Just one more chance to visit the docks during the seasonal Delcambre Seafood and Farmers Market. Last weekend was the November market, and for newcomers in the area, it was a great selection of seafood, craft food items and early Christmas gift buying, too. Held April through December the first Saturday monthly from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., the next market Dec. 7 will be the last until the spring. However, there is a new way for locals and lovers of Louisiana anywhere to buy seafood year round.

Just in time for the winter holidays, Louisiana Direct Seafood Shop introduced the Louisiana Seafood Gift Box.

“The seafood program developed and operated by the Twin Parish Port Commission in partnership with Louisiana Sea Grant and LSU AgCenter promotes small seafood businesses who catch and pack their own product,” said Wendell Verret, director of the Louisiana Direct Seafood Shop. “These ‘microprocessors’ emerged as a way to bring to market seafood whose prices have become depressed due to heavy seafood imports. By marketing local Louisiana seafood that is produced close to the source, consumers are assured the product is fresh and is the good Louisiana seafood we all know and enjoy.”

Louisiana Seafood Gift Box is a seasonally-selected collection of premier fresh-frozen seafood, wild-caught in Louisiana and deliverable throughout the 48 contiguous U.S. states. It includes 1-pound packages of the following.

• CATFISH FILLETS, Vermilion Bay Sweet brand provided by Loreauville Freshwater Seafood, Loreauville.

• RED SNAPPER FILLETS, Anna Marie Seafood brand provided by Anna Marie Seafood, Montegut.

• JUMBO LUMP CRAB MEAT, Vermilion Bay Sweet Brand provided by Louisiana Blue Crab LLC, Kaplan.

• RECIPE CARDS from the Louisiana Direct Seafood Shop.

This first-ever gift box from the Delcambre seafood producers provides an authentic taste of Louisiana ideal for corporate customers, family, friends and those who have everything. Pricing is $55.50 per box plus shipping (2-day FedEx to ensure premium freshness of the frozen contents; local delivery available within 50 miles of Delcambre.

Box items arrive frozen solid and are raw and unseasoned. Custom coolers are available upon request. Gift box items will change seasonally and are hand-selected to provide the most delicious seafood.

LA Direct Seafood Shop

Based in Delcambre, the Louisiana Direct Seafood Shop is providing an online market for wild-caught, flash-frozen Louisiana seafood — among the world’s highest quality — packed by the fishermen who caught it and shipped right to the doorstep. Louisiana Direct Seafood Shop is a partnership of Delcambre Direct Seafood, the Twin Parish Port Commission, LSU AgCenter, Louisiana Sea Grant and part of the statewide Louisiana Direct Seafood initiative. In addition to supporting fisherman-created brands, it also packages and sells Louisiana seafood under its own Vermilion Bay Sweet label.

Vermilion Bay Sweet is a premium-quality seafood brand owned and operated by the Port of Delcambre. There are three new blue crab products:

• Vermilion Bay Sweet Blue Crab Lump ($28/pound)

• Vermilion Bay Sweet Blue Crab Backfin Lump ($18/pound)

• Vermilion Bay Sweet Blue Crab Claw Meat ($15/pound)

The one-pound, frozen packages are available for purchase three ways while supplies last.

About Vermilion Bay Sweet

Beginning in 2012 as a small demonstration project between partners in business, industry, fishing and Louisiana State University, Vermilion Bay Sweet originally debuted a premium, hand-peeled jumbo shrimp package. The brand’s family of products has grown to include gumbo-sized shrimp, the first product to carry the Certified Authentic Louisiana Wild Seafood label, black drum, and catfish. More products are planned including more species of fish such as red snapper, grouper, tuna and oysters.

Vermilion Bay Sweet brand specializes in small batches of high-quality seafood that’s locally caught, packaged and sold directly to consumers. Packaging technology, food science education and assistance, funding and more are provided by partner institution Louisiana State University. Packages are available seasonally, while supplies last. These products join an expanding roster of VBS seafood products available year-round.

Crab for all of the products is supplied, hand cleaned, packaged and flash frozen by Louisiana Blue Crab LLC, of Kaplan. Sheb Callahan, owner of Louisiana Blue Crab, was at the Aug. 3 Delcambre Seafood & Farmers Market as part of the roll out of the new packages and also had live crabs for sale.

Created by the Twin Parish Port Commission in partnership with LSU AgCenter and Louisiana Sea Grant, Delcambre Direct Seafood is part of the statewide Louisiana Direct Seafood initiative. Louisiana Direct Seafood is an online marketplace for consumers to connect directly with local fishermen to purchase fresh, wild-caught Louisiana seafood-among the world’s highest quality.

The Louisiana Seafood Gift Box can be ordered online and is available now. In addition, these make great gifts for Thanksgiving, birthdays, customer perks, college students missing mom’s cooking and family living out of state.

One More Time

The next and last Delcambre Seafood and Farmers Market for 2019 will be Saturday, Dec. 7 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Bayou Carlin Cove (605 S. Railroad St.) in Delcambre. It will start up again Spring 2020.

Louisiana Direct Seafood Shop local and national shipping is available from its website, at Delcambre Seafood and Farmers Market the first Saturdays of the month April through December, while supplies last, or at delcambremarket.org and at Gonsoulin Land and Cattle Farm Store in Loreauville, or online at glcranch.com/farmstore.

Phone orders and customer service call (800) 884-6120 ext. 5, or email info@LouisianaDirectSeafoodShop.com. The first to order also will receive Chef Ty Cobb’s recipe book, Today’s Bayou Kitchen.

Louisiana fisher families know what good eating is all about — and so do the natives and visitors across the country. Now, Louisiana fresh seafood from the Teche Area is available for anyone to enjoy direct from the docks and boats owners.

Grilled Catfish With Fancy Crab Meat

12 to 16 medium size catfish fillets, approx. 6-ounces each

Cajun seasoning

Extra virgin olive oil

1 stick butter

3 yellow onions, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

Cayenne pepper

1 pound mushrooms, chopped

1 can soup, golden mushroom

1 pound crabmeat

2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

2 Tablespoons chopped parsley

Chopped green onions and parsley for garnish

Pat catfish fillets dry with paper towels. Dust with favorite Cajun seasoning. Set aside. In a deep sauce pan, sauté onion and celery in butter until clear. Add a teaspoon of cayenne pepper. Add fresh mushrooms and continue sautéing until their liquid runs dry. Add soup and simmer for 10 minutes. 

Add crab meat, parsley and Worcestershire. Combine well and heat to complete boil. Warm a flat griddle then add olive oil to coat griddle surface. Add fillets flesh side down. Cook approximately 3 minutes and flip. Finish cooking fish until flesh is white and caramelization forms on the edges.

Plate the catfish with a heap of crabmeat. Garnish with chopped green onions and parsley. Serves 8.

Louisiana Direct Seafood Shop

Grilled Red Snapper with Lump Crab Cheese Sauce

1/2 stick butter

2 Tablespoons flour

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1/4 cup celery, chopped

5-ounce can of evaporated milk

1 egg yolk, beaten

3/4 cup Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded

8 ounces of white lump crab meat

6 5-6-ounce fillets of red snapper

3 lemons

Olive oil

Creole seasoning

Paprika

1/4 cup green onions, chopped

In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat, add the onion and celery to the mixture and cook on low-medium heat until the vegetables are tender. Add the flour and stir until combined and lightly browned. Add the evaporated milk, egg yolk, cheese, seasoning, and stir continuously until the cheese has melted. Gently stir in the crab meat and cook on low heat for 5 minutes to heat through.

Heat grill or cast iron skillet to medium/low heat. Add enough olive oil to coat surface. Season fillets, add to grill. Squeeze juice of half a lemon to each fillet. Grill for 10 minutes until done. Fillets should be steamed, not charred. Each fillet can be halved into appetizer portions. Top with sauce, garnish with green onions and paprika. Serves 12 appetizer portions.

Louisiana Direct Seafood Shop

Crabmeat Dip

1 pound crabmeat (finger through meat for any stray bits of shell)

1 8-ounce block cream cheese

1 stick butter

1 onion, finely chopped

1 bell pepper, finely chopped

1 1/2 caps of crab boil (using the cap from the bottle)

Over medium heat, saute onion and bell pepper in melted butter until soft. Add cream cheese and crabmeat. Continue to cook on low and stir gently. Add crab boil to taste. Serve warm.

Louisiana Direct Seafood Shop