Can you shuck oysters?

[vash]

I’m ready. I’m also slow. I gouged myself once and I go much slower now.

Tonight is oyster night. Wine, cheese, a bunch of oysters on the half shell. I got “small” ones. Easier to poke apart.

It’s go time!

[Bill Douglas]

The first thing I think of when I hear shucking oysters is how fabulous shucking gloves are. Maybe it's the second thing, and the first thing is how excellent very fresh oysters are raw.

[Por_sha911]

I was wondering if the title of the thread was a euphemism for something else... but I'll leave it at that.

[tevake]

Just shared a half bushel yesterday, hanging with friends around a fire. We melted some butter with a little garlic had other garnishes at hand but the oysters were so good that many were eaten off the grill neat.
Had a heavy rubber glove and a shucking knife. It not very sharp near the rounded tip
The blade is quite thick for the strength to attack the hinge. I do better sliding it thru the lip and popping the open that way.
Much easier to open after a little time on the grill.

Also had the best gumbo ever as a starter, Loving this gulf seafood.
YUMMM!

Cheers Richard

[Charles Freeborn]

Yes. Practice.
mmmmmm oysters..... mmmmmmm

[John Rogers]

Practice makes it easier. When I was growing up we went to Rehobeth Bay in Delaware and you could walk over a mile from shore towing a basket on a rope. We would eat one then save one! Mostly clams but some oysters too.

[Charles Freeborn]

Originally Posted by John Rogers

Practice makes it easier. When I was growing up we went to Rehobeth Bay in Delaware and you could walk over a mile from shore towing a basket on a rope. We would eat one then save one! Mostly clams but some oysters too.

Rehobeth... there's a blast from my past! I grew up in Wilmington....

[berettafan]

My system is hold the oyster in a folded towel on the counter to shuck.

Favorite way to eat is half shell on an open grill with various garnishes like butter, bacon, grated Parmesan, hot sauce


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[wdfifteen]

No problem shucking them. I'm kind of weirded out by the baby crabs inside them. 2 out of 24 had the crabs. I'm not that familiar with oysters, what's the deal?

[Monza_dh]

In high school and college I shucked oysters in a popular seafood restaurant in Boston and it was tough. The old guys would use no gloves and shuck a dozen in a few minutes. The saving grace is every once in a while I would find a small pearl which would drive folks mad

[jyl]

Towel to hold oyster, good oyster knife, learn where to go in. First ten are slow, then it gets better.

[Arizona_928]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

No problem shucking them. I'm kind of weirded out by the baby crabs inside them. 2 out of 24 had the crabs. I'm not that familiar with oysters, what's the deal?

[insert crab joke here]

[javadog]

Of course I can shuck oysters. One of the skills you must acquire if you want to be useful in a kitchen... Having said that, I can also buy them freshly shucked, which is fine for a lot of recipes. Perversely, I think the already-shucked ones are cheaper, in quantity.

If I intend to consume a bunch on the half shell, I prefer to eat them during happy hour at an oyster bar. A steady supply of G&T's or a bottle of champagne is a required accompaniment. A good way to kill an afternoon...

[yellowperil]

Yes I can.

[rfuerst911sc]

True story: My uncle lived in Port Jervis N.Y. but wintered in Florida . Back in the day ( 60's + 70's ) my uncle , aunt and my parents when they got together for holidays would usually do up some oysters or similar shelled creature . I remember as a kid them all pissing and moaning about the pain in the a$$ it was to open them up . My dad and uncle were both tool and die guys from Germany . So they sat down to design a tool to do the job .

What they designed was a stainless steel looking contraption that looked like Vise grips on steroids . One side was C shaped and had a hollow V shape , the other side was a rippled blade . The blade started flat then lead into the rippling . So you would take the shelled creature , set the " hinged " side of the shell into the C shaped holder . You then lined up the blade with the seam of the shell . Squeeze the handle and boom it was open .

Worked every time and was drop dead simple . My dad decided he only wanted to be involved with the design so my uncle ran with the ball and went into production . I remember the yellow blister pack to this day.......... they didn't sell worth a poop but my uncle did eventually unload all of them . I'm sure between N.Y. and FL. there are a bunch of these out there .

[yellowperil]

Many years ago (decades really) I had Oysters Rockefeller at Antoines in New Orleans. It was a wonderful meal and I never forgot it. I had only slurped and sloped live oysters to that point, but now I cook any that I eat.

[berettafan]

we see the crabs too. just assumed some manner of symbiotic relationship. I guess they could be eating the oyster which would probably not be a good thing.

find those crabs in rockfish quite a bit as well.

[craigster59]

Did you get them from Hog Island? Grilled with a chile, cilantro, lime butter yeah buddy!

[Starless]

The crabs are called Pea crabs and don't eat the oyster, but feed off the food that the oyster takes in it's shell. They are eatable, not that I would eat them.
Yes I can shuck oysters, but after gouging myself a few times, I now hold the oyster with a thick wash cloth. One easy way to shuck is to snip off the thin part of the oyster and stick your oyster knife in there.

[Starless]

Stop Wrestling With Your Oysters! - City Fish Market
I have never used this method, so proceed at your own risk.