Oyster Menu Regulars: Rappahannock Oyster Co.
When it comes to friendships and seafood, distance shouldn’t matter. If anything, when it comes to our friendship with Rappahannock Oyster Co., distance was an added benefit.
Dedication to quality seafood knows no bounds. Be it Australian Spiny Lobsters or just a hankering for good east-coast oysters, delicious seafood doesn’t end outside of our home base in Southern California. That’s why we turn to our partners who continuously produce the quality we expect and help us secure the best seafood from around the world.
Although our relationship with Rappahannock Oyster Co. started in the 2000s, their story begins in 1899.
Photo courtesy of Rappahannock Oyster Co.
How Rappahannock Oyster Co. Started
When purchasing a few acres of fertile Rappahannock Riverbed near Butylo, Va., J.A. Croxton surely couldn’t have known that he was creating a company that would last for over a century.
By 2001, after a century of over harvesting, the oyster population in Chesapeake Bay was less than 1% of the amount present when J.A. Croxton made his purchase, and Chesapeake Bay had just recorded its lowest ever oyster harvest.
As cousins Ryan and Travis Croxton took the helm of the company, threats of placing the Bay oyster on the Endangered Species List and a movement away from native oysters in favor of introducing a Chinese oyster in its place was underway.
A mission to resurrect the native Bay oyster quickly expanded into a crusade to pave the pathways of restoration of all Chesapeake Bay food ways. Because of the oytser's ability to filter 50 gallons of water per day and provide habitat for countless species, it was the perfect weapon to attack this growing problem. Using oysters as their paintbrush, Rappahannock Oyster Co. set out to paint a cover over the decades old graffiti of a wall that is the Chesapeake Bay, laying the base for the gorgeous mural of seafood that it has become.
After two decades since the Croxton cousins took over, Chesapeake Bay is now seeing numbers not witnessed in generations and now leads the entire East Coast in oyster production.
Rappahannock Oyster Co. Methodology
Rappahannock Oyster Co. oysters are grown directly next to wild oysters, however by growing them in cages rather than the ocean floor, they preserve the fragile river-bottom. In their growth cycle that lasts from 24-to-36 months, the oysters filter the river water, clearing it of excess nutrients and cleaning it to provide a habitat for the fish that call the river home.
The oysters are carefully monitored during its growth. Keeping an eye on salt and temperature levels help to guard the oyster against unsightly growth habits and fight disease, ensuring a healthy, attractive and succulent oyster.
Once grown, they are hand-selected and placed into an iced-down shipping container destined for King’s Seafood Distribution, where they are closely monitored, quality-checked and sent out to all Water Grill locations.
Rappahannock Oysters At Water Grill
Depending on season and availability, any of the three oysters grown and supplied by Rappahannock Oyster Co. can be found on our Water Grill menus. Check out today’s menus for availability.
Rappahannock Oysters At-A-Glance
Rappahannock River
Species: Crassostrea virginica (native)
Location: Topping, VA
Flavor: Sweet, buttery, full-bodied taste with a refreshingly clean, crisp finish.
Rochambeau
Species: Crassostrea virginica (native)
Location: Yorktown, VA
Flavor: Sweet and mildly briny with a clean crisp finish.
Olde Salts
Species: Crassostrea virginica (native)
Location: Chincoteague, VA
Flavor: Bold seaside brininess with a smooth, clean follow-through.
From Head to Fin, Here's Looking At You, Halibut.
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Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And, if you’re looking at Pacific Halibut from its good side, it’s a twofer: you’ve got two big eyes staring right back at you.
We think you’re beautiful, Pacific Halibut, and you give us a lot to work with – from head to fin.
Pacific Halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) is the world’s largest species of flatfish. One can weigh as much as 500 lbs. and grow up to 8 ft. long. Those big ones are called “barn doors”. The little ones are called “chickens.”
They’re found in the coastal waters from Northern California to Nome, Alaska. Most are caught in the central Gulf of Alaska. As a flatfish, they hang out on the sandy ocean floor, which gets quite dark. It’s an environment that breeds adaptation.
Tell Me About Those Eyes
Pacific Halibut are born swimming like the other kids in school. They look like them too, with an eye on each side of their heads. As they get older, though, their bodies begin to change. One eye migrates to the right side. By the time a halibut is six months old, it’s swimming on its side with both eyes on the top of its body. This puts them in the family of right-eyed flounders. Nearly every halibut falls into this camp. In fact, only one in 20,000 halibut is left-eyed.
The underside of the body is off-white and faces the ocean floor. The other side is a dark olive color, which helps them blend in with the ocean floor to anyone (or anything) looking down from above. It’s on that top side of the body where both eyes reside, keeping an eye out for potential threats while enjoying a steady diet of small fish, crabs, clams, squid and other bottom-dwelling invertebrates.
Typically, Halibut-catching season runs from mid-March through early November, closing right before the spawning season begins. The females typically spawn at depths of 300 to 1,500 ft. When we get a hold of Pacific Halibut, it’s wild-caught by longlines or hook and line.
Our Process
We handpick, cut and exclusively supply the highest quality seafood to our restaurants. We leverage more than 75 years of strong relationships to source from local fishermen and lobstermen. For Pacific Halibut, this means partnering with companies such as E&E Foods. They’re experts in Alaska and the North Pacific and have been serving the industry since 1932.
Flavor
Pacific Halibut is a people and palate pleaser, with a flavor that’s delightfully mild and slightly sweet. It’s a leaner fish, with large white flakes and a firm but tender texture.
We offer several preparations of Pacific Halibut throughout the season at Water Grill, utilizing the whole fish. This includes:
•Pan Seared Halibut entrée with spring peas, fingerlings, braised leeks and lemon velouté
•Pan Roasted Halibut Cheeks appetizer with braised fennel and brown butter lemon sauce
•Miso Marinated Halibut Collar with grilled Okinawan potatoes, pickled bean sprouts and yuzu aioli
•Roasted Halibut Tail tacos with roasted tomato salsa, pickled mango and soft corn tortillas
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Fisheries Management
The Pacific Halibut Fishery is managed by the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC), NOAA Fisheries and the Pacific Fishery Management Council. These agencies work together to set annual quotas and keep the population at a level where it can continue to reproduce and sustain itself. The teamwork extends across the United States and Canada – including the states of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California and the province of British Columbia.
Collectively, the Pacific Halibut population has been increasing since 2013 through the active and collaborative fisheries management which has been decreasing catch weight limits year over year.
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