When you plan a trip to the North Carolina coast, you obviously want great food. The local restaurants offer fantastic meals, but a nightly dinner reservation doesn’t always feel relaxing. And that’s especially true when you travel with a large family. For a true coastal vacation, you need to follow a different approach, like buying the fresh catch of the day and cooking it yourself. If you want to cook local seafood, you must first learn exactly where to shop.
seafood markets for fresh catch – Photo credit – Pexels
Cooking in Your Outer Banks Rental
When you love seafood and want to cook it your way, you shouldn’t just book a standard hotel. You should try another option, like going for Outer Banks vacation rentals. Families choose these rentals because they come with fully equipped, private kitchens.
Related: Best day ever hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains
A home-cooked dinner completely changes the pace of your evening. For starters, you save yourself from wearing formal clothes and standing in long lines at crowded restaurants. You can grill fresh tuna steaks right on your back deck or steam blue crabs on the stove while the kids splash in the pool. This routine saves money and creates much better memories.
To make this work, you need top-tier ingredients. A standard grocery store counter won’t compete with an independent local market, and there are quite a few options to consider in OBX.
Whalebone Seafood Market (Nags Head)
Whalebone Seafood Market is located near Milepost 16.5 on the bypass in Nags Head. This family-owned operation has deep ties with the local commercial fishing community. In fact, you’ll find that some of the fishermen supplying the daily catch are close relatives of the market’s owners.
Due to these direct relationships, you can be sure of finding fresh catch every day. You can easily get high-quality yellowfin tuna, mahi-mahi, flounder, and whatever else is running off the coast. What makes this market a good choice is its nice staff. They don’t mind guiding you about cooking a specific type of fish. Just ask, and they will explain the flavor profiles and even recommend the right cuts.
Bluewater Seafood Market (Corolla)
If you rent a space on the northern beaches, you should visit Bluewater Seafood Market in Corolla. Operating since 2001, the market has shops run by locals who have literally grown up inside the coastal seafood trade.
The owners buy almost all their inventory locally, so you should expect fresh North Carolina blue crabs, swordfish, sea scallops, and shrimp inside the display cases. A good idea is to try their “Buckets to Go” for an easy dinner. These are custom steamer pots layered with fresh seafood, local spices, and vegetables. The staff handles all the hard prep work for you.
All you have to do is take the bucket to your kitchen, pour a little water or beer into it, and place the pot right on the stove. By the way, you can also find local craft beer, wine, and prepared side dishes in the market.
Greentails Seafood Market and Kitchen (Nags Head)
You can find Greentails Seafood Market inside the Pirate’s Quay center on South Croatan Highway. This shop represents a new era for seafood vendors, who run a fresh market and a takeout kitchen at the same time.
The owners strictly support local boats. Because of this rule, their daily inventory changes based on what the ocean has to offer. Home cooks love this place because the staff sells custom spice blends and signature batter mixes over the counter.
You can easily recreate an authentic restaurant meal in your own kitchen. Just be sure to arrive early in the afternoon to get a fresh fish fillet from the display case. Grab a packet of their custom house spices, and you’re all set for a delicious meal.
Endnote
When you visit the Outer Banks, you may be attracted to the coastal lifestyle, but there’s no better way to enjoy it to the max than cooking locally caught seafood. So, skip the restaurant wait times for at least one night, visit a local market, and enjoy an authentic dinner at your home away from home.
