So I might have called oyster shucking a life skill. Is it really? No, not really. But it is a fun skill to have—one I’ve put to good use since acquiring it about two months ago.
Ever since our trip to Boston where we ate oysters every day for $3–$3.50 a piece, these bivalves have been on my mind. So last weekend, Matt and I joined some friends for Farm Day at Hama Hama. Yep, 12 dozen oysters at 67 cents per oyster.* Who knew oyster harvesting was so easy? I wish I could say the same for digging clams. (Never mind my building anxiety over what the hell I was going to do with 12 dozen oysters.)
I was happy to learn oysters keep for five days in the fridge. Besides eating some for lunch and during the ferry ride home, we had this lovely dinner party the next day:
Don’t think you need to pre-shuck the oysters for your guests. Instead make sure to invite people you like and prepare to spend the evening with them. Think of it as giving your friends a chance to learn a new skill. Hard to beat oysters and champagne. A second knife would be helpful though.
It’s a hard life we lead … more oysters for a weeknight dinner.
Somehow we had whittled down the number to three dozen by mid-week. And that’s what the freezer is for—be sure to shuck them first though.
By the way, babies get excited about oysters too.**
*We selected extra-small Pacific oysters—oysters too small to take from public beaches. Hama Hama Company is a private farm. Thus, we didn’t worry about confusing Pacifics with the smaller Olympia oyster. For wild oysters, Washington state has other rules about size, limit and shucking.
**Probably should not feed your baby oysters. Please don’t listen to anything I say about babies …
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Do you shuck your own oysters? Have you ever collected them? Tell me about it in the comments.
I ate these oysters as part of my Week in Review meals for April 3–21, 2017 (post coming soon).