Oysters: The Topic

[Margaret Pilgrim]

If you don't have a Oyster Knife the easiest substitute would be a "Church Key" type of can opener if available or even a flat type screw driver.

In the event that you don't know the phrase "church key", this is an old fashioned beer can opener. Insert the point into the hinge, and wiggle back and forth until the shell releases. Enjoy. These look fantastic.

[McDuff]

Be careful about screwball suggestions (sorry, folks) to use anything other than a proper oyster knife if you don't have any experience opening oysters. I was once using the little knife on a corkscrew, plunged it into the ball of my thumb and spent the afternoon in the er at Mass General having a med student stuff about 100 yards of absorbent tape into the gaping hole. Still have the scar and that happened in 1973.

hillvalley's suggestion about the sweetspot is spot on. Once you find it, the oyster literally will pop open.

[hillvalley]

Once you find it, the oyster literally will pop open.

One of the sweetest sounds I know

[pjs]

Kristin-san,

Oysters are easy to open compared to clams. When opening clams you have to sneak your way in the front door with a thin blade--tricky and dangerous. Oysters have to be boldly attacked from the rear, or from the hinge or the pointy part of the beast. A screwdriver would work as would a church key. An oyster knife is best though. No paring knifes. You look for a good place near the hinge to insert and twist your tool of choice to separate the shells. When shucking, hold the oyster with the flat shell facing up so you don't lose the liquour.

As others mentioned, coldest part of the fridge to store, use a towel to hold them when shucking, and they are damned good fried 'til crispy outside and still gooey inside.

PJ

[jo-mel]

"Savor of the Sea" (Moore) says to place the oyster on a table, flat edge up and hold it firmly in one hand, before forcing the knife (preferably an oyster knife) between the shells at or near the thin end. Insert the blade until you feel something fairly resistant. That is the adductor or eye muscle. Cut the muscle close to the flat upper shell, and the oyster will open easily.

Also, they say the easy way is to use a hammer and knock off the thin edge, or 'bill' of the shells. Chip off only enough to insert the blade. Procede as above.

Can't tell you how many times DH cut himself opening oysters and clams! After a while he became quite good, but found that gin and oyster opening were not compatible!

[torakris]

I doubt I will be able to buy an oyster knife before tomorrow, so I guess I will have a go with the can opener thingie.

I am not sure if they are going to last until tomorrow...

I keep walking past the refrigerator thinking, maybe I should just try one more.....

[Cookboy]

One more tip is to store them curved side down in the fridge so they're sitting in their juice/ liquor.

[Cookboy]

Oh, and spring for the knife and the glove. Both will make it a whole lot safer.

[DRColby]

These look like Pacfic oysters and should be relatively flat. which makes the job easier.

The easiest way is to put them either in an oven (which I believe you don't have) or on a grill or hibatchi until they "pop." Make sure you put them so the juice side is down or they will dry out. High heat, short time.

Short of that method take a wood cutting board lay the shell flat side down on it, use a dish towl or better yet a glove on your non-knife hand to proptect it. Use the oyster knife to "feel" for the hinge portion of the oyster; you should feel a difference a different pressurer at the hinged point. Insert the oyster knife there and twist. When you have the shell open loosen the oyster with the knife and fish out any grit you may have created.

Make a minion sauce of chopped shallots, cracked black pepper and red wine vinegar. Put a spoon-full in with the oyster and slurp alway.

Dave

[gus_tatory]

and the biggest question will they keep until dinner tomorrow night? my husband won't be here for dinner tonight and I would like to share them with him That is about 32 hours from now...

This is what they look like!

hey torakris:

i can confirm what others have told you, and add:

--store them in dampened newspaper, in a plastic bag, in the fridge.

--32 hours, if you know they were delivered "fresh", would be fine, but would also be my personal limit for fresh storage. any longer, cook them.

--if they are bad, you can tell because they'll open/smell bad, but that is only the worst case scenario.

--*definitely* protect your hands with gloves, towels, whatever.

--even with the best 'shuckers' (and yes, that is a word: people who open oysters ), you get a tiny amount of shell, sand, etc.

--not bragging, but i could probably open an oyster with a dime if i had to. as people have said earlier on this thread, there is a place around both sides of the 'hinge' where, once you've found it, the oyster's yours.

enjoy!

[winesonoma]

for future reference go to " http://www.knifemerchant.com/" for a selection of oyster knives. Buy dozens and open, eat until you know how. Best school there is.

Edited February 19, 2004 by winesonoma (log)

[kiliki]

A couple people have suggested grilling or broiling them until they pop open. I've never had any luck with this-most of the time they don't pop open until they overcook. I complained about this recently to the oyster grower at the farmer's market where I buy the oysters and he looked at me like I was nuts for trying this. He told me that yeah, a few might pop, but others might explode as the heat builds up inside, and the rest would just be overcooked.

[torakris]

Well this afternoon I got a call from my husband who tells me he won't be home for dinner Friday night either! So know I have to eat them all by myself. I had about 10 of them for dinner tonight and had a hell of a time. I thought I had one of those church key can openers but I don't so I was back to my screw driver and paring knife. It took about 5 minutes per oyster and they left quite a few cuts on my hands (from the shells) but they were worth it!

I used my favorite dressings of ponzu and cocktail sauce and I) tried one over a flame but it never opened, first I put it in a griddle pan but it wasn't doing anything so then I put it directly on the flame and even after a couple minutes it still wouldn't open....

a picture

[Busboy]

You did better than my first try.

Years ago a bunch of went down to the waterfront in DC to pick up crabs, oysters, shrimp, whitefish and anything we could think of to make "the great seafood feast." My friend lived in a group house with a kitchen the size of an efficiency apartment; years later, after renovation I went through it on an open house -- a couch and TV, two refiridgerators and a waterfall had been installed. Ten or so of us got to work on the various purchases, and it soon emerged that none of us had ever opened an oyster. We'd bought shuckers at the wharf, we just couldn't seem to get them ti work. Soon enough, inexperience combined with beer to creat a steady stream of wounded, as would-be watermen one after the next found the shuckers losing purchase on the shell and burying themselves in the palms of their hands. Fortunately, we were using blunt-ended style shuckers (part of the problem, in retrospect, but safer in the hands of rookies) and the wounds were not deep. And with beer to kill the pain and cleanse the wounds (what a magical bevarage!) we kept to the task.

The oysters were fresh, feast was great, I still have my scar, and my tools and technique are considerably improved. Ability to shuck an oyster is considered an exotic skill in some circles. Now that you've made it through your first experience, I advise you to practice as often as possible -- awing your friends and, of course, delighting your taste buds.

[Bond Girl]

My insignificant other who happened to be the former Executive Chef at Nobu taught this one to me. You will need a thick flat blade knife. First you get rid of all the dirt from the oysters and you store them in your fridge flat with the deeper side (the curved side) down because oysters may open in your fridge leaking out the liquid in the shells, so if you store them like this, even if they open, the liquid won't go anywhere.

When you are ready to open the oyster, put the oyster flat on the table, dig around at the back of the oyster (the part that the shells would connect if you were to roast them open). You should find an area around the back of the oyster that you can slip the blade in. Once you get it in, twist to open. Slide the knife around the sides of the oyster to cut the muscle connecting the shells to keep the oyster whole.

Good luck.

[hillvalley]

Well this afternoon I got a call from my husband who tells me he won't be home for dinner Friday night either! So know I have to eat them all by myself. I had about 10 of them for dinner tonight and had a hell of a time. I thought I had one of those church key can openers but I don't so I was back to my screw driver and paring knife. It took about 5 minutes per oyster and they left quite a few cuts on my hands (from the shells) but they were worth it!

I used my favorite dressings of ponzu and cocktail sauce and I) tried one over a flame but it never opened, first I put it in a griddle pan but it wasn't doing anything so then I put it directly on the flame and even after a couple minutes it still wouldn't open....

a picture

Now I'm craving oysters........

Will the kids try them?

The more you shuck, the easier it gets. Keep slurping!

[budrichard]

DO NOT, REPEAT, DO NOT open your oysters without the proper oyster knife and a protective glove of some type. You risk serious injury to you hand any other way. I have been opening oysters and clams of all sizes and shapes for 30+ years. In that time I have had a few slips that if not using a blunt tipped correct opener would have caused severe injury to my hands. In that time I took one trip to the Emergency Room when I slipped opening a 'Littleneck' and the blunt end of the clam knife dug into my palm and reached the juncture of two nerves. Took about a year for the nerve sheathe to regenerate to obtain complete feeling in both fingers. BE CAREFUL! -Dick

[ianeccleston]

Has anyone seen 'shucked oysters' in their seafood stores? I assume that they are 'day old' or more, and have been shucked (and reduced in price) to sell. I've been seeing them lately and have been curious about using them to cook with -deep frying, oyster stew, etc. Should I stay away?

Also, I've always been nervous about buying oysters myself and eating them raw. I've done this plenty of times at restaurants, but I have to wonder. Do I have to go to the best available fishmonger to trust their oysters enough to eat them raw, or can I get them at the grocery store?

Thanks,

Ian

[sequim]

A couple people have suggested grilling or broiling them until they pop open. I've never had any luck with this-most of the time they don't pop open until they overcook. I complained about this recently to the oyster grower at the farmer's market where I buy the oysters and he looked at me like I was nuts for trying this. He told me that yeah, a few might pop, but others might explode as the heat builds up inside, and the rest would just be overcooked.

When we go camping, we always stop and get a couple dozen fresh oysters to grill. I agree that they don't "pop" open until they're well done and rubbery, but being on the heat will loosen them up so that even though you don't see them open, they are definitely easier to pry apart. What we do is grab one after it's on the indirect heat a few minutes, then try to open it, if it doesn't go, it gets thrown back until it's ready...if it starts bubbling, you know it's in danger of overcooking as its liquid evaporates. The one time I did wait until they discernably popped open, well, I didn't want to eat them...that was in my early days of schucking. As far as exploding oysters, maybe if you left them on the grill a long time, but in our camp, none are around long enough for that.

[sequim]

Has anyone seen 'shucked oysters' in their seafood stores?  I assume that they are 'day old' or more, and have been shucked (and reduced in price) to sell.  I've been seeing them lately and have been curious about using them to cook with  -deep frying, oyster stew, etc.  Should I stay away?

Shucked oysters in the jar are quite common out here in the northwest for those who are using them for cooking or don't want to shuck. I don't find them appealing as half the fun is in slurping them from the half shell, but I imagine they're fresh enough for cooking. Smell them!

[hathor]

Has anyone seen 'shucked oysters' in their seafood stores? I assume that they are 'day old' or more, and have been shucked (and reduced in price) to sell. I've been seeing them lately and have been curious about using them to cook with -deep frying, oyster stew, etc. Should I stay away?

Also, I've always been nervous about buying oysters myself and eating them raw. I've done this plenty of times at restaurants, but I have to wonder. Do I have to go to the best available fishmonger to trust their oysters enough to eat them raw, or can I get them at the grocery store?

Thanks,

Ian

Always go to the best fishmonger available. Grocery store fish is almost always scary. and if you are contemplating raw...always, always go to the best fish guy around.

As far as already shucked oysters...only from the good fish guy, and I wouldn't do more than stew them. Which is certainly not a bad thing. Oyster stew is one of the nectars of the gods!

[Susan in FL]

Ian, the answer to such questions about shucked oysters would probably depend on where you live and what kind of store. I see you are in Chicago, so probably, if the shucked ones are in a supermarket, they are going to be OK as in safe, but tasteless. Lots of times when we buy half a bushel or a bushel of oysters from the seafood shop we use, we also get them to shuck us a pint or two, just to give my husband a break. Then, they are the very same as the just-caught ones, only we're paying them to do some of the work! Those containers in the super markets, though, are pasteurized, aren't they? When I've used them for oyster stew or something in an "emergency" they are nowhere near the salty oysters we love.

Here's how we served some of the already shucked ones, with shallot-wine-vinegar dipping sauce, a couple of weeks ago.

[ianeccleston]

The only places I've seen the shucked oysters have been Whole Foods and a wholesaler that sells to restaurants (as well as the public) in the meatpacking district in Chicago. I don't know that I'd trust the local stores like Jewel & Osco. I will smell, thanks.

I'd rather have the fresh ones too - but at .69 each vs. $9 a pint, if I'm going to cook them it seems like a good deal.

Pasteurized? Really? I had no idea.

[torakris]

well I have a sore wrist this morning....

In Japan it is almost impossible to find oysters in the shell, I have only seen the twice this year and only at upscale markets. They are normally sold water packed on trays and are labeled either for cooking use or as ok for eating raw. Thus I never seen an oyster knife in this country,

Today I am going to an outlet mall with friends they have a store called The Compleat Kitchen and also the French store Carrefour which often has unusual gadgets, I will be on the look for an oyster knife...

[hillvalley]

Let me know if you want me to send you one.

Here in DC shucked oysters are quite common. Most grocery stores and fish mongers carry them. I have bought most of my oysters over the years from one of two or three fishmongers. Having gone through 'a bad oyster' before, it's not worth the risk.