James River Oysters

Here is a nice list of oysters from the Chefs Resources Blog:

http://www.chefs-resources.com/seafood/oysters/atlantic-oysters/james-river-oysters/.

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!

Oysters Chesapeake

Here is an AWESOME recipe using both Chesapeake Bay oysters and Chesapeake Bay blue crabs. Cook on the bottom broiler rack, or breadcrumbs will burn before the oysters are properly cooked (I know from experience).


Ingredients

* 1 tablespoon minced chives
* 2 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise
* 2 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 2 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled (drained)
* 1 (6 1/2-ounce) can lump crabmeat, or fresh blue crabs shelled!
* 1 (1-ounce) slice white bread
* 1 teaspoon butter, melted
* 12 shucked oysters on the half shell
* Lemon wedges (optional - but I like them)
* Fresh minced chives (maybe)





Preparation

* Preheat broiler.
* Combine first 7 ingredients in a medium bowl; stir gently.
* Place bread in a food processor; process until coarse crumbs measure 1/2 cup. Combine breadcrumbs and butter in a small bowl.
* Arrange oysters on a broiler pan. Spoon about 1 tablespoon crab mixture over each oyster; sprinkle each with about 1 teaspoon breadcrumb mixture. Broil 7 minutes or until tops are browned and oysters are done. Serve with lemon wedges and garnish with chives, if desired.

Very nice. Mmmmmmmm...... I'll have another!

Oyster Shooters


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The Chesapeake Bay Oyster Lovers Paradise is HERE

Superbowl Oyster Po Boy Sliders

I will be making these for my Super bowl party. Scroll down to see how they REALLY looked !!



Recipe by Oysterman's wife:

Oyster Po’ Boys (aka Peacemakers) are sandwiches built around fresh fried oysters. These sliders are just the right size for serving on platters at your next big party.

Note: 64oz is a lot of oysters. We recommend using multiple pots/pans of oil in order to fry as many oysters at once as possible without overcrowding the oil. If using shallow pans, you’ll only need an inch to an inch and a half of oil in each pan.

Alternatively, you can simply fry the po’boys to order…but that can reduce your ability to mingle with your guests.

Ingredients:
1 64oz jar of fresh shucked oyster meat
9 cups yellow cornmeal
5 eggs
~ 5 tablespoons ground dried de arbol peppers (optional) (see Make your own Chili Powder)
12+ oz peanut oil
Kosher salt
Dill pickles
Mayonnaise (store bought or make your own mayonnaise)
8-12 tomatoes
2 bunches of fresh lettuce
Brioche, sourdough, or French bread rolls


Directions:

1. In a bowl, add the cornmeal and season with salt and the homemade chili powder. The amount of ground chili powder listed above will give your oysters a kick that is tempered by the mayonnaise. It can, of course, be toned down to your liking, omitted entirely, or cranked way up for some serious fire.

2. Wash your lettuce, tomatoes, and dill pickles allowing them to dry.

3. Heat the peanut oil in a high-sided pan or pot. You want to maintain an oil temperature that is as close to 375 as possible (a frying thermometer is a good way to be sure, but you can also periodically check with a normal probe thermometer in a pinch).

4. Beat the eggs in a small bowl with 3-4 tsp of water to loosen them up.

5. Drain and rinse the oyster meat

6. Dip each oyster in the egg mixture, then put it in the breading. Once you have 4-5 oysters in the bowl, shake it gently to coat them with the seasoned cornmeal.

7. Carefully lower each oyster into the hot oil. Use a spider or tongs for extra safety. Do not fry more than 4-5 oysters at a time, per pan, as you do not want to overload the oil and cause it to lose heat. If using a shallow pan, you may want to cover it with a splatter guard in case pockets of moisture in the oysters cause spitting.

8. Slice tomatoes and pickles and tear lettuce leaves. Keep an eye on the frying oysters and turn them half way through the cooking process (they should only take a couple of minutes to cook).

9. Once the oysters have firmed up and the breading has taken on a golden color, fish them out and put them on several layers of paper towels to drain. You can cover them with more paper towels to speed this process and help them stay warm.

10. Make sure the oil has returned to a temperature of 375 before frying another batch in that pan. Keep an eye on the quality of your oil. When it begins to get dirty you’ll need to replace it with fresh oil. Don’t throw the old oil out though. Simply set it aside to cool, then filter it, and you can reuse it a few more times (assuming you haven’t allowed it to smoke or get too dirty).

11. Slice and toast your rolls.

12. Spread each roll with mayonnaise and layer on lettuce, tomato slices, and pickles. Add the number of fried oysters that seems appropriate given the size of your rolls (we prefer small brioche rolls and about two oysters each).

13. Serve while hot!!!


Here is my humble try:



Very nice. Mmmmmmmm......


Christmas Oyster Recipies

Oyster Shooters


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Oyster Shooters

Oyster Shooters ... mmmmmmmmm

Look at this - How would you like to make a serving tray of these? Read on...


















Serving tray of Oyster Shooters:


12 oysters - in the shell - not the jar - gotta shuck 'em.

12 lime wedges.

4-6 teaspoons horseradish.

12 drops worcestershire sauce.

12 drops - Your preferred red-pepper sauce (Tobasco etc).

12 drops cocktail sauce (Heinz will do).

Small bag of cherry tomatoes.

Dried Parsley.

Black Pepper.

Large bottle Grey Goose Vodka - entire bottle - You may consume the unused portion (my favorite part - rrrrrrrrr ).


Shuck the oysters, cut, and pour premium vodka on the top of each exposed oyster.


Chill the tray of Oyster Shooters for at least 1 hour (chill for an hour before adding seasoning).


Squeeze mixture of combined ingredients above: Horseradish, Tobasco, worcesterhire, Cocktail sauce onto each half shelled oyster. Place a piece of tomato and pinch of parsley on top of the horseradish mixture.


Invite friends.


Mmmmmmmm.........


Nice - Enjoy responsibly.


Hello Readers - I would love to see some comments on my posts. If you find value in my posts, please leave a comment. Thank you :) this will enable me to keep posting the best secret oyster recipies for all of you to enjoy.


Christmas Oyster Recipies

Oyster Shooters


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Oyster Festival Recipies

Do you remember going to your last oyster festival?

Do you remember the sounds, the smells, the pleasant aroma of the roasting oysters!

mmmmmmmmm...

Now - how do they do it???

I am not a vendor, salesperson or representative of any organization with interest in ANY oyster festival.

What I do know - is how to serve the best grilled oysters:


Start with oysters harvested from the Chesapeake Bay.-

Next - shuck 2 dozen oysters and put aside for grilling for this evening.


Baste the oysters during grilling with this combination:


* 10 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
* 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
* 2 tablespoons minced parsley leaves
* 1 tablespoon lemon juice
* 2 teaspoons minced garlic
* 1 teaspoon minced fresh chives
* 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce, optional
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 24 shucked oysters, half of each shell reserved and washed


Directions


In a bowl combine all ingredients except the oysters and mix thoroughly to combine.

Transfer butter mixture to a piece of plastic wrap and roll up to form a tight log and freeze until firm.

Preheat a grill to high.

Place the washed oyster shells on a baking sheet and top each shell with 1 oyster.

Remove the butter from the freezer and unwrap.

Slice the butter into 24 rounds and place 1 round on top of each oyster.

Place the oysters on the preheated grill and cook until the oysters are just cooked through, curled around the edges and the butter is melted and bubbly, 4 to 6 minutes.

Serve immediately.


mmmmmm - Hello Readers - I really need to see some comments on my posts. If you find value in my posts, please leave a comment. Thank you :) this will enable me to keep posting the best secret oyster recipies for all of you to enjoy.


Christmas Oyster Recipies

Oyster Shooters


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Christmas Oyster Stuffing Recipie

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This oyster stuffing recipe, also called a dressing, is a traditional holiday side dish at the Oysterman homefront.


Oyster dressings, stuffings and sauces have been a part of Chesapeake Bay cuisine since the first colonists walked the shores, due to the abundance of American oysters (Crassostrea virginica) found in the bays and estuaries off the coastlines of Virginia and Maryland.

By the 17th century, directions for stuffing fowl with oysters appeared in cookery books across Europe, including the 1683 Dutch book The Sensible Cook. While the oyster enjoyed elite status in many parts of Europe, the cultivation of oysters in Virginia led to its every-day appearance on the table of the common colonist so that by the 18th century, the "urban poor were sustained by little more than bread and oysters" making the mollusk a particularly useful and "economical ingredient for stuffing fowl" according to John F. Mariani in the Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink.


Ingredients:

* 2 oz unsalted butter
* 6 generous cups bread cubes, preferably French or Italian, crusts removed
* 1 large onion, diced
* 4 oz fresh or jarred oysters
* 1/2 cup chicken or turkey stock
* 1/2 cup dry white wine
* 1 bay leaf
* 1 Tbsp chervil (or parsley) dried
* 1 tsp celery salt
* 1 egg, beaten


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spread bread cubes on a flat baking sheet and toast for five minutes on each side.

2. Meanwhile, drain (if jarred), rinse and pay dry oysters, then chop into ½” pieces.

3. In a large skillet, melt butter on medium heat. Add in diced onion and sauté until translucent.

4. Add white wine, chicken stock and bay leaf to onions and continue to simmer for 10 minutes until broth has started reducing. Add chopped raw oysters to skillet during the last five minutes, stirring once to ensure even cooking.

5. Remove bay leaf from skillet. In large bowl, combine oyster broth mix to toasted bread crumbs. Stir in chervil, celery salt and black pepper. Add in beaten egg and still well until thoroughly coated.

6. Pour into a 9x9” baking dish, cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake an additional 10-15 minutes until top begins to brown and crisp. Yum!


Happy Holidays!!!

Oysterman


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Oyster Shooters


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