up down” and are probably thinking “You work for an oyster farm? What

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Movin On Out

Duxbury Bay has been pretty cold this spring, which has delayed our ability to put the oyster babies out in the water. In the hatchery, the oyster larvae are grown in water that is heated to 78 degrees. Once they are big enough, they can tolerate colder

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Mommy, Where Do Babies Come From?

We’ve been busy in the hatchery during the past few weeks growing and caring for some 14-day old oyster larvae. But first, let me back track and tell the story of how it all begins… The act of spawning is simple…yet complicated. The idea of reproducing oysters

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Farming: The Real Deal

It is easy to forget that the planet we live on is as much alive as we are. Things move and circulate and breathe and die and feed in ancient and unprompted ways. In the age of digital tweets and star gazing apps, we lose that inborn ability to participate in the

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ICO NYC vs. “The Fuzz”

I have a binary relationship with the police. On the one-hand, my brother-in-law is a good cop, a great one actually. He’s the police chief in Lunenburg, MA and he rocks a solid Tom Selleck mustache that has proved to be a beacon of the law. Timeless.

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Frankenfish

Even though it kind of makes me want to throw up in my mouth a little bit, I would be lying to you if I said I wasn’t looking forward to eating a salmon hot dog. At least, that’s what I hear is something I can do

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New Year, New Babies, New Species!

Hi, I’m not sure we’ve met yet! My name is Hannah Pearson and I am Island Creek’s new hatchery manager! We’ve got a lot going on in our hatchery this season that we’d like to share with you and I’ll keep you updated here! There is a

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Consider your Oyster

About 3 years ago, Claudia Vestal gave me a copy of MFK Fisher’s The Art of Eating, dog-eared at “Consider the Oyster”. I had left the city, my (non) job in the arts, and was working on a horse farm shoveling manure for $18 a day (seriously)

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Nelson Mandela and Oyster Farming

Last month, revolutionary Nelson Mandela died at the age of 95. His life was so extraordinary that his humanity is lost to us mortals. His actions transformed him from mere man into a symbol that is practically religious; the marrow of a movement that altered not only

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Thank you Nestor

Working in New York City for Island Creek – we see a lot of people. Between the truck and operations, we’re talking a multitude of chefs and their dedicated staff, unhinged pedestrians, James Spader, adorable babies, James Spader … Some of what we witness is poetic, some

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I Ate the Day Deliberately

This past Sunday morning, I sat at Scarlet Oak lamenting the death of Irish poet Seamus Heaney – my aunt, my mother and myself saddled up at the unusually quiet bar (so early were we, in fact, that my aunt shamelessly delivered their morning newspaper). We talked

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Stalking the Wild Sea Bean: A Good Excuse to Trudge Around the Marsh

Other than early strawberries and a few odds and ends, New England–always the proper lady–often makes you wait quite a long time before sampling her fruitful bounty each summer.  Indeed, the tomatoes are green and the lobsters are soft; however, one seaside gift from the gods is at its

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Baby Oysters

As the weather begins to change our Island Creek Shellfish Hatchery begins the arduous task of creating our shellfish babies. Our hatchery started up in early January, prepping to feed our adult studs and their millions of babies. We began growing small starter cultures of six algae

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Sitting pretty in The Catbird Seat

It’s hard to talk about your best meal. There are too many factors that make a moment great. Certainly there is no better meal in my mind than the one my mother cooks on Sunday, one scotch deep, roast chicken with the trimmings, sitting on the couch

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Have Boat, Will Travel

We woke up this morning to a sight we haven’t seen in a few years, a sheet of ice a few inches thick that spanned the width of the Bay from the harbor to the beach.  The forecast is looking like this arctic air isn’t going anywhere anytime soon,

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Resolution 2013: Better Health Through Labels

Well, its that time of year.  The holidays are hay-making time among the bon vivants here at Island Creek.  We all toil: hair-on-fire oyster harvesting is followed by long hours filling immense amounts of retail orders and getting product out to our restaurant customers for the ravenous

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The Fall of the Year

Work at Island Creek concluded a little past five tonight and over a high tide in Duxbury Bay a crisp October evening spread before us.  Many different flocks of terns were visible across the 10,000 or so acres that comprise this remarkable little body of water–the backdrop

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Bring on the Bycatch

Bycatch is a term that very few people who are not directly involved in fisheries are familiar with; however, a growing number of us are now seafood consumers and, as such, need to start learning about the protein we are putting on our dinner tables and into

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How can we make a community with people we’ve never met?

This is a question that the sales team asks themselves every day at Island Creek. But before I get ahead of myself, let’s back up so you know why we ask the question, and why it matters. At ICO we start with great product. Perhaps you’ve heard

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Why I like the James Beard Awards

Sunday night was the culmination of the annual James Beard awards in New York City. I like the James Beard awards. I think they matter. Oftentimes in our industry, there is so much written, reviewed, discussed, and critiqued, it’s nice, once a year, to pause as an industry

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Six and Going Strong

Lineage Restaurant holds a special place in the hearts of Island Creekers. Chef-owner Jeremy Sewall is not only a business partner and chef at the Island Creek Oyster Bar, but he’s been a close friend to a number of us for years. In fact, he was the

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Growing Up, Growing Oysters

In the ever-unfolding story of Island Creek, Duxbury has been the setting for quite a bit of growth. We’ve grown clams. We’ve grown oysters. We have a growing business. What most people don’t know is that this small community has also been the backdrop for growing up–most

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Looking for the best seafood in the country? Try Chicago.

There’s no question that Duxbury has access to some of the freshest seafood you could ask for. With a bay in the backyard, dinner can be hauled up in the afternoon and on the table in minutes flat. But on a recent journey to the Midwest, as

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The Journey

One of the questions I’m most often asked is “What do you like the most about working at Island Creek?” Fair question, right? Maybe it’s the copious quantities of oysters, maybe it’s the amazing people here, or the amazing chefs we work with.  My answer every time

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CSF’s: Community Supported Fisheries

When Bon Appetit names something the “#1 trend for 2012,” you know it’ll be big. Which is why we’re psyched to discover that they, and so many others, are getting on board with Community Supported Fisheries. Similar to vegetable CSAs, CSFs are subscription-based services that bring fresh seafood right

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On Shucking Knives

People have been eating oysters for thousands and thousands of years.  Dishes like Chef Keller’s Island Creek Oysters and Pearls make it easy to forget that somewhere, many eons ago, some poor sod had to figure out how to open the damn things.  Joe Neanderthal must have

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Oysternomics

We talk a lot around the farm about the business of oysters. It’s the hat I wear, and just like we are students of farming, we are students of business. What makes our little bi-valves such a fascinating business is how dynamic it is. From the supply

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Horndogs. Not Corndogs. Horndogs.

I found some eggs on my nursery racks a couple of weeks ago.  They were pale green, perfectly round, and about a millimeter or two in size.  They were stuck together in amorphous masses, about the size of a quarter, and nestled within clumps of red algae. 

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How Do You Eat Your Oysters?

I spent this past weekend down in Houston, TX and had the opportunity to taste oysters with about 160 Southerners. It was the first time I’d gotten a good look at Texas oyster culture — though I’d visited dozens of times when my family lived there, I’d

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The bay is still alive……

The bay is still alive.  There are crabs walking about, flounders swimming between our feet, and a dense assemblage of baitfish residing in the bay.  The baitfish have attracted loons, mergansers, king fishers, and a number of young Bonaparte Gulls.  There is also a small harbor seal

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The Long Dark

The fireplaces are filled, and the Xbox Live accounts are active once again here at Island Creek Oysters. We have passed the halfway point of what is known as “The Long Dark” here in oyster town. It really works out well because the new Call of Duty

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Joyeux Noël!: Belon Oysters and the French Christmas Tradition

Almost all traditional French food is unbelievably good (my blog entry, my rules) and their seafood is no exception to this elemental truth.  Coupled with the terrain and culture, French seafood (next to that of New England) is probably the most evocative in the world. John Baxter,

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The Winds of Change

I think James Taylor said it best in his introduction to a live version of Walking Man, “This song is about the coming of winter, and the fall of the year”. At Island Creek we are nostalgic. Its impossible not to be. Seasons come and seasons go.

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There are Oyster Bars and then there are “Oyster Bars”

A big part of what we do here in the marketing department of Island Creek is education.  We travel around the country spreading the oyster gospel, teaching people why an Island Creek is different than a Wellfleet and much different than a Kumamoto, teaching people in Africa

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Contact Info

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