Oyster question for oyster folks

Shuck oysters grill over a hot fire leave as much liquor in the shell as possible. Melt a stick of unsalted butter, 3 TBS of EVOO, 2 TBS of minced garlic, 1 TSP black pepper together and keep hot.

Spoon butter mix onto oysters while they cook and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and eat!

And shucking sucks!!!!! But if you drink enough it stops hurting!!!!! And its worth it!!!

buy a good oyster knife (I second the Carolina Oyster Knife); after shucking the first dozen you will b an expert.

Huge fan of the "heat 'em up on the grill 'till they open" method. If I'm not somewhere I can do that, I typically shoot for the hinge of the shell with a good shucking knife and keep my fingers/toes away at all times.

I'm a simple guy who grew up near the coast of NC... some quality cocktail sauce with plenty of horseradish, lemon, and a touch of Old Bay... then on a saltine (or perhaps not) before down-the-hatch... Fantastic eats.

You're seriously making me crave oysters and they're tough to get in the UK (despite being surrounded by water)!

SD

Fishawn said:

Depending on your supplier of Oysters & how you can get them IMO..... We cook a lot of Oysters on a BBQ/Grill & depending on how may people will be attending, typically get a couple of dozen in the shells..... The rest are available shucked and on ice from the source in a plastic "bucket"...... After getting the shelled Oysters to open up & prepped for serving, they are served without shells & the next "round" is under way with the *shucked* Oysters put into the previously used shells for cooking on the grill..... Add butter, garlic, worshy, sauces & seasoning to your liking..... Works well for us..... Most of the time they get eaten shortly after cooking, either on a serving platter or just plop them onto a plate.... Folks typically will be standing around your BBQ/Grill/Smoker waiting..... They also like some seasoning, hot sauce, butter, certain cheeses, etc.

Click to expand...

OH YEA!! The plastic bucket!!! We drive out to the coast to oysterville and pick up 2-3 of those buckets a few times a year!!

Some of them we have done

The only way you will get true Drago's Chargrilled Oysters is to start with Louisiana Oysters. Oysters from any other state is not the same, tast wise and texture wise and size wise.
The Louisiana way is to shuck them. It can be difficult if you don't have the proper tools, such as a oyster shucking knife. A thin screwdriver can be used. The way I do it is take a hammer and lightly tap the lip of the shell. Insert the knife and twist. the shell will pop open. Take the oyster knife and losen the meat.
Keep your oysters on ice or in the fridge while waiting to be cooked.
You also need to get the Drago's recipe. You can find it online. It's not exact but it's pretty close.
I would also stay away from tin foil or anything aluminum. Need to use the oyster shell.
Good Luck, Enjoy and Happy B-Day.

spyderman said:

buy a good oyster knife (I second the Carolina Oyster Knife); after shucking the first dozen you will b an expert.

Click to expand...

My wife and I have a little tradition of trying to learn or do something entirely new for each of our birthdays. Sort of a "new year, new skill" philosophy. Some of the highlights have been eating L'escargot (that was an easy one), learning how to ice skate (for me), learning how to shoot skeet (for her) and taking culinary classes.
Since your birthday is coming up, why not take this opportunity to get to the point where you can truthfully say "I used to be really bad at shucking oysters". Get a good oyster knife and watch a few youtube vids on how to do it. In addition to the knife, get a Kevlar glove if you're nervous about hurting yourself. An oyster knife is neither sharp nor pointy, so the risk is small but accidents do happen. Oh, and by the way, MAKE SURE you get an oyster knife and not a clam knife. The clam knife will have a sharpened edge and a much more flexible blade. You'll be a shucking machine in no time. Fresh oysters are WAY better than packed.
Good luck and Happy Birthday!

This Is what I do but it is not a recommendation for obvious reasons but it used to be the norm in some very good restaurants befor regulations set in.
I have a bout 3 dozen shell haves and have been using them for years in preparing
Bienville and Rockefeller oysters. The shells have been cleaned ( wire brush) with soap and water and bleach and then boiled in hot water. I let them air dry then place them in a zip lock bag and store in the freezer. Care is taken not to allow any adductor meat or food particles remain after storing. To remove the adductor meat and attachment spine I used a dremmel.

One more tip. Wear gloves to avoid shoving the knife in your hand. The tip can slip and a glove does help.
Got me wanting some chargrilled oysters. Going to be in Nola next week. May have to stop by Drago's for an appetizer.
Here's the recipe I use.
The Sauce:

1 Stick Unsalted Butter, very soft
1 Pinch Kosher Salt
1 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
4 Tbsp Pecorino Romano
1 pinch Cayenne
1 pinch White Pepper
1 Spritz Lemon Juice
1 tsp Minced Italian Parsley
Whisk together all ingredients.

For the Oysters:
1 Dozen Large freshly shucked Oysters on the half shell (preferrably Louisiana) Watch my quicktime video on How to Shuck an Oyster
1 Recipe of the Sauce, above
Pecorino Romano to finish
Minced Italian Parsley for garnish
Fresh Bread
Lemon wedges

+1 for putting on grill and letting them open. We do this and sometime eat them just like that or put butter/garlic or a rockefeller type topping on them. Good luck!!

and to complement the party..

get a couple of boxes of New Zealand Greenlipped mussels on the half shell and...

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=116727