A few weeks ago the Ukrop’s team went to visit Bevans Oysters, the family-owned business that supplies the local oysters we sell in our stores. In 1966, Ronnie and Shirley Bevans started Bevans Oysters with a small building and six shuckers. Today the Bevans plant is the largest distributer of oysters on the east coast. “What’s unique about us is that Ronnie is so hands on,” says Ronnie’s daughter, Margaret Ransone, “Everything is hand-picked and hand-graded. When a truck pulls in, Ronnie Bevans goes out, shucks an oyster and personally checks it…He would never send anything out of here that he, himself, wouldn’t eat.”

Oysters arrive at Bevans fresh from the surrounding rivers. They are shucked, packed and shipped out within 24 hours to ensure absolute freshness. In a typical season, shuckers arrive at the company in Kinsale, Va., around 3 a.m. to start shucking and during busy months, they arrive at 1 a.m. or even midnight. Once they are shucked, the oysters are cleaned and packed by size. Starting early in the morning allows oysters to be shipped first thing in the morning, often meaning that the oysters arrive at Ukrop’s less than 24 hours after they were caught.

After being around oysters for so many years, the Bevans family has also had plenty of experience cooking them. Every Thanksgiving they indulge in freshly made oyster stuffing, and they’ve shared their family recipe with us. Why not try it in your home this year?

Bevans Family Oyster Stuffing

1 pint Bevans Shucked Oysters
¾ cup minced onion
1 ½ cups chopped celery
2 Tbsps. butter, melted
9 cups soft bread cubes
¾ cup butter
½ tsp. salt
1 ½ tsp. crushed sage leaves
½ tsp. pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, cook onion and celery in 2 Tbsps. butter until onions are tender. Stir in about 1/3 of the bread cubes. Empty into a deep bowl. Add remaining ingredients and toss. Bake the turkey or in a separate, covered casserole dish for 25 to 40 minutes or until heated through with a crust on top.