Backyard Oyster Roast

Ahh, November.  Finally time for our annual backyard oyster roast.  We invited our favorite friends and neighbors for a Southern Backyard Oyster Roast.  The weather was crisp and the Topsail Sound oysters were plump and briny.

STEAMING THE OYSTERS
We steamed up four bushels of oysters in our Bayou Classic 42-QT steamer - one batch at a time. 

Here's our suggestion for perfectly steamed oysters:

Step 1

Seafood steamers typically come with a perforated bucket.  Fill the pot until an inch below the basket line with a 9:1 ratio of water to white vinegar.  

Step 2

Place on the tripod over the propane tank, place the bucket on the tripod, place the cover on the pot and bring the water to a boil. 

Step 3 In the meantime, wash oysters in an outdoor sink or use a garden hose. When the water boils, add oysters to the pot.  Take time to stack the oysters by hand (rather than dumping them haphazardly into the pot) to ensure a more even steam. (CAUTION: Just in case the long necks have taken over your common sense ... Boiling water will be HOT.) Place the lid on the pot with the oysters.

Step 4

After 10 min., pull up the basket using your silicon pot holders and give the oysters a shake to make sure you can see the oysters both on the top and the bottom.  If you want a glorious, juicy oyster, pull them out of the steamer when the shells have separated about an 1/8”.  Wait until they’ve separated a 1/4" - 1/2" for a more well done oyster.

Step 5 

Dump oysters directly on the table – preferably one made especially for oysters (see below).  Guests should eat as quickly and as many oysters as they can.  

Steamed and plump with a
dash of extra hot cocktail sauce.

Friends gathered around our oyster table.

Step 6: Repeat until you run out of oysters

OYSTER AVOIDERS

It's hard for me to admit, but not everyone likes oysters and even oyster lovers need a little variety.  So we made some easy food.




- Chick Pea Salad (chickpeas, feta, red onion, cilantro, parsley, olive oil, and lots of lemon)

- BBQ sandwiches on Hawiiann Rolls with pickled onions

- Balsamic-Bacon Deviled Eggs

- Curried Deviled Eggs

- Chicken & Sausage Gumbo

- Pork Tenderloin Skewers

Cold beer!
(Don't forget the koozies.) 

DECOR

Even a backyard roast needs a little something.  We bought alphabet stamps and went to town.  Bamboo, biodegradable spoons got a little kick with silly, fun, slightly relevant sayings like "slurp," "enjoy," "yum," "bite me," and "eat."

DESSERT

Last - but definitely not least - DESSERT.  Easy peasy.  We cut the bottom 1/3 off of Kraft paper bags and folded the top 1/4" to keep our guests sleeves from catching on the raw edge.  We stamped the bags and filled them with a heaping cup of pumpkin flavored popcorn from Vics.  

We also laid out the fixings for a good old fashioned s'mores by the fire.

AFTER THE PARTY

The next day, we picked through the oyster shells to pull out the trash and took the empty shells to our oyster shell recycling facility to give life to a whole new generation of oysters.