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Feast of the Seven Fishes: 5 Shore markets for fresh seafood - Asbury Park Press

If you find yourself in an Italian-American home this Christmas Eve, expect a front-row seat to a time-honored culinary parade.

There may be seafood salad made with baccala, a dried, salted cod that needs days of soaking before it can be cooked. Look for calamari stuffed with breadcrumbs and simmered in tomato sauce, and tiny, one-bite smelts, fried crisp and sprinkled with salt.

This is the Feast of the Seven Fishes, a holiday meal with an origin – and even the number of courses – that changes based on whose home you are in. Some believe the number represents the Roman Catholic Sacraments, or Mary and Joseph's weeklong journey to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ. Some families serve 13 kinds of fish, representing Christ and the 12 apostles.

(For more on the tradition, watch the video above.)

But those who partake agree on one thing: Christmas wouldn't be the same without the feast. To create the meal on your own, start with a visit to one of these Shore seafood markets – then get cooking! 

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Jody & Jodee's Fishery, Neptune

Seafood from East Coast waters and beyond will make their way to Jody & Jodee's Fishery this season, when Jodee DiStasio said he sells around 1,000 pounds of shrimp in just a few days.

"Most of our fish is local, caught either off our boat, the XTC out of Belmar, or from local fisherman," DiStasio said. "Lobsters are from Maine. Shrimp is all wild-caught from South America, best shrimp you can buy."

Home cooks can knock three of the seven fish off their menu with one of the market's seafood platters, piled high with three pounds each of shrimp, crab claws and lobster tails ($175).

The market also will have flounder, clams, oysters and mussels: "Pretty much anything (customers) want," DiStasio said. "And if I don't have it, I can get it."

Go: 223 Route 35 south; 732-775-2718; jodysfishery.com.

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Woolley's Fish Market, Howell

It has been nearly 70 years since Woolley's first opened its doors, and "the market has been supplying folks with all the fixings for the feast since 1960," owner John Woolley said.

"The market covers all the bases for the seven fishes: There are 10 sizes of shrimp, all available cleaned or uncleaned, cooked or raw; live snails, clams, crab legs/meat, calamari, scungilli – you name it," he said. "Woolley's will have it."

And if not, he said, it can be ordered for pickup the next day.

Go: 655 Route 9; 732-462-4964, woolleysseafoodhouse.squarespace.com.

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Ahearn's Seafood Market, Waretown

Another longtime staple for fresh seafood, Ahearn's has been around since 1965.

When it comes to the feast of the seven fishes,"we will have our full range of fish and fresh seafood, local sea scallops, shrimp, clams, mussels and oysters," said market manager Olivia Phillips, whose family owns the seafood market, "as well as more Christmas-specific items such as scungilli, fresh squid, smelts, bay scallops and baccala."

Go: 158 Wells Mill Road; 609-693-3486, ahearnsseafoodmarket.com.

Local 130 Seafood, Asbury Park

Eric Morris has an encyclopedic knowledge of fish – including some most people have probably never heard of – so it is no surprise his Asbury Park shop will be fully stocked for the Christmas Eve feast.

"This is the biggest week for us at the market and the most fun," Morris said, adding that he plans to stock both local fish and sustainably sourced imported fish. He asks that customer order in advance.

Locally caught fish will include black bass, dayboat scallops, swordfish, tuna, monk liver, monk tails, skate wings, fluke, porgies and whiting. Out-of-state offerings include cod, salt cod, smelts, live eels, blue crabs, squid, octopus, shellfish and more.

For a more modern take on the feast of the seven fishes, "we will be doing sushi platters, because what's more Italian than that?" Morris joked.

Go: 1305 Memorial Drive; 732-455-3951; local130seafood.com.

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Point Lobster Company, Point Pleasant Beach

Locals know Point Lobster as the place to go for lobster rolls in the summer, but this time of year, "we carry all of the traditional items for the feast of the seven fishes," co-owner Shannon Godwin said.

"We make it a point, year after year, to ensure that our customers' requests are met, from baby octopus to smelts, lobster tails of various sizes, shrimp platters for those who want the work taken out of their appetizers, to cooked whole lobsters," she said.

Go: 1 Saint Louis Ave.; 732-892-1718, pointlobster.com.

A lifelong Jersey girl, Sarah Griesemer joined the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey more than 15 years ago and has held a variety of positions since, but writing about the Shore's mom and pop restaurants is her favorite. Write her at sgriesemer@gannettnj.com and follow @jersey.shore.eats.

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