24 replies to this topic

[hollywood]

FIFTY WAYS TO EAT YOUR OYSTERS

(Carl Winter / From Paul Simon, Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover)

The problem is all inside the shell, says CDC
This Vibrio vulnificus can cause mortality
I'd like to help you eat your seafood safely
There must be fifty ways to eat your oysters

Now if you're healthy you can still enjoy them raw
Just serve 'em on the half shell, you're not breaking any law
But if the raw ones make you nervous here's some advice you can recall
There must be fifty ways to eat your oysters
Fifty ways to eat your oysters

Just heat 'em on the grill, Phil
Fry 'em in a pan, Stan
No need to avoid, Floyd
Just listen to me
Steam 'em in a pot, Scott
You don't need to prepare much
Just broil 'em for three, Lee
And eat them safely.

Heat 'em on the grill, Phil
Fry 'em in a pan, Stan
No need to avoid, Floyd
Just listen to me
Steam 'em in a pot, Scott
You don't need to prepare much
Just broil 'em for three, Lee
And eat them safely.

Knowing if you're at risk is certainly the key
Avoid raw oysters if you've got immune deficiency
Or liver problems, diabetes, some other chronic malady
There still are fifty ways to eat your oysters

Another option is to buy them pressurized
Or find some oysters that have been flash pasteurized
Many treatments can be used to cause bacterial demise
Some of the fifty ways to eat your oysters
Fifty ways to eat your oysters

Just heat 'em on the grill, Phil
Fry 'em in a pan, Stan
No need to avoid, Floyd
Just listen to me
Steam 'em in a pot, Scott
You don't need to prepare much
Just broil 'em for three, Lee
And eat them safely.

Heat 'em on the grill, Phil
Fry 'em in a pan, Stan
No need to avoid, Floyd
Just listen to me
Steam 'em in a pot, Scott
You don't need to prepare much
Just broil 'em for three, Lee
And eat them safely.

[omnivorette]

I had a dozen oysters today at Aquagrill, including two Westcott Bay oysters - one belon, and one just called Westcott Bay. Liked 'em both a lot. Lots of flavor, especially the belon.

[hollywood]

Hope they were raw.

[omnivorette]

Damn, I knew there was something I forgot to mention to my server.

[hollywood]

Are you ready for sea urchin?

[Rail Paul]

For starters, East Coast oysters (Crassostrea virginica) are all the same species, despite the litany of names. They get their particular flavors from the ever-changing waters they live in - the same water for oysters in natural beds as in hanging bags. Restaurants like Blue Fin, which can open hundreds a day, even hold daily staff tastings to best define those flavors - which for most East Coasters is some variation of crisp, plump, fresh and briny.


Ersters

[Rose]

Last night I had some excellent East Coast oysters. Pemaquids from Maine. Big, meaty, flavorful and briny. Hmmmm.

[Rail Paul]

The NY Times has an article today about the conflict between traditional oystermen and farmers who try to cultivate beds of oysters. It looks like both face an uncertain future, according to this article. NJ has reduced the allowable harvest by 2/3 since 2004, as the supply of oysters dries up.

This Article

Overfishing and pollution, as well as the red tides, have dramatically reduced the natural harvests. The failure rates for farmers are in the 85% to 90% range

[winesonoma]

It seems to be thriving here in Tomales Bay, north of San Francisco.

[Rail Paul]

Bruce - one of the big issues in NJ is the heavy use of chemical fertilizers by farmers in the areas which drain to Delaware Bay. Efforts to introduce less intensive treatments haven't been successful. Do the areas around Tomales Bay use high levels of chemical fertilizers? I thought I read somewhere that many growers in northern CA coastal regions now use low intensity fertilizers.

[winesonoma]

The big thing around here was to get the Dairy farmers to control the runoff into the creeks. That was done and the Bay is considerably cleaner now. Doesn't hurt that it's all part of the Pt Reyes National Seashore now. http://www.nps.gov/pore/home.htm Also http://www.tomalesbay.net/index.html and one more http://www.hogislandoysters.com/v2/

[9lives]

We had some real tasty oysters recently from Drakes Bay..just south of Tomales...right at the "farm." Nice stop if you're in the area.

[g.johnson]

The NY Times has an article today about the conflict between traditional oystermen and farmers who try to cultivate beds of oysters.

I don't know how industrialized it is, but you see artificial oyster beds in Brittany.

[johnnyd]

I saw a piece on the Brittany Oyster farms. Something to do with submrged trestles that keep sprat from getting done in by predators.

Maine oyster farming is a good biz. The conditions, like salinity and tidal flow are optimum. The results are spectacular. I ran an oyster bar off a lobsterboat serving farmed damirriscotta oysters. Very good!

[DRColby]

One thing the comerical oyster farmers here in the PNW to avoid being shutdowm by red tide is move oysters around. Our oysters may start their life in one place but make two or three moves before they are sold.
The state requres tags on all comeercial oysters showing where they have been.

davew