Category: Food and Recipes

When you’re ready to take a break from exploring the great outdoors and refuel with a fantastic meal, Wakulla County has plenty of great dining options that will tantalize your taste buds.

Sopchoppy Pizza Company

Fresh seafood gets most of the attention on Florida’s gulf coast, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t find outstanding pizza on your visit to Wakulla County. Vegetarian and gluten-free options are available, and the open-air patio is one of the best places to take in the sights of quant Sopchoppy when the weather is amenable. Sopchoppy Pizza Company was also featured on Only in Your State as one of the 11 Scrumptious Restaurants In Florida You Never Even Knew Existed.

Posey’s Steamroom and Oyster Bar

The name says it all—if you’re looking for succulent steamed seafood and the freshest oysters on the half-shell around, look no further than Posey’s. This Panacea institution serves up everything from fresh gulf grouper to sweet and tender crab claws, and if you’re an angler you can bring in your own catch and have them cook it for you.

Riverside Cafe on the River

Nestled right on the banks of the St. Marks River, near where it empties into the Gulf of Mexico, Riverside Cafe on the River is a local’s favorite known for tasty seafood, ample outdoor seating, and beautiful views. You must try their blackened grouper sandwich!

Angelo and Son’s Seafood Restaurant

Angelo and Son’s has been around since 1945, and it’s hard to say what’s better: their famous seafood au gratin specialties, or the magnificent sunsets over the Ochlockonee Bay. Thankfully, you can enjoy both at the same time.

Spring Creek Restaurant

A landmark of the tiny fishing village of Spring Creek, Spring Creek Restaurant has been serving up fresh local seafood dinners and fantastic steaks for decades. Save room for dessert, because the house-made pies are out of this world.

Wakulla Springs Lodge

The Wakulla Springs Lodge anchors the beautiful Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park. The dining room at the lodge features an upscale, yet relaxed atmosphere, and it’s famous for dishes such as prime rib, fried chicken, and their delectable seafood feast.

There are way too many great restaurants in Wakulla County to try in just a weekend, so take some time to stay with us and combine your love of nature with your love of food. If you’re ready to get started on your Wakulla County culinary adventure, visit our accommodations page and start planning your trip today!

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The live oak is the south’s beauty queen with her spreading crown and strands of Spanish moss stirring in the sultry breeze. Her heavy limbs lean upon the earth. She is romantic.

But the work mule of the south has always been the pine tree, specifically the longleaf pine, Pinus palustris.

When wooden ships ruled the seas, the naval store industry kept them afloat. Naval stores included hemp for ropes, cotton for sails, live oaks for spars, and pines for masts, decking, tar, pitch, rosin—and turpentine. From the early 1900s until the 1950s, Wakulla County’s economy depended on her longleaf pine forests to fuel the many turpentine stills and sawmills. The stills and mills are long gone but their existence remain as place names.

Cut a pine and it oozes a sticky substance properly called resin or oleoresin. Living longleaf and slash pine trees were scraped on one or more sides. The V-shaped cuts resembled a cat’s whiskers, hence the scars are called cat-faces. The resin was collected in cups, transferred to barrels and carted to the still for distillation. The turpentine was drawn off by a condenser leaving the thicker rosin behind for more processing.

Tar, a dark, sticky substance, was used to hold masts and sails in place, to grease axles, and to cover wounds on livestock. Pitch was spread on the sides and bottoms of wooden ships and boats to make them watertight.

Turpentine was used to manufacture paint, solvents, cleaners, and a variety of medicines. Your grandmother may have sworn by turpentine as a cure-all and cleaning the floor too.

From beginning to end, this was a sticky, dirty, dangerous business and the work was unceasing. Fire, once a frequent occurrence, meant death to a cat-faced tree. In winter, workers cleared needles and grasses around the trees. When warm weather began, so did the toil of scraping, collecting, and cooking the resin. Injuries were common and stills often burned.

Turpentine camps included crude housing for workers, the still, a cooper’s shed, gardens, livestock corrals, and the important company store where workers purchased commodities using the tokens in which they were paid.

After seven years or so, the pines, wounded as they were, produced less resin. The turpentine camp moved to a new forest. Usually a sawmill followed to cut the damaged trees.

During the years the trees were being worked for resin, little natural regeneration of pines occurred. After the trees were cut, manual replanting in rows became accepted forest management. The make-up of Wakulla County’s longleaf forests were forever changed.

Some cat-faced trees survive, bearing witness to the cultural history of Wakulla County. You might glimpse one in someone’s yard, a fencerow, or walking through a forest. Longleaf pines can live centuries; imagine the changes they have seen—from the years when the pines burgeoned with life to the highways carrying speeding carloads of people intent on getting from one point to another, hardly noticing the roadsides, unaware of the history they pass.

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This was a guest post written by Gale Fishman.

Gail Fishman is a 2nd Generation Florida native. Although born in South Florida, her grandmother’s family moved to Florida in the early 1900s. Her great-grandfather ran turpentine stills in DeSoto, Wakulla, and Calhoun Counties and many cousins reside in north Florida. She is the author of “Journeys Through Paradise, Pioneering Naturalists in the Southeast” published by the University Press of Florida. The book contains profiles of men, such as the Bartrams, Dr. Alvan Chapman, John Muir, and John J. Audubon, who explored and described the southeast between the early 1700s to the early 1900s. She believes history must be shared and appreciated.

In a guest blog by Michael Corrigan, he tells you everything you need to know about the food sources that make early-season deer hunting in Wakulla County successful.

Hunting zones and equipment you need

Wakulla County offers excellent early-season deer hunting opportunities. Starting in mid-September you can hunt the East/Northeast portion of the county that falls within the state’s established Hunting Zone C. This includes the St. Marks Wildlife Refuge “Newport” hunting area. This relatively small hunt area borders the State’s Flint Rock Wildlife Management Area (WMA) to the East and County Road 59 (Lighthouse Road) to the West. Other areas in the county that fall within the state’s established Hunting Zone D such as the Apalachicola WMA and Wakulla WMA open later in October. This time of year, you should be toting archery equipment while hunting deer over government managed land. And you have the option of using a crossbow if hunting whitetails over privately owned land. In order to enjoy consistent success during the early-season, you have to make an effort to become intimately familiar with naturally occurring (native) food sources that whitetails prefer.

Why early-season deer hunting is enjoyable

Bowhunting during the early-season in Wakulla County as well as other areas of Florida is typically a hot, humid and bug infested affair. But I truly cherish this time of year because I always invest ample time scouting for specific food sources and whitetails are very predictable in part due to low hunting pressure. Getting the first crack at deer is an undeniable advantage for the hunter and at no other time of the year am I more successful than the early-season. If I am sitting in a treestand on opening morning, you can bet I am perched twenty-yards or less from a hot food source – one that shows evidence of heavy deer traffic in the form of tracks and droppings. At the top of my deer food source list is the common persimmon. Whitetails relish the tasty fruit produced by persimmon trees and if you find one that is producing well, you can just about bet that deer will visit the tree regularly until the fruit is no longer available.

Scouting for persimmon trees

When I scout for persimmon trees, I often look for them in the off-season, during late winter and early spring before green up occurs. I do this because I can see further through the woods when the leaves are off. I simply stroll along wetland edges where persimmons typically occur and look for the most black colored tree trunks I can find. Occasionally, you will mistake the bark of a Persimmon tree for that of a Dogwood, Black Cherry or Tupelo, but with a little practice, you will be able to quickly distinguish between them. Most other trees that occur in or near wetlands have “swollen” trunks that are obviously larger near the base. Persimmon trees do not exhibit this characteristic. They appear very “post like” and have a very uniform trunk diameter from the base to the first branch. If you scout for Persimmon trees when the leaves are still on, there are a few characteristics you should look for. The leaves of a Persimmon tree occur alternately along the stem. In botanical terms, they are “oblong-ovate” to “ovate” in shape and have a partial metallic luster and often have black “spotty” blemishes on their upper green colored surface. More often than not, if you find a persimmon tree in the late summer it will be infested with webworms. Because of this, many experienced hunters often look for webworm infestations in order to locate persimmon trees.

Knowing the difference between male and female persimmon trees

When you discover a persimmon tree, determine the tree’s fruit production. In August persimmon fruit on the branch will appear green to yellow in color. Unlike acorn producing trees, not all persimmon trees produce fruit. Persimmon trees are either male or female. In botanical terms, the persimmon tree is considered “Dioecious.” Simply put, male trees produce male flowers and female trees produce female flowers. This means female trees bare fruit and male trees do not. So if you scout for persimmon trees in the winter like I do, you need to know a way to distinguish between female and male trees. To do this, I actually get on my hands and knees and rummage through the leaf litter at the base of the tree. I search meticulously for a “calyx”. This is one botanical term you will want to remember. A calyx is a morphological component of the flower that persists and stays attached to persimmon fruit when they develop. It is a four-point, star shaped structure that is located on the top of a persimmon fruit where the fruit is attached to the stem. This rigid, leathery star-shaped “hat” drops with the fruit and is not easily removed from it. The calyx of a persimmon fruit does not readily decay and with minimal effort you can find several in the leaf litter at the base of female trees. Identifying a calyx at the base of a Persimmon tree is direct evidence that the tree you discovered is female and therefore has the potential to produce fruit during hunting season.

Locating southern crabapple trees

Another food source that should make your short list is the Southern Crabapple. These small trees produce tiny apples that are sour to the taste. The fruit is comparable in size to persimmon fruit. Look for these trees along field edges and the shoulders of roadways. The fruit is green in color, so they can be difficult to identify. Typically if you find one tree, you will find many more in close proximity, perhaps even a thicket condition. If the trees are loaded with fruit, I will visit the site a day or two before my planned hunt and give the trees a good shaking. Doing this dislodges fruit from the branch and has the effect of increasing deer activity in the area leading up to the day of my hunt. Native Crabapples can be found easily in the Wakulla WMA and the St. Marks Newport hunting area. So even if you decide to scout only a few days before the season opener, you should be able to locate a suitable place to hang a treestand or setup a ground blind and take advantage of a food source that Wakulla whitetails crave.

Written by Michael Corrigan

Ever wanted to make your own Wakulla County Seafood Boil? Here’s a great recipe from David Moody about how to make a lowcountry-style boil.

• 16 pounds (~26 count)head on/or off (Whites or Hoppers from local waters)
• 4 pounds of local smoked sausage(Fasons, Limestone, or Registers)
• 4 pounds of “B” size local red potatoes
• 2 pounds regular Carrots, trimmed at ends, diced in 3-inchsections on bias
• 2 pounds Button Mushrooms (White or Portabello)
• 2 heads of Cauliflower, broke into palm sized florets
• 1 dozen peeled boiled eggs
• 28-ounce container of salt
• 6 Bay Leaves
• 6 Yellow Onions, peeled, cut in quarters
• 5 ribs of Celery diced
• 4 whole heads on Garlic, cut in half
• 6 Lemons cut in half
• ½ Cup Zattatarans Liquid Crab Boil
• 2 tsp ground red pepper
• 48 half ears of frozen corn
• 2 rutabagas

To start with, boiling seafood is a chemistry project not to be taken lightly. Potato doneness is the limiting factor of the whole boil! Get started with filling a 15 or 20-gallon pot with 5 gallons of water. Add salt, bay leaves, squeezed lemons, celery, garlic, red pepper and simmer for 30 minutes. All lemon oils should release and flavor and the water should taste quite salty with a good red pepper aftertaste. Bring water to a rolling boil, add the crab boil and potatoes, and set a timer for 15-25 minutes, depending on potato size. Add sausage with 14 minutes left, add carrots with 10 minutes left, add mushrooms and rutabagas with 6 minutes left(cut a potato for doneness now-add time as necessary), add cauliflower with 5 minutes left, add shrimp with 2 minutes left. Test shrimp doneness, shell comes off easily (don’t overcook). Stir in frozen corn to drop the temperature(stop shrimp from overcooking) and add ice if still too hot. Add boiled eggs. Soak for a full 30 minutes, drain, serve. This whole process takes about 1.5 hours.

Tupelo honey is one of the most unique products in the world, and it just so happens to be a staple throughout Wakulla County! This distinctive honey is worth the trip on its own, but you’ll find so much more to see and do when you visit beautiful Wakulla County.

A world-renowned honey with humble roots

Tupelo honey is produced from the blossoms of either the white or black tupelo gum tree, trees that thrive in the dense, wooded areas of southern Georgia and northern Florida—especially near wetlands. This, of course, makes them the perfect species of trees for Wakulla County, which is home to hundreds of square miles of forests abutting rivers, streams, and lakes.

White tupelo honey is prized by home cooks and professional chefs alike, and it has become famous both for its flavor, and because it’s the only known variety of honey that doesn’t crystalize. It will become granular if it is mixed with any other type of honey, so beekeepers must be extra careful when they are harvesting it to only collect honey from the white tupelo blossoms. For this reason, white tupelo honey is often slightly more expensive than other artisanal honey varieties.

An integral part of the Wakulla County economy

Because tupelo honey is only commercially produced in a few areas in the southeastern U.S., it has been an important export for Wakulla County beekeepers and vendors for years. The “Cadillac of Honey,” as it is often known, can be found for sales in many different areas of the county, including roadside farm stands and some grocery and convenience stores.

Local producers have worked to years to perfect their harvesting techniques for this vital resource, and Wakulla County vendors can be trusted to supply only the finest quality tupelo honey. In fact, no trip to the area is complete without sampling one of the world’s most unique agricultural products!

Tupelo honey is ingrained in Wakulla’s natural landscape

The abundance of tupelo gum trees and the bounty of tupelo honey that comes along with them is one of the many reasons why Wakulla County is a natural paradise on earth. It’s an area that is deeply connected to the natural environment that surrounds it, and this can be seen in everything from wildlife preserves, to the care with which tupelo honey is harvested.

If you want to experience some of the many natural wonders of this area, spend some time in Wakulla County. Whether you’re into active sports such as kayaking, or you’d simply prefer to stroll along a nature trail with your camera, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to connect with the land around you. Check out all of the incredible options for accommodations throughout the county, and don’t forget to take a jar of tupelo honey home with you!

October is National Seafood Month, and Wakulla County is the best place to celebrate, with a wide variety of local recipes to eat great seafood and the ability to buy fresh seafood to take home.

If you enjoy cooking, why not spend National Seafood Month creating unique meals that feature local Florida seafood? Here are some delicious dishes for any seafood fan:

Crab Cakes with Homemade Tartar Sauce

Who doesn’t love a good crab cake? Add a Wakulla twist to this classic dish by using stone crabs, which are in season. Stone crabs are a staple to the Panhandle area and a Wakulla favorite. Homemade tartar sauce is a great way to top your crab cakes! Your crab cakes will be a hit as an appetizer or a main dish! Find the whole recipe here.

Beer Battered Catfish and Lemon Mayo

Tired of boring tailgating dishes? Try beer battered catfish! This fried dish will be a fan favorite whether you’re tossing a ball around before kickoff, or are hanging out with friends and family at home for the big game. Homemade fries make the perfect side dish for beer battered catfish. Dip your catfish and fries in a delicious lemon mayo. Here is how to make the whole meal.

Pan Seared Florida Grouper with Smoked Gouda Grits and Tomato-Bacon Gravy

Fish and grits are both southern staples. Add some pizazz to this classic dish by making pan seared Florida grouper with smoked gouda grits and tomato-bacon gravy. It isn’t a difficult dish, but your friends and family will think you’re a master chef after tasting it. Make sure to use fresh grouper from Wakulla County. The full recipe can be found here.

Shrimp Quesadillas

Looking for a quick and easy seafood meal? Try these shrimp quesadillas! Be sure to pick up Wakulla shrimp if you are in the area. Fresh, local shrimp will elevate this simple meal to the next level. Add your own twist to this recipe by topping your quesadilla with a different type of cheese, a spicy salsa, or guacamole; the possibilities are endless!

Rock Shrimp Chili

There’s so many uses for shrimp, including chili! The weather outside is starting to get chilly, so why not warm up with a bowl of chili? This recipe for rock shrimp chili is delicious with Wakulla County shrimp. You can control the spicy-level by the amount of peppers and spices you use. So check out the recipe and enjoy this dish curled up on the couch during a cool fall evening.

If you want to fully enjoy Wakulla seafood, plan a trip to Wakulla County. We have plenty of local spots for you to fully immerse yourself in Florida dishes, including a great seafood market. Stay in one of our hotels to refresh after your tour of Wakulla restaurants before visiting one of our many national parks.

When people hear “gumbo” they typically think of Louisiana instead of Florida. While the distinctive meat and seafood stew did grow out of the cajun and creole cuisines that dominate the Bayou State, gumbo is actually an important part of the culture for many communities that dot the American gulf coast, and Wakulla County is no exception.

The heart of any gumbo is a dark roux, which is simply equal parts of fat and all-purpose flour that are cooked together for flavor and to thicken the stew. The dark roux favored by gumbo enthusiast is part of what gives the dish its unique deep and nutty flavors. Gumbo can traditionally be made with any combination of proteins (anything that walks, crawls, swims, or slithers!), but this recipe celebrates the abundance of fresh, local seafood available in Wakulla County. It comes courtesy of David Moody, who is a ranger at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. This gumbo is an authentic local tradition, and it’s sure to please your friends and family at your next social gathering!

Ingredient List

• One whole Black(Gag) Grouper -or-Two Red Snapper (fillet, save head and back)
• 3 pounds of whole medium fresh shrimp (save head, peelings, and devein)
• 1 pound of Blue Crab claw meat (not cocktail claw)
• 1 pound of Register’s smoked sausage
• 3 pounds of Okra, sliced in rounds (fresh or frozen)
• 1-16 Ounce can of tomato sauce
• 1 pound of cooked long grain rice (I like Zattarans parboiled)
• ½ Cup Peanut Oil (or lard)
• ½ Cup Plain Flour
• 2 Vidalia Onions diced
• 3 ribs of Celery diced
• 4 cloves of garlic finely minced
• 4 Bay Leaves
• ¼ Cup of fresh-chopped Parsley
• 3 TBS Kitchen Bouquet
• 3 TBS Olive Oil
• ¼ Cup sundried shrimp-optional
• 2 Cups of Chicken Stock- optional

Instructions

1. For the seafood stock, add the fish heads and bones, and the shrimp heads and peels to a stockpot with a gallon of water. Simmer for one hour, and then strain. If you have sundried shrimp, blend it with chicken stock and add the mixture.
2. Slice the sausage into rounds and brown them in a skillet.
3. Next, add tomato sauce, garlic, bay leaves, sausage, and kitchen bouquet to the stock and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. To make the roux, whisk the flour and oil together in a skillet over medium-low heat, until it begins to turn the color of dark peanut butter, approximately 20-25 minutes. It needs to be stirred constantly during this stage or else it will burn.
5. Once the roux is the correct color, add the celery and onions to it, and sauté until they have softened and are beginning to stick to the bottom. Remove from the heat.
6. Drizzle the okra with olive oil, and add them to a small pot with a steamer basket and enough water to cover the bottom set over high heat. Steam for 10 minutes.
7. Add okra to simmering stock, then add 1/3 of roux, stir in for 5 minutes, and repeat until all ingredients except seafood are in. Start with one tablespoon of salt, ½ teaspoon each of black and red pepper to taste. Simmer, covered, for 45 minutes.
8. Cook rice according to package directions.
9. 15 minutes before you’re ready to eat, drop in 1 inch pieces of fish. 5 minutes before you are ready to eat, stir in shrimp. 2 minutes before you are ready to eat, add crab meat and parsley.
10. Serve with rice, and a nice big glass of sweet tea!

For decades, there has been no better way to describe the many delights of Wakulla County’s seafood than ‘famously fresh’.

Placed neatly between both the Florida Natural, and Forgotten Coasts, Wakulla’s seafood retail markets are among the best in the state.

Domestic and international travelers return year after year for that one-of-kind taste of succulent oysters, shrimp, mullet, blue crab, red snapper, cobia, and the myriad of seafood varieties that make ‘Fresh From Wakulla’ a household name.

With over seven seafood markets and thirty restaurants spread throughout the entire county, a good day’s catch is not hard to find along this stretch of coastline.

Not only is Wakulla’s seafood ‘famously fresh’ – it’s personal. The customer service, dedication, and sense of pride that goes into bringing you the finest seafood available is obvious because many of our markets are family-owned.

One such location is the Lighthouse Seafood Market, located just outside of downtown St. Marks. Lighthouse has delivered Wakulla-­caught seafood since 1998. Their fresh variety includes mullet, flounder, rock bass, shrimp, oysters – you name it. Lighthouse also offers an array of fresh crab, including live blue crab.

Also in St. Marks is Lynn Brother’s Seafood. Owned and operated by five brothers, Lynn’s opened in 1983. The Lynn family has harvested local waters for seafood since the 1930s. Their hard-to-find items include fresh octopus, grunts, and seasonal stone crab, and their seafood reach extends beyond Wakulla to as far away as Hawaii, Canada and New York.

Mineral Springs By the Sea can be found towards the East end of Panacea’s city limits. It too has been family owned and operated for more than 20 years. Their daily selections include shrimp (small, medium, and large); oysters (bushel, half-­bushel, quarter-­bushel or pint); fresh fish selections include grouper, tuna, and sheephead. And though all are mouthwatering, Mineral Springs is best known for their locally caught gator, and their prepared-on-­site smoked mullet, salmon, and cobia fillets. They even have an assortment of smoked seafood dips.

My Way Seafood, also located along the Coastal Highway in Panacea, opened its doors in 1984. Specializing in black grouper, mullet, blue crabs, and more, My Way also carries seasonal items like the stone, and soft-shell crab.

Along Sopchoppy Highway, is the Nichols & Son’s Seafood Market. Nichols & Son’s has served the Florida panhandle & Southern Georgia for more than 80 years and multiple generations. Their retail market is renowned for its shrimp, oysters, fresh fish and crab. They are also a wholesale distributor of the items.

Also in the heart of Sopchoppy is Sanders and Son’s Crab. It is one of the last remaining wholesale retailers of crab within their area. Family owned and operated for 35 years, they handle a range of crab types, including fresh blue crabs, cocktail fingers, jumbo, lump, and claw crab meat – by the pound.

Traveling back to Panacea, just before the Ochlockonee Bay Bridge, is Tropical Trader Shrimp Company. It is currently the only Wakulla seafood market with a restaurant where freshly purchased seafood can be cooked on site. Smoked seafood dips; bacon-­wrapped shrimp dishes; fresh shrimp; tuna; crawfish; oysters – so much to choose from.

‘Fresh from Wakulla’ is exactly what it says, and though only a few of the seafood markets are listed here, you can imagine what the restaurants have to offer.

Wakulla County: ‘Famously fresh’ for a reason.