Oysters

jjbsligo

Hi - Would like to cook Oysters Saturday night for dinner. I researched on google and found too ways
1. Eat raw but would need to buy a special oyster knife to open - is this a hard job?
2. Steam and they will open naturally - however i am assuming this will lose the nice seawater juice in the shell.

Is anyone familiar with this? Also is it a good time of the yeat to be buying oysters?

unkel

Raw!

You don't really need a special oyster knife but any knife with a broadish blade that doesn't bend too much would help. Your first one or two (or 50 ) will indeed be a hard job, you'll botch a few (mind your fingers and don't eat the bits of shell ), but you'll get better at it soon.

Opening oysters yourself is like an awesome little skill and part of the pleasure. Eating already opened oysters (as they are generally served in restaurants) is just not the same for me. Brings me back to this holiday many a year ago in the south of France where I had a kilo of oysters every day as a mid afternoon snack - oh yeah

kenco

Raw too would be my preference but I know plenty of people who are turned off by the idea so in the past I have done them grilled with breadcrumbs, bacon, etc, etc. There are lots of ways of doing them hot but for comparison have both!

As Unkel said you dont need a special knife but I would help. Be very, very careful and hold the Oyster in a tea towel, look for an opening in the shell and 'shuffle' the knife head around it (i.e a little in and then side to side). The shell should come away easy enough when you get going. Make sure then not to lose any of the juices in this process (easily done...). Tabasco and other sauces can be used too to enhance the raw Oysters.

Enjoy

olaola

If you had a stubby flat screwdriver, that would work pretty well. Put the tip in at the hinge and prise it open. Then maybe use a paring knife to go around the lip. Try not to damage the shell, you'll get bits in the flesh. I'd be really careful opening the hinge with a knife!

foodaholic

+1 for raw, and a little squeeze of lemon.

jjbsligo

Thanks a million Guys - Raw Oysters it will be. Picked up one of those knifes today - five euro so too bad!! Hopefully it will help. Thank you kindly for the advice

unkel

Report back here how you got on!

simonj

Please take my advice on this - even farmed oysters should not be eaten in a month without an R in it (i.e. do not eat Oysters in May, June, July or August)
I was assured once the farmed oysters were safe at this time, and for three days after I felt like I was going to die, and would have welcomed the release.

taztastic

If you are going to have them raw then I'd suggest go to a fishmonger to ensure you get top quality (nothing is worth getting a bad oyster) and second s/he should get them started for you so reducing the potential for self-inflicted wounds. Always a plus as far as I'm concerned.

Dinkie

I'm another raw person. I don't actually like them cooked. I tried it once and had to spit it out. It tasted really fishy - and I love fish.

Mix some ginger, balsamic, chilli a bit of sugar and some lime juice and pour on top. Its fantastic.

niall_belfast

Have you thought of trying Oysters Kilpatrick?

We had them on our visit to Australia - delicious!

http://www.bigoven.com/recipe/166812/Oyster-Kilpatrick

olaola

I thought cooked oysters sounded like the work of the devil - until I tried one on Sunday evening. I didn't order them myself, but I stole one from my friend's plate in Castle Murray House. They were DEEELIISSHHCCCIIIOOUUSS!!

vibe666

another vote for raw here, with a little squeeze of lemon and a good pint of the black stuff to wash it down with, can't be beaten.

unkel

vibe666 wrote: »

another vote for raw here, with a little squeeze of lemon and a good pint of the black stuff to wash it down with, can't be beaten.

+1

I ate oysters before I ever had a Guinness and when someone suggested to me they go well together. I didn't believe them. I do now

vibe666

unkel wrote: »

+1

I ate oysters before I ever had a Guinness and when someone suggested to me they go well together. I didn't believe them. I do now

i know, it seems totally weird until you've had it, but it's a marriage made in heaven!

Qualitymark

Raw, with lemon juice, glop them down then drink the juice in the umbo (the half-shell on which they're served); on the side, good brown soda-bread and fresh country butter, and a nice glass of porter.

I've had them cooked in a Paris restaurant (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_D%C3%B4me_Caf%C3%A9) *absolute ambrosia, food of the gods, yum to the power of n*; they were in a cheesy sauce, which sounds totally unlikely but was really good.

I have an unfortunate allergy, though - I can eat the little round Irish oysters by the dozen, and also the Breton ones, but the 'Pacific oysters' - the long, oval-ish ones now mostly grown commercially in Ireland - make me really, really sick. Seems to be a family thing; my sister is the same.