Passport & Plate - Raw Oyster (with lemon)
USA | Friday, March 6, 2015 | 5 photos
Ingredients
1-3 each live oysters (closed tight), of freshest and best quality (stored in ice for at least 1 hour)
1 each lemon wedge, organic and of best quality, seeds removed (optional)
How to prepare this recipe1. Remove the oyster from the ice and inspect it for any damage, dirt, or sand. Rinse off under cold water to clean the oyster.
2. Using a kitchen towel, place the oyster between the towel with the flat side up and the hinge facing out of the towel. Wrap the towel over your hand holding the oyster to protect it (your hand, not the oyster).
3. Using your preferred shucking knife (I prefer the New Haven style) place the tip of the knife at about a 45 degree angle into the oyster's hinge and slowly and gently wiggle the tip into the hinge without applying a lot of pressure (this motion is similar to sharpening a pencil).
4. Once the tip of the oyster knife is in the hinge of the oyster about 2-3 centimeters, turn the knife handle about 45 degrees until the oyster 'pops' open at the hinge. Hold the oyster level to reserve as much liquid in the bottom shell. Remove the knife and wipe clean on the towel.
5. With your other hand, pry the oyster apart slightly and place the knife to the back right of the oyster meat and scrape along the top shell, cutting free the oyster's top adductor muscle. Be careful not to tear or puncture the oyster meat. The top shell will fall away.
6. Inspect the oyster for any shell fragments, dirt or sand particles and wipe them away with your finger or the tip of the oyster knife. *If the oyster looks dry, is overly dirty, smells fishy or anything else but a fresh ocean, get rid of it and start with a new oyster, clean hands, a clean knife and a clean towel.
7. Turn the oyster 180 degrees and hold the knife against the bottom of the shell and cut away from yourself in one swoop to cut free the oyster's bottom adductor muscle. Again, be careful not to puncture the oyster meat.
8. Place oyster on a bed of crushed ice so it is level (to retain as much of the oyster's liquid) and squeeze just a few drops of lemon juice on top. (lemon juice is optional)
9. Eat or serve immediately.
The story behind this recipeI know what you may be thinking- There is no cooking involved in this recipe. Well, you may be right but to me eating a raw oyster and appreciating what it took to grow and get to the plate is a story worth recalling every time you indulge in an oyster (or dozen).
"Mother Nature is the true artist",the great British chef, Marco Pierre White, contested. I am a firm believer that no dish is better than its ingredients. With oysters, it is truly about the taste of a place, or 'terroir'. The body of water in a specific location with its variables of temperature, salinity, and minerals all contribute to the oyster's taste or 'recipe'.
What surprises most is that oysters are a native American food. There were billions of oysters in American waters which were said to be the best in the world. Today, there are many oyster 'middens' (heaps) being discovered in New York dating back thousands of years.
Industry in the 20th century polluted the bays and rivers around the cities and lead to contaminated waterways and the near extinction of the oysters. However, during the 1970's scientists and biologists discovered ways to farm oysters which lead to a viable and sustainable source of oysters yet again. Today while wild oysters are spotty and rare, there are over 300 different oyster farming operations around the country.
Oysters are considered to be a perfect food. They are high in protein, copper, zinc and omega-3 fatty acids that are vital to us as well as the water in which they grow in. One oyster is said to filter about 50 gallons of water in one day!
Since oysters are alive about 10 seconds before they are opened, they are perhaps the freshest food one can eat. If you have never tried a raw oyster, what are you waiting for?
Perhaps the best part of this recipe is that the taste and flavor is just as it was many years ago. As you glance down upon a pristine oyster and eat it, you are sharing a culinary and historic moment with even your most distant ancestors.
