Ode to Oysters (or, Happy National Oyster Day!)

Oysters – my all-time favorite seafood, and often my favorite food, period. I can be sitting in an oyster bar, miles from the ocean, and when I eat one I can practically feel sand between my toes and smell the salt in the air. I would eat oysters every day of the week if I could. But I understand that they’re not everyone’s cup of tea. A quick poll among my colleagues revealed that people seem to fall into two camps – rabid oyster lovers, or those that think they taste like salty sea snot (I’m looking at you, George Leonard). But love them or hate them, oysters are a major part of the ocean and coasts we know and love, and National Oyster Day is the perfect time to learn a little more about these animals:

1. They’re some of the hardest working animals in the ocean. An adult oyster is capable of filtering 25-50 gallons of water a day! Check out this time lapse from Florida Oceanographic Institute of a tank of oysters cleaning water. The entire Chesapeake Bay could be filtered in just five days before oysters were reduced to just 1% of their historic population. Speaking of the Chesapeake, it’s an Algonquin Native American word that means “Great Shellfish Bay.”
2. They don’t just filter water– oyster reefs shelter fish and crabs, and with filtered water comes more seagrass, which is a feeding and breeding ground for other species that we love to eat – like rockfish and blue crabs.
3. Oysters take on the flavor of the water where they’re grown. One of my favorite oyster businesses on the East Coast, Rappahannock River Company, has a fantastic little restaurant in Topping, Virginia, called Merrior. Owner Travis Croxton put a twist on the term ‘terrior,’ used to describe the environment in which a particular wine is produced, to describe the marine environment where their oysters are grown. East Coast oysters tend to be saltier and brinier while West Coast oysters tend to be a little sweeter.
4. Oysters and oyster growers are vulnerable to ocean acidification. As carbon emissions are absorbed by the ocean, the sea water becomes more acidic, and oysters have trouble building their shells. In 2006 to 2008, some oyster growers in the Pacific Northwest nearly declared bankruptcy because they lost more than 80% of the baby oysters (or oyster larvae). The good news is that states like Washington, Oregon, California, Maine, and Maryland – where coastal communities depend on a healthy ocean to grow and harvest oysters, clams, mussels, lobsters – are taking action to tackle acidification. These actions include funding for research on commercially important species – like salmon or lobster – that may be impacted by acidification, and exploring ways to reduce pollution from land (like stormwater runoff and other types of coastal pollution) that makes acidification worse. And just last week Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) introduced a bill that would improve the monitoring of ocean acidification and direct federal agencies to examine how coastal communities would be impacted.
5. The recently released Clean Power Plan is good for the ocean, and therefore oysters. While states across the country are doing what they can to address ocean acidification, to truly solve this problem we need to reduce the amount of carbon pollution being absorbed by the ocean. The Clean Power Plan announced earlier this week aims to reduce emissions from power plants – the biggest sources of carbon pollution – by 32 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. As an oyster lover I’m thrilled that we are now facing a future of cleaner air and cleaner water.

Now if you’ll excuse me, all this talk of oysters is making me very hungry. Guess what I’ll be having for lunch today? And if you’re eating oysters today, don’t forget to take a #shellfie and tag Ocean Conservancy on Instagram or twitter – we’ll share it. Happy National Oyster Day!

Famous Christmas Oyster Stew

By: Cremon (from Recipie Zaar)

Oysterman says: "I made this stew and it was incredible. It is a nice twist on an old recipie. Try it this year"!



Cremon: For years, its been a tradition in my family to eat oyster stew at the start of dinner Christmas night (not Christmas eve). The celery salt and paprika give the stew that red and green Christmas color too. Oyster stew always makes me think of Christmas no matter where or when I eat it. We always had 10 or more people at the table and there were never leftovers of this stew. I still love this recipe and it is my favorite - I've never had anything close, even at fine restaurants.

SERVES 10 -12 (change servings and units)
Change to: Servings US Metric

Ingredients:

2 cups butter, separated
1 1/2 cups finely minced celery
5 tablespoons finely minced shallots
1 gallon half-and-half
2 (32 ounce) containers fresh shucked oysters, undrained
salt & fresh ground pepper (at least 2 round tablespoons)
6 dashes Tabasco sauce
celery salt
10-12 pinches paprika, 1 pinch per bowl

Directions:

Melt 2 sticks of butter in a large skillet over medium heat, add the celery and shallots and saute until the shallots are translucent.

Pour half-and-half into a large pot over medium-high heat.

Mix in 2 sticks of butter, celery, and shallot mixture.

Stir continuously.

When the mixture is almost boiling, pour the oysters and their liquid into the pot.

Season with salt, pepper and Tabasco sauce.

Stir continuously until the oysters curl at the ends. When the oysters curl the stew is finished cooking; turn off the heat and serve.

Add celery salt and paprika to each bowl along with a 1 1/2 - 2 tablespoon square of butter from the remaining sticks.

Happy Holidays!

BACK TO OYSTER RECIPIES HOMEPAGE:

WATERMAN'S SEAFOOD CHOWDER

This is a fantastic recipie from Cantler's waterfront restaurant and crab house. I recommend DOUBLING the amount of oysters used. If you are ever in Anapolis, stop by Cantler's. (unsolicited plug - send me a t-shirt).




1 pound Maryland rockfish fillets, cut into cubes
1 pound Maryland crabmeat, fresh or pasteurized
1 pint Maryland oysters, standards
slices bacon
1 cup onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 clove garlic
1 10 oz can Irish potatoes
1 8 oz jar clam juice
1 cup white wine
1 quart water
1 can 14oz chicken broth
2 tablespoons parsley
1 10 oz can tomatoes
1 tablespoon seafood seasoning
1 lb bag frozen corn
1 lb bag frozen carrots
salt and pepper, to taste

In large pot, cook bacon until crisp, set aside, drain grease. In same pot, sauté onion, celery, and garlic until soft. Do not brown. Add remaining ingredients. Cook until vegetables are tender, add seafood. Simmer and serve.

BACK TO OYSTER RECIPIES HOMEPAGE:

Famous Oyster Bisque

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup rice, uncooked
4 cups bottled clam juice
1/4 cup butter
2 dozen oysters
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
2 cups whipping or heavy cream
3 tablespoons brandy or Cognac
salt and freshly ground black pepper
chopped fresh parsley

PREPARATION:
Put rice and clam juice in a saucepan. Cover and cook until rice is tender. Add butter. Blend the mixture until smooth or force through a sieve.
Finely chop about 16 of the oysters and add to the rice mixture with their liquid. Add Tabasco sauce. Add the cream and heat just to the boiling point. Add remaining whole oysters and heat until the edges curl. Add brandy or Cognac and heat 1 minute longer. Add salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into serving dishes, placing 1 or 2 whole oysters in each bowl or cup. Garnish with chopped celery.
Serves 6 to 8, depending on size of servings.
.
Enjoy!

CREOLE OYSTER SOUP

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter
1/2 small onion
1 rib celery
3 cloves garlic
3/4 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon ground thyme
2 dozen fresh shucked oysters
1 pint oyster liquor
1 cup canned chicken broth
1 quart Half-N-Half
6-8 pats of butter
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 cup fresh parsley
2 cups oyster crackers

In a 12-inch skillet, melt down the butter over medium-high heat and sauté onion, celery and garlic until the pureed mixture is smooth (which should take about five minutes). Then, whisk in the seafood seasoning, white pepper, paprika and thyme, taking care to make certain it all thoroughly combines in the butter base. Add the oysters, the oyster liquor, and the chicken broth and swoosh everything around a couple of times. Then, when the oyster edges curl, reduce the fire to low and continue to simmer the contents of the skillet for about four minutes more. Meanwhile, pour the Half-N-Half cream into the top of a large double boiler. Then, place it over simmering water and cook until the cream becomes very hot. (This step prevents curdling.) Next, stir into the cream all the oysters and oyster liquids and continue to heat the soup in the double boiler for another 15 minutes. When you're ready to eat, ladle the chopped oysters and the creamed soup into large bowls. Then top each bowl with a pat of butter and a dash of paprika. When the butter melts, garnish the soup with a sprinkling of minced parsley and a handful of oyster crackers and serve piping hot.

Yum Yum Yum

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