In 2024, we introduced you to Ricky Moore, the James Beard award-winning chef behind Saltbox Seafood Joint.

In that episode, Ricky joined another "My Home" friend, Anna Shellam, for a day of harvesting in the coastal marshes.

What we captured that day couldn't fully fit into a single episode, so now we're bringing you something special.

Come along as we return to the marsh, uncover more of its secrets, and watch Ricky craft a dish straight from the day's harvest to add to the full flavor of that incredible day.

♪♪ It's a beautiful day here in Wrightsville Beach.

Who are we going to see, Ricky?

-We are going to see one of my favorite people, Anna Shellam of Shellam Seafood.

-Now, how is -- why is this so important for you to connect with Anna?

-Well, first of all, Anna and I have a sort of shared kinship.

The water, first of all, but secondly, the idea of what she does and how she does it and the way she tells a story about shellfish.

-Oh!

-Hey-oh!

-Finally!

-What's up, buddy?

-How are you?

How are you?

-So good.

How are you?

-Good to see you.

-I'm stoked to take you out today.

-Finally got that done.

Finally got it done.

-It's been a minute.

The camaraderie that I share with my chefs is why I'm successful, focusing on sustainability and zero waste.

There's never a time where something comes back that isn't going into hands that are excited and passionate about using that product.

-So tell us what we're gonna see today.

-We're gonna go get, well, whatever you want -- clams, oysters, mussels, sea beans.

You asked for those for the preparation.

-Sea beans are important because it's gonna be part of the preparation.

We're gonna do this "Whatever We Harvest Shellfish Pot Roast Stew" thing.

-Oh, my God.

I can't wait.

-It's gonna be real delicious.

I got some good little goodies in there.

We're gonna have a good time with it, you know?

-Awesome.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So I'm excited.

-We're gonna go to Masonboro Island today.

-Okay.

Is that your particular spot?

-It's my favorite spot to harvest.

So Masonboro is in between river mouths.

I don't like to harvest near river mouths because, since shellfish are filters, they bring in a lot of different flavors when you have that muddy, muckiness.

So if we stay away from river mouths and stay as close to the ocean as possible, I feel like there's just, like, a cleaner taste in all of the seafood in general.

The mussels definitely -- -You talk about mussels.

-Yeah.

-Like, mussels, you know, a lot of people here in North Carolina particularly, they don't reference mussels here.

-The PEIs, flavor-wise, are gonna be a little sweeter, where here, they're almost more oyster-like.

They've got a lot of salinity and a lot of brine.

-Right.

-They're Atlantic ribbed mussels, so they really vary in size a lot, and I know that you're an adventurous chef who loves to deal with all those sizes.

-Yes.

-But it can be a little new for some people that aren't used to consuming them.

-Sure.

-It's an underutilized species here in North Carolina, which is important 'cause we try to bring that up.

-That is a super important point to bring up, and hopefully, we harvest those.

I'm gonna cook them so everybody can see.

It's like North Carolina has mussels, too.

How about that?

-That's right.

Yeah, and they are fabulous.

We're waiting for the tide to go out a little bit more.

Tell us what we're gonna do, Anna.

What's our next step?

-We are gonna start with oysters 'cause the beds are getting nice and exposed now, and then we're gonna do some clamming.

The mussels grow up at the base of the marsh grass, so we'll finish with that, and then we'll collect sea beans and whatever else Ricky wants to cook up.

-When you deliver to me, you're doing commercial delivers.

You're out here by yourself.

That's a big deal.

-Thanks.

-And a lot of work.

-It is a lot of work, even mentally at home preparing for the week, and Mother Nature only gives you what she will, and sometimes she doesn't want to, so thankfully, I get to work with -- You know, you understand when Mother Nature is not giving.

-That's right.

-Thankfully, she is today.

-Yes.

-But, yeah, out here by myself and I think that that's what keeps it sustainable is keeping it this big.

I make these little cluster busters, so it's just a steel piece that I break down, but legally, oysters can -- When you harvest them, they have to be 3 inches.

So I put it on the back 'cause we're gonna -- If we have to bust anything off of an oyster 'cause we only get singles, just as you're harvesting, that's your size limit.

-Understood.

-And you can see by the cup of the shell what the meat might be like.

-Sure.

-So I can't wait to see what you pull out.

-Okay.

Okay, good.

And so these are cluster busters, and you made these.

-Yeah.

We try to be as self-sustainable and self-sufficient as possible.

-Fantastic.

-That's boat life.

-Right, right, right, right.

-That's having to fix stuff yourself.

-That's right.

Okay.

-With a wild harvest, it's like you have to get to know what to look for.

-Right.

-Um... ♪♪ Like, this one looks like it might be okay, but I don't like the depth.

I wouldn't deliver that to you.

-Yeah, no.

This cup is -- -It's a little shallow, right?

-Right, right, right, right.

Right away, when you start talking about the cup, it's definitely shallow.

-Tricky thing about the wild is you never -- Like, when we land on an area, I never know if it's gonna be -- -So I'm trying to figure out what you are.

You're just grabbing stuff like, "Yo, man."

She's just grabbing stuff.

-Well, so I look for -- That's pretty.

-My first one?

-Hey!

-Yes!

-There you go.

So, next, I'd hold it by the oyster itself... -Yeah, okay.

-...and then break the excess off.

-Yeah.

♪♪ -There you go.

-All right.

-Save that little fresh cup.

-Right on, right on.

-Ooh, is that a little whelk?

♪♪ I've never cooked whelk before.

-Really?

-But we have one to play around with.

-Oh, that's awesome.

-They're hard to get out of their shell.

-So they got to be poached out of them, right?

-Yeah.

-Yeah, mm-hmm.

-Like a steam bath.

-Yeah, yeah.

You treat a whelk the same way you treat, like, snails.

-Yes.

-Same thing.

Conch, as well, you know?

-So, the reason these are whelks and not conch is the conchs are only herbivores, and these guys eat clams and oysters, and they eat meat.

-Right.

Right, so they eat shellfish, man, so the meat is just spectacular once it's handled correctly.

-Yeah, exactly.

-You know what I mean?

-I know that that corner's gonna be good, and there might be a nest on the way, so let's walk around.

-It definitely requires a trained eye of -- That's a pretty little nugget.

Ones that are too small, like this guy, is going to be beautiful one day.

-Right, right.

-But he's just shy of the limit.

-Gotcha.

-So then I just -- I toss him back.

-So, is this a deep cup, or there's something else hanging on the side?

-Ooh, I see what you're seeing.

-Yeah.

-This guy, we could knock him off.

-Really?

-I might not want to.

Yeah, that's pretty.

-Okay.

-I think we're around each other.

Nice work.

-All right, cool.

All right, I'm getting the eye.

-You got it.

-I'm getting the eye.

-I have no doubt.

-I mean, I see, when I get fresh oysters, they're really muddy.

-There's also different ways of harvesting your oysters.

Like, if you tong for oysters, which is what they do -- -Can you find that for me, please?

-So, like, we would be on our boat with a long pair of tongs, pulling up from the bottom and putting it on our boat and then sorting.

-I see.

-So, that's where you get all that mud.

-This area is really unique with, you know, we can just walk around on low tide, but sometimes the tide doesn't drop well in an area forever.

And so, yeah, just the different methods.

-This method is hand-harvested?

-Yes.

-Okay, I just wanted to kind of speak to that, you know, like, the differences.

-And then there's no bashing to tonging.

Tonging is a really cool style.

-Okay, okay, okay.

-You're basically scouting for lunch.

That's what you're doing right now, right?

-Today?

Hell yeah.

-You're scouting for lunch.

-Yeah, and the thing is, what if we all had to do that?

Scout for our food.

-All right, right.

-You know what I mean?

Like, it becomes more precious.

So, people know, like, people have such a disconnection to, all they know is, when I walk in, give me them oysters on ice and give me my little hot sauce and my little vinegar and onions, my mignonette.

Like, this is it.

This is what all has to go down before you get that.

-Yeah, and once you get it to the dock, you have to clean it, do all your paperwork and properly refrigerate it and transport it safely.

-Absolutely.

All of that.

-There's a lot to it.

-Oh, I went through a head of oysters.

They were all right.

Shut up.

-[ Laughs ] -Shut up.

Go out and harvest your own.

How about that?

-Anything worth having costs time and money.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Mm.

Here.

That's bustable.

Those edges.

-Okay, got it.

-How long will these be good until you get them back and refrigerate?

-So, I legally have to get them in refrigeration within six hours.

-Okay.

-But these are good for two weeks.

And it's okay to ask for a tag at a restaurant.

You might, like, feel like a Karen by doing so, but it's totally, like, they have to legally have that proof there for when they were harvested.

Yeah.

They get really strict about that, so... -So, asking for the tag, you can see when that time stamp is cut.

-You can really tell, like, when an oyster is on its last leg.

Like, when you open it, there's not as much oyster liqueur there.

Like, they're not as -- Yeah.

The moisture's gone, and, um... -It's dry.

-Heather, if you want to grab that basket, we can work our way around and do some clamming.

Clamming's been harder and harder every single hurricane season.

-Really?

-Like, lots of dead shell.

-Oh, wow.

-So, when you're clamming, it's not necessarily as deep as you can go.

-Okay.

-They're gonna hide, like, two to three inches below the surface.

-So, they dig down, so you can't really... -Yeah, they're not showing at all.

They have to be at least an inch big.

-Okay, here we go.

-There you go.

-Yay!

-All right.

-All right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right.

-It's amazing how much clams move.

I can find a spot that I think is, like, an amazing honey hole, and the next year, even six months later, it's totally different.

And while you're clamming, you also have to look for oysters at the same time.

-Ricky, how many clams have you found?

-I've won thus far.

One delicious one.

-One delicious clam.

-Yeah, yeah.

One that had a "D" on it.

-We're gonna starve.

-We're gonna starve if we're looking for the clams.

-Yep.

All right, here we go.

Got another one.

-There it is.

-All right, here we go.

-Open!

That's two.

-I'm on a roll.

I'm on a roll.

Come on, Helen.

Let me count mine, man.

Let me count mine.

Don't say it out loud.

Hey, come on, man.

-It's frustrating, right?

-Here, we're just -- we're kind of hitting a dry patch a little bit.

-It's definitely not commercial abundance, anyway.

It's lunch abundance, but not commercial.

I wish there was a spot that had, like, everything -- Oh, no.

Everything abundant in one area, but because it's wild, everything is so unpredictable.

It can be very un-exhilarating.

-Let's see if that goes into the patience.

Aha!

Got another one.

Okay, Helen, count that one, too.

Count it up.

-Three?

Is it three?

[ Laughter ] -Once?

-Oh, man.

Let me get my game -- set my game up, man.

I want a dozen.

I'm gonna get a dozen.

We ain't leaving until I get a dozen.

-All right.

-Okay, count it up.

-You got another?

-Oh, hey-oh!

-Let me see you.

-Oh, man.

-Oh, oh, oh, oh!

-Hey-oh!

-Oh, oh!

-Yeah!

-Look at that genius.

Look at that genius.

-That's gonna be so good.

I'm glad we're not starting with muscling because muscling, they do grow in clusters, and you guys are gonna be so relieved.

You'll be like, "I could muscle all day, every day."

But I'm glad we started with the trickier stuff.

♪♪ -So, Ana, so we're out here getting ready to harvest mussels.

-Yes.

-So tell us, like, exactly, like, what we need to look for, what's the technique?

-Absolutely.

So they grow at the base of the marsh grass, and they kind of grow like little blooming onions.

So you can see, like, this -- we'll call it a family here.

They grow in these clusters, and some have oysters attached, and if we can't break those off easily, we leave them and put them back in.

But I like to use a hoary-hoary knife so it doesn't disrupt the bed itself too much or the family itself.

So we're gonna put it right down the side, put it under and push up.

-Like this?

-And it'll -- yes.

-All right, cool.

-And then it'll bring them up to the surface more so we can -- their beards are what's attaching them to the -- Oh, dang, they're excited to see you.

-Okay.

-Once you get in like that, you can use your hands afterwards.

-All right.

-But, yeah, they grow in these beautiful little clusters.

-Oh, wow.

So you call the knife, the tool, a hooly-hooly knife.

-Hoory-hoory.

-Hoory-hoory.

-H-O-R-I.

-Okay, and what does that mean?

What do you mean?

-It's just a basic gardening tool.

-Okay, there you go.

-That just seemed to be the ticket for this.

-Yeah, yeah, had a special name.

-All right, all right, got you.

Okay, Heather, you can count now.

I got 17 now.

-Okay, I see that.

-I got 17, okay?

I'm pulling it up like that.

-Anna, what are you looking for when you're like -- just kind of see them?

-I look for the top of them, like their lips.

There's some right here that you can see.

After repetition, your eye just gets used to it.

-That's like where's Walter?

-They'll grow all along the edge, 'cause, like, right now, we're in the meat of the marsh.

-Sure.

-But, like, on that edge, if they grow up to an oyster bed, the beds kind of keep them from expanding, and if they're all growing together, the oysters hold them tighter.

-Right.

-And so when you try to cook them, it might require extra heat because it's not letting them pop open, or you'll be like, "Oh, these might be bad because they're not opening."

-10-4.

Okay, that's awesome.

That's great.

That's great information right there, 'cause I think a lot of people would be -- you know, like I said, they've been trained on PEI.

-Yes.

-That's what they know.

That's their reference point.

-Yeah.

-So when they get these, there's a little bit of, like, culture shock.

-Yes.

-Or muscle shock.

-Yes.

-Okay?

You know what I mean?

-Absolutely.

-So I just want to kind of speak to that.

Like I said, you know, when I first started here, man, it's like, it feels good to be here.

It feels good to be out here with you.

It feels good to know that I have another opportunity to participate in this experience.

So I just want to show my gratitude.

-I am honored to have you here, man.

-This is good, and hopefully, folks connect with what we're putting down.

♪♪ At this point, after going out in the water in the marsh with Anna Shellam, and we harvested a bountiful amount of Atlantic rib mussels.

What I'm going to do today is sort of like a Caribbean sort of riff on these Atlantic rib mussels.

And we also harvested something special, sea beans.

And that's going to be the salt in the dish.

We're going to go straight into the pot.

When you're cooking these Atlantic rib mussels, pot got to be really hot, okay?

Really hot.

When you hear a sizzle, I'm going to add onions.

I'm going to add garlic.

So the goal here is to start to build flavor.

♪♪ Now I'm going to add some butter.

And now at this point, I'm going to add my coconut milk.

♪♪ I'm going to add some wine, and I'm going to add my sea beans.

They look like little, small, little grass, but I chopped them up so they're small.

I'm going to use this as seasoning.

I'm going to add my pepper.

Now we're going to put the lid on.

I'm going to let this come to a strong boil.

And once it's come to a strong boil and the mussels start to open, then we're going to add the herbs and the asparagus and a little zest of lemon.

And while you do that, I'm going to do this.

Add in our aki right inside.

We're going to work as a team here.

This is a Jamaican fruit.

What I'm going to do is I'm going to finish it with some local peanuts that I spiced up with a little spice rub and curry.

- And doing this kind of seafood in a pot, it's such a great way to do something you've harvested from the ocean.

- Right.

The primary thing, traditional thing, is always to cook it in some sort of flavored broth of some sort, you know?

And for me, I kind of felt that this was appropriate today.

So let's go up and start to enjoy this, get this thing plated up and eat.

Okay?

All right.

This is the result of Marsh to Table.

- So beautiful.

Wow.

That is amazing.

- What you thinking?

What you thinking?

- I love the firmness of the asparagus.

- Perfect.

Perfect.

- Oh my goodness.

Sorry we didn't wait for you.

- Cheers.

Cheers.

- It's amazing.

And the heat from your peanuts comes in at the end.

- Oh boy.

- The coconut has so much brine to it because of- - That's right.

And it's a good, that coconut comes across sweet, but it isn't.

And so it does well with shellfish.

- Really balances it out.

- It's like a Marsh medicine.

Marsh medicine.

What do you think?

- I feel that.

- I really appreciate you having me out here.

It's been fun.

You gonna let me do it again?

- Yeah, you better come out with me again.

- Okay.

Okay.

Okay.

- Please.

- Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

- Thank you for coming with me.

All of you.

This was amazing.

From Marsh to Table.

- It's my new favorite thing.

- That's right.

(upbeat music) ♪