Sally McLean from Jim Wild’s Oysters likes to keep it simple: a bit of lemon or tabasco is all you need. Photo: Jim Wild’s Oysters.
Christmas is shaping up to be a hot one this year and while a few families will stick to the tradition of a roast dinner, plenty of folks prefer to indulge in seafood. The good news is that the weather, the seas and a bit of good luck have come together for a great seafood harvest.
Sally McLean from Jim Wild’s Oysters at Greenwell Point is a second generation oyster farmer. She told Region they had suffered a tough winter with lots of rain, which meant the river was closed for harvesting. But recent sunny days have improved the oyster’s size and flavour and kept the water quality high.
“The river has been open for about six weeks now so we’ve got a lot of oysters. And the condition has come on early so they’re super delicious. We’re just hoping for a really good summer season so everyone can enjoy these beautiful oysters,” Sally said.
“And we do need it: we’ve come from a pretty tough winter with lots of rain events and river closures.
“So we’re really looking forward to everyone coming down and getting their oysters for Christmas and over the summer. We’ve been selling heaps and we’re hoping to have our best season yet.”
Sally McLean is an oyster shucking champion and a second generation oyster farmer. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
She describes the oysters as tasting “beautiful, sweet and succulent.”
So how does an oyster farmer enjoy their oysters on Christmas Day?
“I just like a squeeze of lemon on the Sydney rock oysters and a splash of tabasco on the Pacific oysters,” Sally said.
“That’ll do me!”
Narooma Seafood Direct is also having a busy season with markets in Canberra, Sydney and the South Coast. This family-run business has been selling fresh seafood since 1949. Vicki and John Abbott are the second generation working on land, while their kids are out on the boats.
The team is too busy to do preorders this year, but Vicki told Region there would be plenty of seafood to go around.
“It’s looking good at the moment: we’ve got nice lobsters and fish like dory, sea bream and striped marlin,” she said.
“We’ll also have live abalone which is a bit unusual but really great. Something like swordfish is great on the BBQ, or panfried Dory is nice as well.”
They are also selling wild caught Queensland prawns which Vicki describes as “the best you’ll get anywhere”.
Vicki Abbott says her family has already had a busy season and there are plenty more markets to go before Christmas. Photo: Capital Region Farmers Market.
As for what’s on Vicki’s Christmas table, she says they’ll be eating “whatever’s leftover with a nice bottle of wine!”.
Jim Wild’s Oysters is at Lot 2/170 Greens Road, Greenwell Point. They’ll be open every day until Christmas Eve. Find their holiday trading hours on Facebook or Instagram.
Narooma Seafood Direct is at 42 Glasshouse Rocks Rd, Narooma. They will be at the Capital Region Farmers Market at EPIC on Christmas Eve from 7 to 11:30 am. They will also be at the SAGE Moruya Farmers Markets on Tuesday 23 December from 3 to 5:30 pm.
Original Article published by Lucy Ridge on Region Canberra.
