How To Prepare an Oyster

How To Cook a Maine Oyster  --  The Maine Way

Listen here, bub. If you’re lookin' to cook up a proper Maine lobster, clam, mussel or oyster feast, you can't just slap 'em on the stove and hope for the best. You gotta treat 'em with respect, or you’ll end up with somethin' that tastes like a wet work glove. Forget that flat, borin' talk—let’s get down to brass tacks, Maine style.

The Water: Don't Use That Desert Juice

·         First off, if you’re out in Arizona, keep that tap water away from my shellfish! That stuff is more alkaline than a car battery and full of chemicals that’ll ruin a perfectly good tail. Even that reverse osmosis gear won't save ya.

·         The Fix: Get yourself some bottled spring water. It’s got the minerals to make that meat sing.

The Main Event: Steamin' the Oysters  -- No Way!

·         Oysters are the easiest Maine shellfish to prepare. It is almost always eaten raw, in the shell, seldom if ever cooked.

·         Rinse them in fresh bottled mineral water and you are good to go.

§  Create your own sea water by using 4-8 tablespoons of raw sea salt (never table salt) into bottled mineral water. Bring to a boil. Cool water to room temperature and place oysters into pot or pan and place into the refrigerator overnight.

·         However, some people place them in clean sea water and let them sit overnight so they clean themselves. They can pump about 50 gallons of water a day.

The Hard Part  -- Opening The Raw Oyster

Maine oysters are easy to eat and taste wonderful when eaten raw. But they can be a challenge to open.

Step 1: Armor Up

Oyster shells are sharper than a winter wind off the Maine coast.

  • The Glove: Put a thick glove on the hand that’s gonna hold the oyster. If you don't have a glove, wrap that hand in a thick kitchen towel.
  • The Knife: You need a proper oyster knife—it's short and blunt, not sharp like a steak knife. A blunt silverware serving knife may be a good substitute.

Step 2: Find the "Hinge"

§  Lay the oyster flat on the table, belly-side down (the curved part). Look at the pointy end—that’s the hinge. That’s the door handle.

§  More experienced shuckers place the oyster against their belly and pry open. They make it look easy, but it’s not.

Step 3: The Pop

  1. Wiggle the tip of your knife right into that hinge. Don't push too hard; just a little pressure and a lot of wiggling.
  2. Once the knife feels "stuck" in there, give it a twist like you’re turnin' a key in a lock.
  3. POP! You’ll hear it. That’s the door openin' up.

Step 4: The Sweep

  1. Slide your knife along the inside of the top shell to cut the little muscle holdin' it shut. Toss that top shell over the rail.
  2. Now, slide the knife under the oyster meat to cut it free from the bottom shell. You want it floatin' loose in its own "liquor" (that’s the salty juice inside).

How to Eat It (The "Maine Way")

Now, don't go lookin' for crackers and hot sauce just yet. A true Mainer wants to taste the ocean first.

  1. Check the Juice: Make sure there’s plenty of clear juice in the shell. If it’s dry, it’s no good.
  2. The Slurp: Bring the shell to your lips, tilt it back, and let the oyster and the juice slide right in.
  3. The Chew: Don't just swallow it whole! Give it one or two good bites. That’s where the sweetness comes from.
  4. The Smile: It’ll taste salty, cold, and wicked fresh—just like jumpin' off a dock into the Atlantic.