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Melbourne's best last-minute seafood buys for Christmas

Richard Cornish
Richard Cornish

Sydney rock oysters are at their best between September and March.
Sydney rock oysters are at their best between September and March.Elesa Kurtz

"Seafood used to be only for Fridays and Easter," says Queen Victoria Market fishmonger George Milonas. "Now Christmas sales are more than double what we take in Easter."

This Christmas, Milonas and his fellow seafood retailers at Melbourne's historic food market will sell 12 tonnes of cooked prawns and almost 1200 dozen oysters between them. The second-generation fish seller is betting Christmas 2020 will break records as Victorian families shake off their lockdown shackles and regroup over the holiday season.

Apollo Bay lobster fisher Russell Frost is urging consumers to buy Victorian lobster this Christmas and support the local crayfish industry.
Apollo Bay lobster fisher Russell Frost is urging consumers to buy Victorian lobster this Christmas and support the local crayfish industry.Richard Cornish
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"It's a massive logistical operation getting wild-caught, perishable seafood into the market and out again in perfect condition," says Milonas above the din of Christmas shoppers at his George the Fishmonger store. "I had to start planning for this in August!"

For anyone still planning their Christmas Day menu and shopping at local fishmongers and markets, here's a selection of the best seafood buys around Melbourne.

Prawns

In the past few days, the very first of the super sweet Victorian school prawns were caught off Lakes Entrance in East Gippsland. While the catch is small, they can be found in Melbourne's markets, but need to be ordered from fishmongers such as Ripponlea Fish Supply.

Recent wild weather in Queensland and NSW saw much of the east coast prawn fleet anchored inshore. "Don't worry," says Michael Wood, president of the Moreton Bay Seafood Industry Association north of Brisbane. "The full moon will bring the prawns up to the surface and we will have super fresh prawns heading down the coast all next week," he says. Most chefs agree that raw prawns, snap-frozen minutes after catch, are the best quality and can still be ordered from retailers such as Melbourne Seafood Market.

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Australian supermarkets are still well-stocked with wild-caught prawns certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council. Expect to pay around $25 to $30 per kilogram for good quality medium prawns and around $49 for jumbo prawns at fishmongers and online.

And to make Christmas easier, the Australian prawn industry has created the Tinder of seafood – The Australian Prawn Finder website – to match consumers with their nearest stockist of Australian prawns.

Lobster

The big seafood story this year is that the price of crayfish has crashed. Trade tensions with China have pushed southern rock Lobster off the menu in Beijing and into Australian seafood stores at prices 40 per cent lower than last year.

From a high of $160 per kilogram in late 2019, local lobster can be found at Prahan market for around $100 per kilogram. At a fishing village such as Apollo Bay, however, lobster may cost as little as $80 per kilogram.

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"You will never see prices like this again," says former lobster fisherman Russell Frost. "This is killing the industry. Don't buy imported lobster," he pleads. "Don't buy Western Australian lobster. Buy Victorian lobster or we won't have industry in years to come."

Frost refers to the WA lobsters which, while considered inferior by seafood lovers, are being sold in Coles and Woolworths for around $20 each. Imported Brazilian lobster tails were also selling at Woolworths this week for under $10.

Oysters

Sydney rock oysters are considered to be their briny best between September and March. Good varieties, grown on leases along the NSW coast, can be purchased at Aptus Seafoods at South Melbourne Market.

Home delivered oysters are now a thing, and some Australia's best unshucked Sydney rocks can be dropped at the front door courtesy of Signature Oysters in Batemans Bay. Prices start at $89 for three dozen medium oysters, including delivery. Signature also delivers larger Pacific oysters.

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Meanwhile, Melbourne Seafood Market will be delivering 300 to 400 dozen Sydney rocks and Pacific oysters each day next week and are taking online orders for Monday delivery.

Salmon

At this stage of the silly season, top of the range smoked salmon and gravlax are as scarce as hen's teeth. Bellarine Smokehouse produces beautifully aromatic and silk gin-cured gravlax and although its online store is out of stock, Melbourne retailers including The Meat Room in Keilor and Fish Shoppe in Collingwood still have some product available.

Obelix & Co in Fitzroy North are carrying the excellent Harris Smokehouse cold-smoked kingfish. Bayside and Mornington Peninsula residents could consider putting an order in for home delivery of smoked salmon from father-and-son master smokers David Freeman snr and jnr of The Melbourne Pantry. Also consider salmon caviar from Yarra Valley Caviar available from fishmongers such as Steve Costi in Hawthorn East.

Wild-caught fish

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Wild weather up north has knocked the head on a plentiful tuna catch, while local winds have blown away prospects for a very calamari Christmas.

"Try a swordfish roast on the bone," says the Fish Shoppe's Josh Pearce. He specialises in Australian wild-caught seafood and loves nothing more than value-adding to his fish, offering boned and rolled Lakes Entrance flathead and stuffed rainbow trout.

"People forget about some of the finest fleshed white local fish such as King George whiting and garfish," he says. "They grill really well and marry perfectly with Victorian cold-climate sparkling wine."

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Richard CornishRichard Cornish writes about food, drinks and producers for Good Food.

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