Pemaquid
Damariscotta River 🌎 See Oyster Map
Big, strong, briny oysters bottom-planted in the marine clay of Maine’s Damariscotta River, then purged after harvest in Clark’s Cove, near the mouth of the river, for maximum brine. Harvested at 3-4 years.
- Species: Eastern
- Cultivation: Bottom Planted
- Salinity: Briny
- Size: Large
- Region: Damariscotta
Pemaquid (13 Ratings)
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Large shells, but notably thin meats in October. Not dense at all… quite wispy. High brine, with slight mushroomy flavors.
The cups were extremely inconsistent and very fragile. Lot of “inverted” cups which I find extremely annoying. I would not bother with pemaquids again 🙁
A solid utility-type eating oyster. Brine in these is actually quite incredible. Usually pretty meaty (instead of membranous). Consistent and good size. You just usually can’t go wrong with this one. A solid all-around oyster.
Great…briney and meaty, but not overwhelming in any way. A nice entry-point oyster.
Wow! Huge, plump meaty, tender, briny. Tons of liquor. First time enjoying them, won’t be the last! Reasonable easy to shuck.
The meat is larger than I typically like, but the flavor was so balanced, that I quite enjoyed it. I got a fairly distinct mushroom-y soy sauce quality under the brine that I usually associate with West Coast oysters. It had a nice, subtle funkiness with a refreshing brine. Tasted in late September.
Medium brine and a touch metallic, also some cucumber. Came off as slightly westie (in late January).
Very run of the mill go to type Maine oyster, Medium brine in relation to other MAINE oysters.Nice light sweet flavor, super easy to shuck. Very becoming when serving reluctant consumers.
Pemaquid has moderate level of salinity with good texture. A hint of seaweed also adds some lovely flavor.
Nearly a perfect oyster; ample cup size but not too large; briny; clean.
Nice plump oyster with great brine. A little creamy.
I’ll second that, and glad you brought up the shuckability. A very important factor, often overlooked by those who don’t have to deal with that part of it. Pemaquids are somehow able to keep both shell and meat quality at a consistently very high level, and they’ve done it for many years. At the Boston Seafood Show today, in fact, several of us were singing their praises.
I agree completely. We often have Pems and Wileys on the bar and they are very similar in flavor with the Pems being a bit larger. Very consistent oyster in terms of size, flavor and easy of shucking!
Great briny oyster, sort of sparkles with crisp taste. A poster boy for a New England oyster.