Oysters: The Topic

[johnnyd]

I had several hours to kill in Portland OR before traveling back here to Portland ME on the red-eye, so I wandered around River Place on a beautiful Sunday. The Newport Bay Restaurant sits out on the river by a marina. They had oyster shooters on the happy hour menu which I had to try.

In spite of the inelegant presentation, these oysters were extraordinary - plump and delicious - they had a very faint coppery aftertaste that lingered for hours. I'm not a fan of Belons as they strike me as too metallic - but these were gentler in that regard. More robust than the Maine oysters, which have a sweeter flavor, and paler in color - almost pearly white.

I have to buy a couple here for comparison before my taste-memory fades. The staff said they were from Washington.

Doesn't Oregon harvest oysters?

[scordelia]

No one has mentioned the Wellfleet!

What makes the Wellfleet special is the water, because it is the same species of oyster that one finds up and down in east coast. Wellfleets come from Wellfleet Harbor and South Wellfleet on Cape Cod. They are raised in a brackish tidal creek in a black primordial ooze. Absolute heaven! And an oyster really should be enjoyed with a mignonette sauce. Cocktail sauce and horse radish really overpower the subtle briny beauty of a really fine oyster.

[russ parsons]

any oyster that is special is special because of the water. in reality, there are really only four "important" varieties--east coast virginicas, flats (like belons), pacifics and kumamotos. everything else is terroir (can you use terroir for something not on land?). seasonality and freshness are also key, of course (the best oysters taken during spawn will be milty and gross; the same thing for oysters that have been too long out of the water).

and really good oysters don't need any sauce other than what you find in the bottom of the shell.

[johnnyd]

Last Wednesday's NYTimes DINING section featured the venerable Mr. Rowley of Totten Inlet WA who makes it his business to bring the world a good oyster. A picture at left features oysters that looked pretty damned close to the ones I had at Newport Bay. These are Virginicas by the by.

I had this panic attack that my beautiful Damariscotta Oyster obsession might finally crack and fall apart... but I don't think so!

and really good oysters don't need any sauce other than what you find in the bottom of the shell.

So true. I wish I'd had the option of my favorite condiment in Oregon: A squeeze of fresh lemon and a quick grind of good black pepper. Instead I had to fish them out of a shotglass swimming in cocktail sauce. C'est la vie.

[Mallet]

The taste of oysters also varies greatly with season, owing to things like salinity and phytoplankton/nutrient levels (especially in areas where ice forms in the winter). Personally I think oysters are at their very best in early winter/late fall, and less so around spawning time. For obvious reasons I'm partial to the Mallet and St.-Simon oysters, and I also enjoy Raspberry Point (PEI) and Belons.

[archestratus]

As someone who was a teenager on Long Island, and who summered in Wellfleet for 15 years and who generally has been eating oysters for decades I do have strong opinions. All oyster eaters do. Thank you for mentioning Wellfeet oysters. These are truly one of the best oysters on the East coast and to specify even more particularly my favorite Wellfleet oyster, the ones from the Harbor are just fine, but I'm quite partial to the ones from Indian Neck and especially the ones from Drummer's Cove which is where our house was. They live in this amazing 2 feet deep primordial muck of mud that must be responsible for their taste as much as the rapid tides coming in an out of the coves bringing their nutrients. When I tired of oystering (it's literally back breaking work) I would just keep my three kids at it and finally by the time the tide was coming back in they would drag garbage bags full of prime oysters (they were too little then to carry them) back to the house and I would scream at them to wash the oysters before coming into the house. If you are goiing to eat a raw oyster you really should not be having it with anything more than a drop or two of lemon juice.

Now, that having been said, I recently came across an amazing oyster called Coffin Bay Oysters from about 20 miles north of Ketchican, Alaska. These were the best oysters I've had on the West coast and I was wondering if anyone knows anything about them. They were pretty big oysters and the animal inside was quite plump. They melted in the mouth and were not briny as east coast oysters tend to be. They tasted every so slightly but pleasantly gummy and kind of stuck to the roof of your mouth which was actually very pleasing even though that description doesn't sound so.

Finally, a little ditty for you oyster lovers

Oysters are terrific bivalves,

They have young ones by the score,

How they diddle is a riddle,

They just keep on having more

Edited April 28, 2006 by archestratus (log)

[rlibkind]

I had this panic attack that my beautiful Damariscotta Oyster obsession might finally crack and fall apart... but I don't think so!

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What do you think of Pemaquid's? Are they the same as Damariscotta or different?

[TarteTatin]

Just had Chincoteague oysters over Easter weekend and they were super.

Brought some home, good for a week or so, and hubby fried them from a recent NY Times recipe. Delicious.

[johnnyd]

What do you think of Pemaquid's? Are they the same as Damariscotta or different?

I think they are the same family, but as R.W. Apple writes in that NYT article, oysters harvested from a neighboring bay might taste different if they catch the prevailing tides or some other marine effect.

Mook Sea Farm, from whom I bought my oysters for my oyster bar a few years ago had his flats in the Damariscotta river, about eight miles up-river from the ocean but there is still a pronounced tidal activity there. The salinity factor is essential.

Pemaquid Oyster Company, in neighboring Walpole, might also sell their oysters with the Damariscotta tag. Pemaquid Point is at the end of the same peninsula and features an oft-photographed lighthouse.

I once pried a couple belons from the rocks off Kennebunkport. They weren't very good, but they were the remains of an experiment by local residents in the forties. I'd say not enough fresh water coming out of the river made them kind of funky.

[rlibkind]

What do you think of Pemaquid's? Are they the same as Damariscotta or different?

I think they are the same family, but as R.W. Apple writes in that NYT article, oysters harvested from a neighboring bay might taste different if they catch the prevailing tides or some other marine effect.

Mook Sea Farm, from whom I bought my oysters for my oyster bar a few years ago had his flats in the Damariscotta river, about eight miles up-river from the ocean but there is still a pronounced tidal activity there. The salinity factor is essential.

Pemaquid Oyster Company, in neighboring Walpole, might also sell their oysters with the Damariscotta tag. Pemaquid Point is at the end of the same peninsula and features an oft-photographed lighthouse.

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I asked because I had Pemaquids a few years ago at Primo and thought them swell.

[johnnyd]

Finally had a few Damariscottas over the weekend. DEFINITELY brinier than West Coast oysters. They weren't as firm either - grey in color vs the paler cousins.

I have to say I really enjoyed my Oregon Oysters, more than the Maine ones - but the Dams have a specialty of their own that I can't abandon. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

[baconburner]

Hi

I am getting a large shipment of oysters which we will enjoy in various fresh forms. This is probably a naive question. What can you do to save them for later use?

Thanks

Malcolm

[Shellfish Sam]

Hi

I am getting a large shipment of oysters which we will enjoy in various fresh forms. This is probably a naive question. What can you do to save them for later use?

Thanks

Malcolm

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Store them cup down (rounded side down) in a fridge between 1 and 4 degrees C and place wet newspaper or a damp towel over top of them.

If they are European Flats (Belons), place weight on top of them to keep the top shells closed. They tend to gape.

Edited November 1, 2007 by Shellfish Sam (log)

[Luckylies]

cup down? really mr. shellfish? why?

I've always heard cup up (to keep the juice in)...

[Shellfish Sam]

cup down? really mr. shellfish? why?

I've always heard cup up (to keep the juice in)...

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If you store them cup up, not only will the oyster liquor run out (think about it for a sec, which would keep the juice in, a rounded bottom or a flat top?) but it is the equivalent to me hanging you by your feet to rest.

Hardly restful and very stressful on what is after all a living creature.

[HungryChris]

I have always found it a good sign, in a market that sells oysters, to see that someone has taken the time to place them all cup side down. It is just a subtle indication that they know what they are doing and the odds are better that you will be getting a good product. I knock them together and listen to the sound that each one makes. A solid knock like a beach stone against another is what you want to hear. A hollow sound is the alarm that there is a problem. I arrange mine in a bowl in the crisper of the fridge cup side down and enjoy them for as much as a week. That is the extent of my experience with their preservation. They still must be scrutinized when upened for lack of freshness. A robust quantity of clear liquor and clean aroma is a green light.

HC

[Feedbag]

Is it sacrilege to buy them shelled if you can't find them in their shells? (You see them sometimes in these little plastic packages; always wondered...)

[grayelf]

Is it sacrilege to buy them shelled if you can't find them in their shells? (You see them sometimes in these little plastic packages; always wondered...)

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We buy the fresh ones in the dreaded plastic package (like a yogurt carton) every Christmas to make oyster stuffing for Signor Turkey. Works a treat and saves a bit on space at a time of year when fridge real estate is at a premium.

Edited November 2, 2007 by grayelf (log)

[budrichard]

" What can you do to save them for later use?"

What is your time frame?

With your oysters you should get a Harvest Tag showing date of harvest and harvest location. We purchase from Browne Trading and invariably the oysters are harvested the day before shipping and with Overnight shipping the oysters are two days old when they reach us.

I store a layer of oysters, a layer of ice with a drain at the bottom and use within 5 days of reciept. Govern your use by your harvest date. This is a living product out of its element. You can't simply preserve it for an extended period of time.-Dick

[TheSwede]

Or you could pickle them as in the The French Laundry Cookbook. But maybe that was the wrong kind of preservation.

(Actually, I don't even know if that pickling is strong enough to work as a preservation or if it more is a kind of flavouring.)

[Sony]

Forgive me if there is already a thread on this, but reading about oysters on the "Foods You're Supposed to Find Delicious" thread (ironically) gave me a hankering.....

So, besides raw on the half shell, what are your favorite recipes featuring oysters?

(In particular, I'm intrigued by the concept of oyster dressing- I grew up in the southern US, yet I've never tasted it. All other ideas are welcome, though!)

[Batard]

Forgive me if there is already a thread on this, but reading about oysters on the "Foods You're Supposed to Find Delicious" thread (ironically) gave me a hankering.....

So, besides raw on the half shell, what are your favorite recipes featuring oysters?

(In particular, I'm intrigued by the concept of oyster dressing- I grew up in the southern US, yet I've never tasted it. All other ideas are welcome, though!)

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Why can't I eat them raw?

This probably isn't what you had in mind, but I love to make Oyster Soon Du Boo. We can get freshly flown in, shucked Korean baby oysters on weekends at the local Korean monster-mart. I usually add a lot more oysters to the stew than any self-respecting Korean restaurant would though, it's like an oyster orgy.

A local Chinese restaurant called China Inn makes a nice dish using oversized sea oysters (wish I knew more about the type, they are enormous). They are served steamed on the half shell with a heavy-ish black bean/scallion sauce. These oysters are strong flavored and I don't think they would be good for eating raw.

It's something you have to order off the "secret" Chinese menu: if you don't specify otherwise they hand you the Westerner Chicken Chow Mein menu. If anyone knows more about this type of oyster, please drop me a PM.

Edited December 5, 2007 by Batard (log)

[david coonce]

huck them (or get really fresh shucked oysters), dredge them in buttermilk and blue cornmeal, pan fry, serve with peppercorn aioli and a wedge of lemon.

[Sony]

Batard, you are welcome to eat them raw! I'm just looking for different ways than I already know to make 'em.

I've loved Korean food the few times I've been able to eat it out, but would be incredibly happy to make it at home. Recipe, PLEASE?!

Edited December 5, 2007 by Sony (log)

[Jamie Lee]

Sony:

I think my family's oyster dressing is the best.... used mostly for holiday turkeys... is that what you're interested in?

(I just didn't want to mis-interpret if you meant some kind of stuffing to put in a half-shell..)