The Montauk Shellfish Company grows something very special out here: Montauk Pearls!
A Montauk Pearl is an oyster that’s raised to market size in the warm, nutrient rich waters of Lake Montauk, and then taken out to Block Island Sound for an “ocean finish”.
I love it when people see a smart way to put things together to make something special, and MSC’s cultivation technique is the sort of thing that just makes me crazy with happiness. Using combination of cunning, geographical awareness, and just plain hard work, MSC produces an oyster that has nearly perfect shape, super clean shells, reaches market size quickly, but with a flavor that can only be achieved by spending time in super-clean, high tidal flow ocean waters. In oyster cultivation this is having your cake and eating it too!
More photo of MSC’s operation soon, but for now, here’s Mike Martinsen counting out a dozen of his Montauk Pearls. He was giving away to all comers yesterday for Valentine’s Day. You got yours, right?
Mike Martinsen of the Montauk Shellfish Company counting out a dozen “Montauk Pearls” oysters
