Holiday Gift Guide 2021: The Best Mail-Order Oysters And Caviar

If you know how to shuck an oyster, you will be the most popular person at any party. Show up with a bag of oysters—especially if you bring a tin of caviar as well —and you are guaranteed to be the star. I discovered the joys of combining oysters and caviar at Barbara Lynch’s restaurant B&G Oysters – the pop of caviar combined with a silky briny oyster is unforgettable. It brings all the most delicious flavors of the sea together in one tremendous bite.

When ordering either of these delicacies from the sea, it bears repeating that you get what you pay for. One of the most important things to know is when your oysters were harvested. While oysters can keep in your refrigerator under a damp towel for maybe 10 days, they taste much better if you consume them close to delivery. Never store your oysters in fresh water, so if you’re going to keep them on ice, make sure they are elevated above as it starts to melt. Better to cover them with a damp towel.

For caviar, if you have not opened your tin or jar, it can keep in your refrigerator for four to six weeks, or longer. So order early this year to make sure that none of those nasty shipping snafus get in the way of your delicious holiday treats. Keep caviar and oysters in the back of your refrigerator, which is the coldest part. Ideally put caviar on top of ice packs that you switch every couple days as they defrost.

Don’t stress too much about fancy service for your caviar – try a bump by just putting a spoonful on the spot between your thumb and pointer finger. Put it on oysters, or just grab some high-quality potato chips – I like Fox Family from Maine, especially with New England oysters. Top it with real crème fraiche, like this one from Vermont Creamery.

Buy from a trusted source or do a lot of research —there is a lot of false information when it comes to caviar in particular. For instance, Caspian Sea native caviar does not have to be from the Caspian Sea – it needs to come from a Caspian Sea fish species, which can be raised in a number of places. But never harvested in the wild — these fish are critically endangered and the only kind now available is farmed. And osetra should refer specifically to the roe of Russian sturgeon —it is reserved for Russian sturgeon caviar the way the label Black Angus beef can only refer to a specific breed of cattle.

If you’re going all in, get yourself an oyster knife and a caviar tin opener. It’ll save your hands. I mean it.

Here some of the best places to get fresh from the sea delivered straight to your door.

Browne Trading Company: For 30 years, this Maine-based company has been synonymous with high quality – just ask Eric Ripert and Daniel Boulud. Browne works directly with farms to ensure traceability and quality, making them the only company in the U.S. that co-brands with producers of caviar. Try the International Caviar Gift set ($362), which comes with 30 grams each of Royal Belgian Siberian, Giaveri Osetra from Italy, and Imperial Amur, all packaged in a Maine-crafted Browne Trading box with two mini mother of pearl spoons – an essential for caviar serving. Got someone really special to treat? Try a caviar subscription, starting at $250 per month.

Cherrystone Aqua Farms: COVID pressed this high-end Virginia purveyor to start shipping direct to consumers – previously, they only sold to restaurants. Now you can score some “Little Bitches”($52 for 50) – oysters so named because they are incredibly hard to grow, but oh-so-delectable: sweet, briny and quite small, with a very deep cup—or meatier, creamier Misty Points ($65 for $50), or other Eastern Shore varieties to enjoy at home.

Hama Hama Oysters: This fifth-generation family-owned farm in Lilliwaup, Wash., has been growing oysters for 100 years. They offer everything from pretty petite varieties to the Hama Hama beach grown, which are seriously the gnarliest oysters I’ve ever seen— briney like getting smacked in the face with a wave, and I mean that in the best possible way. If you want to really impress someone, demonstrate your shucking prowess on those, which arrive with barnacles and seaweed still clinging to them. Get the Farm Sampler to enjoy a mix of whatever is seasonally divine.

Hog Island Oyster Co. : These shellfish are grown in beautiful Northern California waters thoughtfully and sustainably — Hog Island was the first shellfish farm to become a Certified BCorp and a legally registered California Benefit Corp. The cups on their Sweetwaters ($88 for 36) are deep, the frilly shells are lovely, and the oysters proffer a big hit of salinity, like wave-hopping in the ocean.

Island Creek Oyster Co.: ICO is the godfather of premium oysters— founder Skip Bennett started back in 1995 taking such good care of his oysters that he couldn’t bear the thought of them being sold for a buck apiece alongside oysters dredged from the bottom of the sea, so he started branding them. And soon found himself selling oysters to the likes of Per Se. Order the White Sturgeon Caviar 30g + 2 Dozen Oysters ($140) and get buttery flagship Island Creek Oysters paired with Sterling Farms White Sturgeon Caviar, a native farmed in Northern California. 

Marshallberg Farm: Boston Chef Jeremy Sewall, who has just published a new seafood cookbook that would be an ideal accompaniment to any oysters and caviar gift, is a fan of this North Carolina company selling domestically grown Osetra. Marshallberg is the only producer of Russian sturgeon and Osetra caviar in the U.S., which means it is the only caviar required to adhere to strict U.S. production standards. The creamy, briny pearls are every bit as luxurious as imports, without the possible port-of-entry concerns. I like the Osetra sampler – it lets you compare their different grades to see what you prefer. I also like the storage and eating instructions, which suggest prying open the tins with a screwdriver. My advice: if you plan on a caviar habit, I’d spring for a caviar key instead.

Murder Point:  I have to admit, as a New England gal, I approached these Alabama-grown oysters with trepidation—everything I’d been told is that Gulf Coast oysters lack the complexity of those grown up the coast. But after several chefs I respect sang the praises of Murder Point, I had to give them a try – and they are 100 percent just as wonderful as the same variety grown up north – but with a completely different “merroir.” Petite, buttery and with a very deep cup, they are a great starter oyster for folks new to home-shucking. If you want to have some fun, order up a bag of New England oysters and a bag of these. They are all from the same stock, but taste totally different.

Real Oyster Cult: Owners Rob Knecht + Sims McCormick bring some fun to your next oyster party, from the tongue in cheek name and funny descriptions to this. But with a home base in Duxbury – the epicenter of Massachusetts oyster farming—they know their bivalves. They also sell a selection of Browne Trading Caviar, so you can pair their rock-n-roll holiday tasting platter with a luxe topping.

Regiis Ova Caviar: How often can you enjoy something in your own home that was hand-selected by the most decorated Michelin-starred chef in the United States? Thomas Keller worked with Shaoching Bishop, former CEO of Sterling Caviar and Tsar Nicoulai Caviar, to select sustainable farms around the world to sell direct to consumers from the same stock that has met the standards of Chef Keller’s restaurants. The caviar is exceptional – no surprise there – as is the packaging. I really appreciated the insulated recycled cardboard, which kept everything at the correct temperature while avoiding cardboard. Try the Temptuous Trio Gift Set ($365 including shipping) for sheer indulgence. The elegant gift box includes: 30 grams Baerii Reserve, 30 grams Royal white sturgeon, 30 grams Ossetra, a caviar tin opener and a mother of pearl spoon.

Wulf’s Fish: This is another family-owned company with a nearly hundred-year history. Sensing a theme here? They offer one of the widest varieties of seafood around, not to mention some awesome collabs with Boston-area chefs, so it’s no surprise that their variety of caviar is also deep and broad, wending from budget-friendly American Bowfin roe to California White Sturgeon. I think the Deluxe Brunch Set ($109) makes a great gift — 2 packages of cold-smoked ChalkStream Trout, eight One Mighty Mill bagels made from locally grown wheat, a 2-oz. jar of Hackleback Sturgeon Caviar and a shell spoon. Packaging also eschews styrofoam, which is a plus in my book.