Microwaved Oysters

You know what one of my pet peeves is?  When a TV chef proclaims that the only good use for a microwave is popcorn. As a family that would starve without a microwave, I take slight offense.  So what do you think a microwave hater would say if I *gasp* microwaved an oyster to steam it open?

A friend of mine, who is also a successful wholesale seafood distributor and oyster lover, told me that when he wants to steam just a handful of oysters, he pops them in the microwave.

Say what??  All I envisioned was exploding shell parts.

We happened to have a dozen oysters left over from a dinner party the other night, so I tried microwaving them.  It's genius.  And I can't wait to share it with you.


HOW TO STEAM AN OYSTER IN THE MICROWAVE

Step One:
Place an oyster on a paper towel or microwave-safe plate with the curved side down to make sure you don't lose the oyster liquor.

Step Two:
Microwave on high for one minute.

Keep an eye on it.  As soon as the shells separate, the oyster is ready to eat.  I microwaved 6 single oysters - all about 3 1/2 inches long - and each one took between 55 sec. and 1 min, 7 sec.














Step Three:
After the oyster shell "pops" open, remove it from the microwave and pry off the top oyster shell (with a Harbor Island Signature Oyster Knife, of course) and pluck the oyster meat out of the shell.

My husband likes his oysters "well done" - so that they shrivel a little.  I prefer them rare to medium-rare - so that they burst open when you bite down on them and they release their briny goodness.  My microwaved oysters steamed my oysters to the perfect temperature - plump and delicious.  I guess if you left them in the microwave longer they would begin to shrivel, but I was making these oysters for me, so I cooked them to my taste.




MORE THAN ONE AT A TIME?

After my experiment microwaving the six oysters, I only had six oysters left, so I decided to microwave three of them at a time.  You know how when you cook a Hot Pocket, one Hot Pocket takes 2 minutes but two Hot Pockets take close to 4 minutes.  There's really no benefit to cooking two at a time.

The opposite seems to be true when microwaving oysters.  I placed all three on a plate (cup side down) and set the timer for one minute.  I only needed 45 seconds.  I tried it again with the last three oysters and I had the same experience.  Three oysters.  45 seconds.  They were just as good as when I microwaved them individually.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Just a note: I haven't experimented with cluster oysters.  I think there may be some issues with the sea juice (oyster liquor) leaking out, so I would stick with singles.  My experiment was with Eastern oysters (Crassostrea Virginica).  If you happen to experiement with clusters, please post here and let me know how it goes.

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.  

NC Oyster Festival

I broke the seal Sunday ...

NC Oyster Festival.  Ocean Isle, NC.  

I loaded up the family and headed down to the NC Oyster Festival in Ocean Isle, North Carolina, for my first steamed local oysters of the season.  I couldn't wait.  After we arrived at the festival, I was ready to make a beeline to the oyster tent.  But no.  We're immediately side tracked by the bright balloon darts, spinning barrels, pick-a-duck pond and loads of crappy prizes.  Ugh!  Finally, with allowances spent, we slowly made our way to the oyster tent.  (Please pause for a happy dance.)






Ahhh.  Steaming oysters on a perfectly crisp fall day in October.  Happiness for all six senses (and yes, umami, I'm talking to you).

The oyster roast was old school ... Huge crusty grills ... Burlap for steaming ...

Left: My first bucket of steamed oysters this season. 

Right: The oysters were harvested near Beaufort, SC.  They were small with medium brine ... and not as plump as I would have preferred.  No doubt they were wild clusters that could have used some more time hanging out in cool water.  It's early though!

 

North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries was there to collect and recycle all of the oyster shells.  This is the pile collected in only three hours.  The oyster shells are put back in the inlet for a new generation of oyster seeds.

After recycling, we headed back to the festival to walk around and meet some of the artists.  I saw some new oyster knives that we hope to feature on the website soon.  I also met the crazy talented Karen Clayton Braxton.  Check out this oyster bucket she hand painted with, um, an oyster.  We hope to be carrying her buckets as soon as possible and cannot wait.

Finally, check out this oyster sculpture by the boys at Carolina Shucking Co.









It's on.  Oyster season is open.  (Please pause for another happy dance.)

Day Out with a Carolina Oyster Farmer

Ronald Sheffield
Owner Topsail Sound Shellfish

Just to prove that ostreophiles live among us, it turns out that my health insurance broker is also a budding oysterman.  Ronald Sheffield is the owner of Topsail Sound Shellfish, a boutique oyster farm on the Southeast coast of North Carolina.  I asked really nice - borderline stalked him by phone - and he agreed to take me out to see how he nutures his oysters.

5-acre aqua farm in the Intracoastal Waterway

Several times a week, Sheffield heads out on his Carolina Skiff to see how his oysters (and clams) are doing.  Last Wednesday, I was lucky enough to go with him to his 5-acre aqua farm in an estuary off the Intracoastal Waterway that he leases from the state of North Carolina.  Because I don't have an oysterman's license, I wasn't allowed to touch a thing (bummer!) but I did get to watch and take pictures.  Can you see the lines of floating bags?  Each bag contains hundreds of oysters growing safe and sound in water with very high salinity.  Unlike in the northeast where the bags are sometimes frozen under the ice, the mild North Carolina climate means no freezing and year-round access to the oysters.

Oyster seeds: crossbreed bxblyn.9

Sheffield starts with oyster seeds - not spat - no bigger than 1mm.

Sheffield loading the nursery bags 
into the floating bags.

He places thousands of the seeds into small mesh nursery bags and then places the nursery bags into the floating bags.

Oysters about to be moved from the nursery.
Compare to market-size oysters.

A couple months later he checks the bags to see which ones can be moved out of the nursery and directly into the floating bags.

Sifting young oysters.

In the early stages, he empties each bag into a colander and then hand sifts through the growing oysters.   The toddler oysters are then placed into the floating bags to continue growing. I can't express enough how tedious this part of the process is.   It was while watching him sift through these tiny oysters that I truly appreciated the love and effort that goes into my beloved bivalves.

Checking the floating bags

Every couple of months he checks on the growing oysters, separates them again and moves them to new bags by size.

Full-grown oysters ready for market

Tick tock.  Tick Tock.

 Finally, 15-17 months later - after checking and rechecking the oysters, cleaning out debris, flipping the bags over and over to prevent barnacles - the oysters are finally ready for market.  The triploid Topsail Sound Salties - as Ronald has named them - have a brine around 35 ppm - yum!  

Topsail Sound Salties

Shucked and ready to eat

When he took me back to the dock, he popped open a Topsail Sound Salties.  Fresh out of the water and loaded with brine and seawater, the oyster exploded my senses.  These are not starter oysters.  They are large, briny, hit-you-over-the head oysters that taste like the ocean and could stand up to to a Zinfendel or oaky Chardonney. 

Interested in Topsail Sound Salties?  Contact Ronald at topsailsoundshellfish@gmail.com.  He sells out every time he harvests so you may have to get on his waiting list.  

Thanks Ronald for a wonderful day!