Sources

Peconic Bay Oysters

When you imagine where the world’s finest seafood comes from, your mind might travel to a perfect, watery place on Earth. Nantucket Bay. The mighty Great Lakes. The cold and rough North Atlantic. At Citarella, we source quality seafood from some truly amazing locations.

Like, the spectacular protected ecosystem—situated among the mangroves of Madagascar—where we harvest our Citarella-exclusive organic shrimp. Or, the unforgiving Pacific waters of Alaska, where giant, rich king crabs are pulled up from the icy depths. But our sources are people, too. Men and women who make their lives (and their livelihoods) on the water.

"At Citarella, we are committed to bringing the finest quality seafood to our gourmet market. And to do that, we have spent decades building real relationships with our purveyors."

And we’re fortunate to have met some of the most trustworthy, most innovative, and most passionate fishermen, crabbers, oystermen (and oyster women) in the world.

And one of those sources is Howard Pickerell. He’s been called “the patron saint” of Peconic Bay oysters. Having worked the Long Island waters for over 60 years—as both skiff builder and oysterman—he has built a bit of celebrity around the East End. Or, should we say, his bay oysters have. He cultivates his very briny delicacies each day from the clean, mineral-rich waters of Little Peconic Bay.

His methods are old fashioned (as are his 12-hour workdays) and unique, meticulously tending his oysters from “spat” to harvest over a period of 18 months (This process can take other oystermen two to three years). The result of Howard’s labors (and life on the water) is a premium, local New York oyster that’s a touch sweet with a beautifully buttery finish.

Perfect on the half shell—sipped and savored—it’s an oyster so silky and ethereal it could only come from one place. And one person. And that makes it something truly precious. And it’s available today at Citarella gourmet market.