Saturday, November 28, 2015

Oyster Roast

 

I love a new experience!

On Thanksgiving we went to an oyster roast, something new to this northern girl.

Here's how you do it.

First someone goes out in the water and gathers up a big bunch of oysters at low tide and washes off the mud.

Meanwhile, someone else builds a fire and places an old sheet of tin roofing on top of some cement blocks over the fire and gets it nice and hot.

The oysters are loaded onto the tin with a shovel.

 

 

 

 

A burlap bag soaked in the water is laid over the oysters to steam them.

 

While they are steaming, people gather around the oyster table to visit, don gloves, and claim an oyster knife. Dogs and cats, familiar with this process, take their places beneath the oyster table.

 

 

 

The hot oysters are delivered to the table on the shovel, spread around, and everyone grabs a cluster.

 

The tin lid on the right covers a hole in the table where the shells go when all the oysters are out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The native oysters here are small but there are several oysters in each cluster.

 

They are served with a sauce to dip them in made of shrimp cocktail sauce and plenty of horseradish, along with a soda cracker.

Bon appetit!

 

 

 

 

Don't worry -- Houdini got his share of the feast!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(P.S. Marie B., they taste a lot better steamed than raw!)

 

19 comments:

  1. Love an oyster roast like that , we've been to a few. Almost home, delayed in Atlanta of course.

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  2. Love an oyster roast like that , we've been to a few. Almost home, delayed in Atlanta of course.

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  3. And I love seeing new experiences - this is a wonderful post Cynthia because your words and photos show such a beautiful happy scene, even the cat ! It wouldn't work here in Australia as where I live we have a total fire ban due to the bush fire threats.
    Wren x

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  4. That's a new one on me. As you know I'm not a lover of oysters. Glad you gave them a try though!

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  5. What a great outdoor feast. We like oysters at our house, cooked or raw.

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  6. What a wonderful experience, always nice to try something new.

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  7. Cynthia I would like to try it I think it is a delicious meal

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  8. Cynthia, what an experience! I love the look of that cabin or home in the last picture with the cat and lots of moss.

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  9. Ah that looks like a good Kiwi experience - with the corrugated iron over the fire. That looks such fun, and yum, oysters. Great description too.

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  10. Ah that looks like a good Kiwi experience - with the corrugated iron over the fire. That looks such fun, and yum, oysters. Great description too.

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  11. That would be extremely new for this prairie boy who doesn't get seafood.

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  12. Looks a lot of fun! Love the cat sitting there waiting...

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  13. Gee how great is that.
    Did they taste good?
    Never had oysters done that way. We as teenagwrs used to pull them off the rocks, take them to the shack (at beach house), wash in fresh water, plaster lots of tomatoe sause on them, pop in mouth and swallow :) the good old days .

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  14. I have never eaten an oister, here they are mostly eaten raw, that has never attracted me. I like the way you prepared them with simple attibrutes.

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  15. My husband is a lover of oysters both raw and steamed. This looks like fun - I would have helped shuck but was there anything else to eat??

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  16. I don't like oysters but I do love crawdads:) Fun to see how it is done and how it is an event that everyone gets involved:)

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  17. What a fun post to read. That would be a new experience for me, too. Looks like a good time was had by all.

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  18. I did this once on a visit to Mount Pleasant, SC. I LOVED IT, but spouse gave up and went toward the b barbecue beef area (it was a school annual oyster roast). I shucked all night and really got into it!!

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  19. This looks like it must have been marvelous. The whole cooking and eating outdoor thing is always fabulous!

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