REALT NA MARA SHELLFISH, in Kerry

Realt na Mara, a family-owned company, was founded in 2015 but, Sharon Sugrue tells me, “We’ve been doing this since we could walk. Mussels were always the traditional thing here in Cromane. Our grandfather and fathers were always at it; they worked in a mussel factory here in the 1960s.”

Cromane lies within Castlemaine Harbour in  Co. Kerry. “We have the wild Atlantic sea coming in from the west but we are sheltered, and then we have the water coming in from three rivers including the Laune from Killorgan and the Maine through Castlemaine.” The rivers add to the nutrients and quality of the water.

“We are lucky with the site,” Sharon continues, “It’s as close as you can get to organic. There is nothing added to our oysters. It’s really about husbandry; most of the work is done at low tides. That is when we do the shaking, trying to get a good deep shell with a tear-dropped shape. You have to mind them a little and know when to leave them alone. We didn’t touch them in the recent heat for instance,” she explains.

“I can tell just by looking at an oyster if they are ours. They are like my children.”

At Realt na Mara, they run a farm-to-fork operation. “I deliver locally and know all the chefs. We are relatively new to this end of the market so I love hearing back from them.” They also export to France and the Netherlands.

View our review of Realt na Mara

ACHILL OYSTERS, in Mayo

Hugh O’Malley was brought up on Achill Island. “At 13, I moved to England. My dad had a trawler as did my grandfather and great grandfather; there was always fishing in our household. I always thought aquaculture could be a good alternative to fishing and I got the opportunity to do it.”

Their oyster farm is fed with spate rivers, coming off the bogs. “At the end of the summer, the entire bay will turn a lovely peaty brown colour as it is swept out off the banks into the tributaries and then the river. It gives a unique taste and flavour; of course, I would say the best!” Hugh laughs. “We don’t have a lot of food in the water so our oysters take longer to grow, therefore have fuller meat. We are on the east coast of Achill, in a site chosen because it gets a wind coming across the island creating staccato waves 18 inches high and three feet apart that give the oysters a good bang. It is the equivalent of giving them a good shake.”

Hugh admits that the farm has been a great journey. “I spend time with my children and working with my dad. It’s a love affair. We’ve had challenges over the last eighteen months, but it is made easier because you are out in the open-air running your own business.”

And the best way to eat an oyster? “As God intended, naked, fresh from the sea, in your oilskins, knife in hand maybe with a dash of Tobasco.” However, he also recommends his wife’s go-to recipe – see below.

View our Review of Achill Oysters

Oyster Recipes

While most of us eat our oysters raw, accompanied by lemon juice or Tabasco, perhaps a twist of black pepper, or with a mignonette dressing, there are plenty of ways to cook them without losing that delicious briny flavour. Oyster Rockefeller is probably the best known, but below are three very different recipes.

Oysters Shelbourne

Served with Liscannor crab meat and lobster glazed with Hollandaise sauce and Gruyère cheese.

Ingredients:

• 6 Realt na Mara oysters
• 30g garlic butter
• 30g Liscannor crab meat
• 5g chopped chives
• 2g lemon juice
• 2g lemon zest
• 2g grain mustard
• 30g Lambay lobster meat, cooked then diced.

Thermidor sauce:

• 2  shallots, finely diced
• 50ml Jameson Black Barrel whiskey
• 200ml cream
• Lemon juice
• Dijon mustard, to taste
• Gruyère, to taste

For the Hollandaise sauce:

• 75g clarified butter
• 1 large free-range egg yolk
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar reduction
• Lemon juice

For the Thermidor sauce:

Sweat the shallots in oil, add the whiskey, flambé to remove the alcohol, add cream and bring to a boil, add lemon juice, mustard and Gruyère to taste.

To make the Hollandaise, mix the egg yolks and vinegar together in a bowl, whisk over a pot of barely simmering water until the ribbon stage is achieved. Emulsify in the butter slowly until fully incorporated. Finish with lemon juice.

Shuck the oysters, pass the oyster juice through a fine sieve to remove any shell. Mix the crab with the lemon juice and zest. Finish with chopped chives.

Warm the oysters in garlic butter until just cooked, add lobster and crab meat and heat through. Add a little Thermidor sauce and heat through, do not boil.

Finish with a spoon of hollandaise sauce, add the shellfish mixture back into the oyster shells, place under a grill or in the oven until a little colour is achieved.

Oysters with Spinach and Cream

from Fiona O’Malley of Achill Oysters

Ingredients:

• 24 large Achill Oysters
• 500ml of cream
• One bag of spinach
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• Salt, pepper and mixed herbs to taste
• Buttered crusty bread, to serve

Method:

Put the oysters cup-side down on a baking tray and pop them in the oven at 160C for 5-10 minutes. The heat will open them without you having to shuck them.

Bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan on the stovetop, add the spinach and season.

With an oven mitt and sharp knife remove the oyster’s top shell (flat side). Arrange the oysters back on the tray, keeping as much liquid in the shells as possible. Add your mixture from the saucepan into the shells and pop them back into the oven for another 15 minutes or until the cream begins to bubble.

Make sure you have enough bread to soak up all the goodness.

Cromane Rock Oyster, Seaweed & Green Olive, Bacùs Sliders, Yuzu Aioli

From Nicky Foley of Solas in Dingle

“This is a new addition to my menu. Realt na Mara Cromane Oysters are a meaty treat and work beautifully in a slider snack.”

Ingredients:

• 8 Realt na Mara Cromane Oysters
• 100g of flour (in a flat tray)
• 6 eggs whisked (in a bowl)
• 200g of Panko Bread Crumbs (in a bowl)
• 100g fresh seaweed (dillisk), finely chopped
• 200g green olives, chopped
• 25g ginger, finely chopped

For the relish:

• 100mls soy sauce
• 100mls mirin
• 75g sugar
• 50ml water
• 1 star anise
• 2 peppercorns

For the aioli:

• 5 tbsp yuzu juice
• ½ tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp fine sea salt
• ½ tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp miso paste
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 cups vegetable oil

Method:

Place all the relish ingredients into a pan and reduce them down by half. Pass through a fine sieve and chill.

To make the aioli, whisk together all the aoili ingredients in a bowl, apart from the vegetable oil. Then slowly add the oil, whisking all the time. Check the seasoning. Place the yuzu mayo into a piping bag and chill.

When the soy relish is cooled add the chopped seaweed, olives and ginger. This can be stored in the fridge for 10 days.

Shuck the oysters over a bowl of ice to keep them as cool as possible.

Take one oyster at a time and dip into the flour, then the egg and roll in the panko bread crumbs. Chill.

Turn on the deep fat fryer to 180 degrees.

Cut the Bacùs brioche bun in half and gently toast on the cut side

Place a good dollop of yuzu aoili on one side of the toasted bun.

Fry the oyster till golden brown, place on the bun, top with a spoon of relish, place the other bun on top and enjoy.