OYSTERS 101

Serves: 10

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OYSTERS 101

Ready in: 50 MinTotal time: 50 Min

It might just be the ocean's tastiest bivalve. You can roast, bake, fry, or broil them, but slurping oysters fresh from the sea is the best way to enjoy them at their peak freshness. Here are our best tips on how to buy, how to shuck and eat them.

Ingredients

• Only buy oysters that have closed shells. Look for shells that are tightly closed, with no foul odors. They should be deep-cupped and evenly shaped. Buy oysters from certified waters, ask your fishmonger to let you see shellfish tags, and only buy fresh
• Oysters no longer have a season, since cultivation methods have changed so oysters are good every month
• It's best to store oysters in a shallow pan, covered with a moist towel and then placed in the refrigerator.

Instructions

HOW TO SHUCK OYSTERS:

1. Set yourself up with a short, sturdy oyster knife, a towel, and a strong glove, preferably an oyster glove. And keep in mind that opening an oyster demands a certain amount of force.
2. First, scrub the oysters thoroughly with a stiff brush under cold running water. Set an oyster flat side up on a folded towel—so you will not lose any of the tasty salty liquid (known as oyster liquor) inside—and fold the end of the towel over the wide end, leaving the hinge end uncovered.
3. Holding the oyster steady with your gloved hand, insert your oyster knife into the narrow-hinged end and twist until the shells loosen and the hinge pops open. Then, slide the knife blade against the flat upper shell to cut the large muscle and free the oyster. If the shell crumbles and will not open at the hinge, aim your blade for the wide end of the shell instead.
4. After prying off the lid, slide your knife along the bottom shell to loosen the oyster completely from the shell. Use the towel to clean up any shell debris left in the oyster.
5. For cooked oysters try putting closed oysters on a charcoal or gas grill over high heat just until they pop open, and eat them with a little melted butter on the side. DA: Baked oysters, similar to clams casino, are the easiest to prepare at home.
6. And the best Pairings…Champagne, a Pale Ale or Stout!
7. Our favorite oysters from the West Coast are Kumamoto and Kusshi. From the East Coast, look for Blue Points and Belons
8. And, how do you taste Oysters? Here are some criteria or characteristics that I typically like to follow when tasting new oysters:

Appearance: what is the size (inches in shell length), depth (shallow or deeply cupped), color, and shape?

1. Salinity/Brininess: how salty, what kind of saltiness, when it hits (beginning, middle, end)
2. Sweetness: how sweet, what kind of sweetness, when it hits
3. Texture: soft, crunchy, firm, pillowy, creamy, airy, chewy, etc.
4. Flavors: there are myriads of notes such as woody, earthy, mollusk/clammy, miso, soy, melon, lettuce, grassy, etc.
5. Cadence: how clean or lingering the flavors are from nose to body to finish
6. Umami: overall “yumminess” or savoriness, which I often associate with fat or glycogen content and complexity

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