Oysters. Oysterssssss. OYSTERS!!! Yes, they are an obsession of mine. I don’t really post about them much, because whenever I buy some I tend to shuck them and slurp them at breakneck speed, too busy cramming my craw with briny goodness to think about developing a recipe or taking a photo. (Not to worry, farmed oysters are highly sustainable, so I can eat all I want!)
Evidence of my oyster fanaticism?
At the first Foodbuzz Festival, dinner one night featured a raw oyster bar. There were several other food trucks to sample wares from, but I spent most of my time wedged in with all the Asian food bloggers gorging ourselves on raw oysters. Yes, fifteen years in Hawaii definitely rubbed off on me!
At BlogHer Food ’12, I was secretly pregnant. Secretly meaning we hadn’t told anyone yet, and were going to tell our families the day after the conference ended, so we were trying to make sure we didn’t end up spilling the beans and getting it all over social media. But a friend figured it out the first night, because she knew something was wrong when I turned down the raw oysters.
That’s right, for some secretly pregnant mamas it’s abstaining from alcohol that gives them away. For me, it was oysters.
Knowing that it just wasn’t fair to keep this oyster goodness to myself, I decided that I would use our next beach trip as the perfect opportunity to film a quick oyster related video. Since they were only $6 a dozen, I got 24 and split the first dozen with Eric to satiate our wild craving before filming the video.
We offered to share with the rest of the Johnson clan, but they all passed. So yes, we ate all 24. At the end I was in one of those, “Mmmm, oyster good, tummy yay,” food comas. (BTW, here’s the grill the vacation home had. I loved it and can’t believe it’s under $200. It’s SO on my wishlist now!)
So, here’s the video. If you enjoy it and would like to see more, I’d love it if you could let us know by liking it on Youtube and subscribing to our channel. We are thinking about doing a lot more videos, but they’re quite a bit of work so it helps to know they’re appreciated!
Are you craving oysters now? If you’re nowhere near a coast, I apologize. You can try smoked oysters though, I make a mean smoked oyster appetizer.
How to Grill Oysters
Ingredients
- 1 dozen raw oysters
Instructions
- Heat a gas grill on medium (you can use a charcoal grill but the temperature varies so you’ll need to check the oysters regularly to make sure you remove them once they pop open).
- Place the oysters directly on the grill.
- Cook for 6-8 minutes, until the shells have popped slightly apart.
- Carefully use tongs or a thick oven mit to remove the oysters, trying not to spill the juice.
- Pull the shells apart, use oven mits or towels if it’s too hot to handle.
- Use a knife (table knife works fine) to carefully separate the oyster from the top shell. Place the oyster in the bottom shell with all that lovely briny nectar.
- Season as desired. I like a little lemon juice and hot sauce, or a quick tomato salsa. In the video I used a homemade garlic and herb seasoning mix.
- Slurp directly from the shells, or if that’s too messy for you, eat the oyster with your fingers. No forks here people!
Notes
Approximate cost/serving: This all depends on your access to oysters. While they’re as much as $20/dozen at Pike’s Place Market, a lot of other fish markets have them as low as $6/dozen. Yep, ours were 50 cents a piece. As our Chinese students loved to exclaim about prices in America…SO CHEAP!!!
Gluten Free:Â Totally gluten free.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 41Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 25mgSodium: 53mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 5g
Nutrition information is an estimate only.
Makes me wish I liked oysters 🙂
Are you sure the ones you’ve tried have actually been good? I know the texture can be hard for some people.
Great, fun to watch- made me hungry for some…
ERMAHGERD! That video is so cute and I feel like I could totally do it! I should have taken you up on your offer at the beach house 😉