The Real Deal About Oysters (in my humble opinion)

Oysters

Oysters = The most entertaining food on the planet.  It is really difficult to have a bad time at an oyster roast.  Fall in the low country brings football, beautiful weather, and the start of oyster season.  Bellying up to an oyster table with a tall boy and shucking it up is one of the most wonderful experiences you can have.  You don’t need much.  Most folks here in South Carolina serve cocktail sauce, hot sauce, and crackers (if you want them).  Most of our friends mix their own cocktail sauce (heavy on the horseradish) and some hot sauce and dip the oyster right in and then eat directly.  We use the oyster knife and a thumb to get the oyster from shell, quick dip in sauce, and there you go.  You can make your own process.  The main thing is to eat some, have some beer, and talk some story.

Everyone has their thoughts and rules about oysters.  I am partial to east coast oysters….but just because I live on the east coast.  Oysters from different places have different flavors and are different sizes.  When I eat raw oysters I prefer smaller “selects” (we call single oysters “selects” here in the low country….most of our oysters are in bunches…so the singles are perfect for eating raw).  I have a hard time eating monster oysters raw…..when they are that big….I prefer to steam or roast.  So here are some of my rules of the Oyster world:

• Most folks say you can’t eat oysters in the warm months (aka months without an “R” in them). This is kind of true.  Oysters focus on reproducing in the warmer months and instead of getting fat and tasty, they spend energy on making babies.  This effects their flavor and size.  Stick to the cooler months, who wants to have a bonfire\oyster roast in the middle of the hot summer anyway?
• Buying oysters by the bushel is the way to go. Here in Bluffton you can buy single oysters for about 25-50 cents each.  You can buy a bushel for 25-30 bucks.  A bushel is a giant bag about 2 1/2 feet tall and will have 300+ oysters (depending on size).
  • I like to buy mine from a guy that washes the oysters on the boat before getting back to shore. If your oysters are not clean, get them in a cooler and rinse with a hose, then into a  cooler on ice.  I have plastic “coke” crates that I put upside down in the cooler, oysters on top, and ice them down.  The upside down plastic crates keep the oysters from sitting in water when the ice melts (I use this same idea when bleeding out venison…keeping food from being submerged is just a good idea.
  • They say you can keep oysters in the fridge for up to 5 days. I wouldn’t know, we don’t usually have any left the next day.  Once I see our oyster roast slowing down I call in reinforcements to pick up the remaining oysters if there are any left.  I put the cooler on the front porch and call my neighbors\friends and let them know… first come first served…..neve…, never..ever are there any left in the morning..sometimes they might take your cooler…but it always finds its way home.  If a bushel is too much, most places will sell you a half bushel for about half the price.
• We have a special oyster steamer that hooks up to a propane tank (I use the same set up for low country boils). If you choose to roast them on a grill, make sure you get something to cover the grill grate.  Roasting oysters can foul up your BBQ so I usually roast them on a fire pit (plus it is way more fun that way).
• Have plenty of oyster knives on hand and get some hand towels. Before you throw away old towels, cut them up and save those for the roast.  You need the towel for two reasons:
  • To use as a napkin
  • And to protect your hands when shucking
    • I like the towel to be long enough to drape over my shoulder…good place to get to it while you are gunning some oysters.
    • Take a look at our article on oyster knives….there are some great tips!
  • There are rules to your hot sauce. Personally I feel that there are only two acceptable “store bought” hot sauces for oysters, Tabasco and Crystal.  These are both Louisiana hot sauces and that figures because they know a bit about oysters over there.  If someone tries to give me Texas Pete or some kind of buffalo sauce with my oysters, we are going to have words.
  • If you feel fancy, a mignonette sauce is fine. I use this for raw oysters only.  The recipe is vinegar (champagne, red\white wine), chopped shallots (or Vidalia onions) and fresh cracked pepper.
  • Compound Butter…….. Ok, compound butter is awesome, and it is perfect for fire roasted oysters.  To make compound butter you pretty much let some butter warm to room temp.  Add your seasonings and\or herbs.    Form into a tube on saran wrap.  Put in fridge to firm up.  I have two or three kinds of compound butters in my freezer (garlic, sriracha, tabasco).  When your oysters are on the grill, drop a bit of your compound butter on top, let it bubble and serve.  It is pretty awesome.  Compound butters work great as a topper to steaks, pork, baked potatoes, or anything.

The cool thing about oysters is that you have to work for your food.  An oyster roast is a party, it is social, it is a reason to eat, drink, and talk.  I travel each year up to Maine with a great friend to hunt in the North Woods.  We ALWAYS spend some extra time in Boston and Portland hitting his favorite oyster bars.  Find a local oyster bar, ask where they get their oysters, and see what you can find.  Most restaurants in my area will serve local oysters along with different varieties from up the east and west coast.  I love to order a few from each area “a la carte” and try them all. Then…. all decide which are our favorites (at that time) and order a few dozen of each….its cool to be able to check each out before you make the most important decision of your life (or the most important decision of that particular hour).

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