Oysters and Grilling by the Bay

landarc · 07-07-2013, 07:51 PM

Tomales Bay, that is. Today found four of us on Tomales Bay, with some unlucky oysters and clams, several different sausages, a couple of different sauces and some beer. It was a beautiful day to be waterside at The Tomales Bay Oyster Company. Kevin has prepared a mignonette of some form, along with some "Rockefeller Mix", some Tabasco and some Chinese BBQ sauce. The plan was to just hang out, enjoy the day and play around with food. This is always a good plan.

Bag of Smalls

Naturally, we started with just popping them open, adding a little lemon, Tabasco and some of Kevin's Mignonette. Raw oysters from Tomales Bay are always sweet and mild. From there, we started some charcoal, and started roasting things. Some oysters were filled with the "Rockefeller Mix" and roasted on the fire, then I arrived and more of the same occurred.

Oysters!

Some sliced Portobellos and sausages were then onto the grill, which was a fortunate thing, as these make a great complement to oysters, and to the clams that were soon to follow. We actually coated the mushrooms partway through with some Chinese BBQ sauce, which comes in a large tin, and appears to be a mixture of oil, ground dried fish and roasted shallots. Intense, to say the least, it melted onto the mushrooms and tripled the umami. Then the clams were dumped onto the grill.

The Mixed Grill

And here we have a mess of food, the mushrooms just about done, the clams popping, some of the filled oysters roasting and of course, the sausages. Everything just sort of trickled off of the grill over the period of an hour or so, the open spaces filling just as slowly. The clams made a great complement to the sausage, a classic pairing of briny clam and salty pork, if you slid a bite of mushroom in there, you have an 'off-the-grill' version of a Classic Chinese dish I know as Clam Sycee.

I really enjoyed the day, and that is always enough, to be with friends, to meet some new people, eat some good food, that is always a good day. Interestingly though, joining my friends Kevin, Jason and I were a couple of guys from 'over the pond'. And they brought up an interesting point. They mentioned the fact that they couldn't believe that we could get so many oysters from such a small bay. In explaining to them about the bay, it reminded me of what an amazing location the Bay Area is, and really, how we benefit so much from living here. It is easy to take for granted, until a person with a new viewpoint reminds you of the great resources we have around us.

Smoke Dawg · 07-07-2013, 08:17 PM

Looks like a great day. Surf and turf Brethern style!

We will put larger oysters directly on the grill (Great use for a gasser at a party) and when they pop, open up and drop into a hottub of butter, garlic, and spice of choice (Tabassco is a favorite). Just fork one out and enjoy!

tarhog · 07-07-2013, 08:19 PM

Excellent post Landarc. What a great day with good friends and good people. And beer!

Smoothsmoke · 07-07-2013, 08:20 PM

Great post! Meal looks excellent!

code3rrt · 07-07-2013, 08:22 PM

Super nice day!!!

KC

Fishawn · 07-07-2013, 08:26 PM

Looks like a great day! .... Love hanging out & eating that way also..... No rush, a beer in hand, take a bite, throw something else on, try a new sauce on the oysters/clams & so on.... Nice scenery is just a bonus..... Cool post

landarc · 07-07-2013, 08:34 PM

I actually make a riff on BBQ Shrimp, which I call BBQ Oysters. I use this sauce...

BBQ Oyster sauce:
1 to 1.5 cups of chili sauce (the sweet red pepper stuff)
1/4 cup finely minced celery
1/2 cup finely minced shallots
3 cloves garlic, finely minced or salt pasted
3 tablespoon finely sliced chives
medium grind black pepper to taste
horseradish to taste

Mix all of this together, use a little cider vinegar to loosen into a syrup consistency. Put whole medium oysters over fire, when they pop open, spoon sauce over oyster and grill until hot. Serve with lemon wedges.

dwfisk · 07-07-2013, 08:34 PM

Very nice! Been thinking of roasted oysters & clams, your post just made the the decision an urgent one. Looks like y'all made the most out of one of those vandal proof park grills,

landarc · 07-07-2013, 08:37 PM

They work remarkably well for this purpose. The oyster shells and clam shells sit just right in the otherwise chunky grates.

Old Smoke · 07-07-2013, 08:53 PM

This thread just reminded me how long it has been since I've had BBQ'd oysters and clams.
I guess it is time to head down to Tomales Bay!
Thanks for the recipe, I usually just mince/paste some garlic into melted butter, then over the opened oysters.
Good Job!

landarc · 07-07-2013, 08:57 PM

Ain't nothing wrong with that Rick

93vpmod · 07-07-2013, 09:01 PM

You sir, live the life! Thanks for sharing so this Midwesterner can also have a taste.

firefighter4634 · 07-07-2013, 09:08 PM

Mighty fine, mighty fine.

landarc · 07-07-2013, 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 93vpmod

You sir, live the life! Thanks for sharing so this Midwesterner can also have a taste.

Thanks! In real life, next week, I will be digging up my clogged sewer, I drive a car that I have to reach out and open from the outside, I wear Carhartts that I have patched on patches. But, hey...

Twelvegaugepump · 07-07-2013, 10:12 PM

Awesome looking grub!

07-07-2013, 07:51 PM	#1
landarc somebody shut me the fark up. Join Date: 06-26-09 Location: sAn leAnDRo, CA	Oysters and Grilling by the Bay Tomales Bay, that is. Today found four of us on Tomales Bay, with some unlucky oysters and clams, several different sausages, a couple of different sauces and some beer. It was a beautiful day to be waterside at The Tomales Bay Oyster Company. Kevin has prepared a mignonette of some form, along with some "Rockefeller Mix", some Tabasco and some Chinese BBQ sauce. The plan was to just hang out, enjoy the day and play around with food. This is always a good plan. Bag of Smalls Naturally, we started with just popping them open, adding a little lemon, Tabasco and some of Kevin's Mignonette. Raw oysters from Tomales Bay are always sweet and mild. From there, we started some charcoal, and started roasting things. Some oysters were filled with the "Rockefeller Mix" and roasted on the fire, then I arrived and more of the same occurred. Oysters! Some sliced Portobellos and sausages were then onto the grill, which was a fortunate thing, as these make a great complement to oysters, and to the clams that were soon to follow. We actually coated the mushrooms partway through with some Chinese BBQ sauce, which comes in a large tin, and appears to be a mixture of oil, ground dried fish and roasted shallots. Intense, to say the least, it melted onto the mushrooms and tripled the umami. Then the clams were dumped onto the grill. The Mixed Grill And here we have a mess of food, the mushrooms just about done, the clams popping, some of the filled oysters roasting and of course, the sausages. Everything just sort of trickled off of the grill over the period of an hour or so, the open spaces filling just as slowly. The clams made a great complement to the sausage, a classic pairing of briny clam and salty pork, if you slid a bite of mushroom in there, you have an 'off-the-grill' version of a Classic Chinese dish I know as Clam Sycee. I really enjoyed the day, and that is always enough, to be with friends, to meet some new people, eat some good food, that is always a good day. Interestingly though, joining my friends Kevin, Jason and I were a couple of guys from 'over the pond'. And they brought up an interesting point. They mentioned the fact that they couldn't believe that we could get so many oysters from such a small bay. In explaining to them about the bay, it reminded me of what an amazing location the Bay Area is, and really, how we benefit so much from living here. It is easy to take for granted, until a person with a new viewpoint reminds you of the great resources we have around us. __________________ [COLOR=DarkGreen][COLOR=DarkRed][SIZE=1]me: I don't drink anymore Yelonutz: me either, but, then again, I don't drink any less [/SIZE][/COLOR][/COLOR][SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed] [COLOR=Pink]SSS[/COLOR] [/COLOR][/SIZE]

07-07-2013, 08:17 PM	#2
Smoke Dawg Quintessential Chatty Farker Join Date: 06-22-13 Location: Montana Name/Nickname : IMF	Looks like a great day. Surf and turf Brethern style! We will put larger oysters directly on the grill (Great use for a gasser at a party) and when they pop, open up and drop into a hottub of butter, garlic, and spice of choice (Tabassco is a favorite). Just fork one out and enjoy! __________________ A bunch of stuff to build a Fire so I can hang out and Smoke, Grill, or cook with! More stuff for Cutting, Grinding, Stuffing, Canning and so on! Double down Zero Club Champion Only Brethren to win a TD with all the votes! IMBAS Certified Moink Baller

07-07-2013, 08:19 PM	#3
tarhog On the road to being a farker Join Date: 01-15-12 Location: St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands	Excellent post Landarc. What a great day with good friends and good people. And beer! __________________ Weber OTG, Weber OTS, Chargrill vertical gasser, Budweiser Keg Ghetto Fire Pit. Tolerant Wife.

07-07-2013, 08:20 PM	#4
Smoothsmoke Babbling Farker Join Date: 01-20-10 Location: Monterey, CA	Great post! Meal looks excellent! __________________ Kamado Big Joe [COLOR=Red]Kamado Classic Joe Kamado Joe Jr. [/COLOR] A bunch of Webers

07-07-2013, 08:22 PM	#5
code3rrt Babbling Farker Join Date: 08-09-12 Location: Spokane Valley, Washington	Super nice day!!! KC __________________ KC Weber Performer with rotisserie ring, 22.5OTS, Maverick 732, Weber Smokey Joe,PBC Smokenator/Hoovergrill, variety of microbrews, Gin and tonic, variety of lighters.:blah:

07-07-2013, 08:26 PM	#6
Fishawn is one Smokin' Farker Join Date: 08-09-10 Location: Olympia, WA	Looks like a great day! .... Love hanging out & eating that way also..... No rush, a beer in hand, take a bite, throw something else on, try a new sauce on the oysters/clams & so on.... Nice scenery is just a bonus..... Cool post __________________ 22 & 2-18 WSM's-3 Weber Kettles-Smokey Joe-Silver C -Weber Q-CookShack Smokette

07-07-2013, 08:34 PM	#7
landarc somebody shut me the fark up. Join Date: 06-26-09 Location: sAn leAnDRo, CA	I actually make a riff on BBQ Shrimp, which I call BBQ Oysters. I use this sauce... BBQ Oyster sauce: 1 to 1.5 cups of chili sauce (the sweet red pepper stuff) 1/4 cup finely minced celery 1/2 cup finely minced shallots 3 cloves garlic, finely minced or salt pasted 3 tablespoon finely sliced chives medium grind black pepper to taste horseradish to taste Mix all of this together, use a little cider vinegar to loosen into a syrup consistency. Put whole medium oysters over fire, when they pop open, spoon sauce over oyster and grill until hot. Serve with lemon wedges. __________________ [COLOR=DarkGreen][COLOR=DarkRed][SIZE=1]me: I don't drink anymore Yelonutz: me either, but, then again, I don't drink any less [/SIZE][/COLOR][/COLOR][SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed] [COLOR=Pink]SSS[/COLOR] [/COLOR][/SIZE]

07-07-2013, 08:34 PM	#8
dwfisk Quintessential Chatty Farker Join Date: 08-01-12 Location: Fairfield, Florida Name/Nickname : Dave	Very nice! Been thinking of roasted oysters & clams, your post just made the the decision an urgent one. Looks like y'all made the most out of one of those vandal proof park grills, __________________ I'm Dave Got a bunch of cooking toys and a custom metal fabrication shop where I spend my time building all sorts of smokers & outdoor cooking gear.

07-07-2013, 08:37 PM	#9
landarc somebody shut me the fark up. Join Date: 06-26-09 Location: sAn leAnDRo, CA	They work remarkably well for this purpose. The oyster shells and clam shells sit just right in the otherwise chunky grates. __________________ [COLOR=DarkGreen][COLOR=DarkRed][SIZE=1]me: I don't drink anymore Yelonutz: me either, but, then again, I don't drink any less [/SIZE][/COLOR][/COLOR][SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed] [COLOR=Pink]SSS[/COLOR] [/COLOR][/SIZE]

07-07-2013, 08:53 PM	#10
Old Smoke is one Smokin' Farker Join Date: 03-22-10 Location: Ukiah, California	This thread just reminded me how long it has been since I've had BBQ'd oysters and clams. I guess it is time to head down to Tomales Bay! Thanks for the recipe, I usually just mince/paste some garlic into melted butter, then over the opened oysters. Good Job! __________________ [FONT=Comic Sans MS]Rick[/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS]"Brown it's cookin', black it's done"....................Dad. [/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS]Guess that is why he was truck driver, not a chef......:shocked:[/FONT]

07-07-2013, 08:57 PM	#11
landarc somebody shut me the fark up. Join Date: 06-26-09 Location: sAn leAnDRo, CA	Ain't nothing wrong with that Rick __________________ [COLOR=DarkGreen][COLOR=DarkRed][SIZE=1]me: I don't drink anymore Yelonutz: me either, but, then again, I don't drink any less [/SIZE][/COLOR][/COLOR][SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed] [COLOR=Pink]SSS[/COLOR] [/COLOR][/SIZE]

07-07-2013, 09:01 PM	#12
93vpmod is Blowin Smoke! Join Date: 02-02-13 Location: Springfield, IL	You sir, live the life! Thanks for sharing so this Midwesterner can also have a taste.

07-07-2013, 09:08 PM	#13
firefighter4634 is one Smokin' Farker Join Date: 05-09-11 Location: Moville Iowa	Mighty fine, mighty fine. __________________ BWS Fatboy

07-07-2013, 10:12 PM	#15
Twelvegaugepump is one Smokin' Farker Join Date: 08-21-11 Location: Greenville, WI Name/Nickname : Kevin	Awesome looking grub!