First Oysters of the season...

KiterTodd

...they're still selling at high summer prices and they aren't pulling up Fall quantities yet, but once the morning air gets crisp I start craving oysters!  So I picked some up today to give them a try.

I tend to keep oysters simple.  I buy a lot.  And serve them with garlic butter and hot sauce.  I have cocktail sauce there for others, but I like 'em right out of the shell or with the garlic butter.  The fun for me is standing around the table with good friends or family and picking through the shells.  Like picking crabs, but a lot easier.

And you need beer.

Anyway....

Batch 1


Batch 2


The natural juice of the oyster mixed with garlic butter and hot sauce!


After 10 minutes, the batch is done!  Some are cracked and cooked closer to medium well, and the ones you have to "pop" are medium rare...




The dog likes them also.  But she only gets the scraps.  (she gnaws on the shells to bite off the "foot")

Botch

Love that last picture!

 

Here, peach season is ending, and tomato season will be ending soon :((   If I had an oyster season starting to look forward to, that would ease the sting.  A lot.  

 

Enjoy, Todd;  I'm jealous! 

 

SGH

This is the kind of food that really gets my attention. Brother those oysters look incredible. I could and would put down that whole pile all by myself. With both admiration and respect I gladly give this cook:
SGH

Excellent job for sure!!

Eggcelsior

Very nice. I don't do grilled oysters much. Mostly raw or sometimes fried. That'll change Friday in Nola.

JethroVA

Nice photos Kiter. What body of water did they come from? By their appearance I'm guessing they were farmed on the east coast (not dredged).

KiterTodd

JethroVA said:

Nice photos Kiter. What body of water did they come from? By their appearance I'm guessing they were farmed on the east coast (not dredged).

I believe these were dredged chesapeake bay oysters.  I rinsed them off before cooking which has the shells looking cleaner than usual.  This was all they had to choose yesterday, though.  Usually I get a selection to choose from of Bay, Chincoteague, Sawansescotts and Va. Salts (similar to the prior two but without a specific location listed).  Sometimes they have Lousianna or Texas but haven't had those since the last big oil spill.  I'm not sure if the demand dropped off, the supply dropped off, or our local sources just increased.

When I run a big roast I tend to get a couple bushels of these bay oysters for roasting (they're cheaper) and I get a couple boxes of the farmed oysters for shucking raw.  The salty oysters are sweet and are just incredible on their own or with a mignonette, but they actually lose a lot of that good flavor when you roast them.  The Sawansecott's are some of the best I have tried with a consistent flavor and a strong shell that is easy to shuck.  I think you can mail order them if you're interested here.

KiterTodd

SGH said:

This is the kind of food that really gets my attention. Brother those oysters look incredible. I could and would put down that whole pile all by myself. With both admiration and respect I gladly give this cook: SGH  Excellent job for sure!!

Thanks for the feedback!   Well, I had about 75 oysters yesterday and have to say that unexpededly...I ate most of them myself.  The kids did'nt eat as many as usual and my wife had an upset stomach. ?  Lucky for me SGH, you and I share similar stomachs for these things.  It was not an issue. 

Eggcelsior

KiterTodd said:

JethroVA said:

Nice photos Kiter. What body of water did they come from? By their appearance I'm guessing they were farmed on the east coast (not dredged).

I believe these were dredged chesapeake bay oysters.  I rinsed them off before cooking which has the shells looking cleaner than usual.  This was all they had to choose yesterday, though.  Usually I get a selection to choose from of Bay, Chincoteague, Sawansescotts and Va. Salts (similar to the prior two but without a specific location listed).  Sometimes they have Lousianna or Texas but haven't had those since the last big oil spill.  I'm not sure if the demand dropped off, the supply dropped off, or our local sources just increased.

When I run a big roast I tend to get a couple bushels of these bay oysters for roasting (they're cheaper) and I get a couple boxes of the farmed oysters for shucking raw.  The salty oysters are sweet and are just incredible on their own or with a mignonette, but they actually lose a lot of that good flavor when you roast them.  The Sawansecott's are some of the best I have tried with a consistent flavor and a strong shell that is easy to shuck.  I think you can mail order them if you're interested here.

This. Oyster populations have exploded in the last 15 years because of the work that the CBF, MD and VA state gov't and watermen have done to increase the oyster farming system. There is nothing better than getting bay oysters and assorted tributaries on one plate of rock salt to see the differences in sweetness and brininess of each. I'm itching for oysters now!

SGH

@KiterTodd‌
Agreed brother Todd. Oysters should be devoured without hesitation. Brother Nola and myself are having a couple of sacks tonight as a warm up. Getting ready for Friday nights oyster throw down.

blind99

That's what I call a feast! Guess I need to get a heavy leather glove and a bunch of oysters soon.

Botch

Eggcelsior said:  

This. Oyster populations have exploded in the last 15 years because of the work that the CBF, MD and VA state gov't and watermen have done to increase the oyster farming system. There is nothing better than getting bay oysters and assorted tributaries on one plate of rock salt to see the differences in sweetness and brininess of each. I'm itching for oysters now!

 

First I've heard of this, glad its working!  The last time I was in Maryland the crabs were so expensive, their populations were dropping... 

:(

Smokinpig

I spent 4 years right by Urbanna VA. Some of the best oysters I ever had, and a great oyster fest each fall.

KiterTodd

Yup, Botch, crabs were expensive this year.  I heard it was a slow start with slim catches but it appeared to pick up through the season.  Prices never really dropped though.

Oysters are doing great as Eggcelsior stated.  I agree, a nice tasting of different oysters all on one bar is great!  It's good to know that is the reason we have such a nice local supply, although I miss being able to easily obtain sacks of those Gulf coast oysters as well.

Eggcelsior

I like the new Virginia Oyster Trail. Have you seen that yet?

Aviator

How and where does one order Oysters from? And which one?

My daughter and I love them but we are clueless to what/which one we are devouring.

KiterTodd

Aviator said:

How and where does one order Oysters from? And which one?

My daughter and I love them but we are clueless to what/which one we are devouring.

I'm not sure where to get them near you, but around me you can go to a seafood market or even get them from your local food store.  Food stores usually don't give you a choice of oysters, but you can get a price break if you buy them by the box (about 50 oysters and that's around $35 at my Harris Teeter).  Have them order ahead.  Any decent foodstore can get them from their seafood supplier.

Wegman's has them but they start at $1 an oyster, which is pretty high if it's not being served to you shucked on a bed of ice with lemon and cocktail sauce.  You go through a lot when you roast them, but, if you just want to mess with a couple dozen give that a try.  They have a couple good varieties near me.

Or, search around for the restaurant supply for your area, they will carry them.  I am guessing that the farther you are from water the more expensive they'll be, BUT, when we used to get Gulf oysters around here they were not any more expensive then locals and they had to truck the darn rocks up from Texas!

Regarding what kind...well, that's a can of worms depending on your tastes.  There are no bad oysters except for those tiny asian ones that are popular on the west coast now.  If you blink you won't be sure if you ate it or sneezed...too delicate and too expensive for a small bite.  The rest of them are either bland, salty, sweet, or salty and sweet.  I tend to like a really salty oyster which is common for folks who enjoy them.  The taste will change with the water salinity over the year.

You can't go wrong, though.  First job is to find a place around you that sells them!

Smokinpig

If you are interested in VA oysters you can order online. I know of this place have not ordered from them yet though. Www.rroysters.com

Smokinpig

Sorry for the bad link. Fixed here,  https://www.rroysters.com/

KiterTodd

Smokinpig said:

If you are interested in VA oysters you can order online. I know of this place have not ordered from them yet though. Www.rroysters.com

Oh yeah, I forget to mention then.  Earlier in this thread I have a link for HM Terry where you can order the oysters I mentioned.  They are eggggggcelent!  

I can't imagine it is cheap to basically ship a box of concrete, though...  :-O