Oyster Grinders

The super low winter tides have sucked all of the water out of Harris Creek – it’s one muddy mess. And freezing temps without water means death to any oysters beside our dock. Kevin pulled some survivors out yesterday.

These are aquaculture oysters, started in a lab at Horn Point – remember passing the little lunch box labeled “Jon” with a baggie of brown goo, that felt like some kind of drug deal? Here’s the photo of these oysters just two years ago, when they were tiny specks of larvae. 4 million tiny specks, to be exact.

Tossed into bubbling buckets with oh-so-many siblings, finding the right moment to “strike” upon pieces of pulverized shell, these oysters were started in captivity in Johnny Oyster Seed’s upwellers, on Broom Island, on the other side of the Bay.

Months later, they ended up in  Johnny’s “Revolutions” here on the Eastern Shore. And two years later, they ended up in my kitchen sink. Last evening, to be exact.

The big ones – and dang! These are big! – are best for chowders and such. Last evening we made some oyster grinders, like we used to eat at the Broadway Oyster Bar in South St. Louis. First, shuck ‘em, saving their milky liquid.

Chop them up, saute in butter with onions and a little something else – I used some yellow squash. Add some cayenne pepper and for Maryland’s sake, some Old Bay (salt). Slide the buttery goo onto some chunks of Lighty’s delicious bread from Hoboken, and pop in the oven at 400 for ten minutes till they bubble. That oyster milk and butter soak in and….yum.

O yea – good. Savory. Succulent. Satisfying. CRUNCH.

For more information on how to grow oysters, find the SEARCH box at the top right of this blog, and type in “Growing Oysters” – or – line down on the right side of the blog to the CATEGORY “growing oysters”. There are at least a dozen or so posts over the past two years about growing oysters. And if you want to try it, email me – we can get you started. Check out Johnny Oyster Seed’s website.

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~ by kbosin on January 20, 2012.