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How to cook an oyster

Q. What equipment do you need to cook an oyster?  I caught one on my fishing pole. Hope you write back!
— Hungry Tyler, Mansfield, Conn.

A. Hey Tyler, congratulations on landing an oyster with your fishing pole! That’s actually kind of a trick to do. Usually most people harvest oysters by hand, walking at low tide to shallow spots where they can simply pick them up. Once you’ve gathered enough oysters for a meal, or in your case: a single oyster, it’s time to eat.

There are many ways to cook oysters, but below are the easiest methods. Be sure to first clean the oyster’s shell with fresh water and a hard brush (no soap though!). Whichever way you cook oysters, you’ll know they’re done when they start to open their shells. Then, let them cool and use a knife to carefully pry the shell open all the way and scoop out the oyster. You can dip it in butter sauce, cocktail sauce or just pop it in your mouth plain. Enjoy!

• Steaming: Pour a couple inches of water in the bottom of a pot (or steamer with a basket). Toss in the oyster(s) and cover. Cook on the stovetop for 10-20 minutes or until the shells open slightly.

• Baking: Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Put oyster shells on a cookie sheet and cook for 15 to 30 minutes or until the shells crack open.

• Grilling: Just toss them straight onto you barbecue grill on medium high heat, until the shells open.

• Raw: Some people eat them raw, but oysters sometimes carry bacteria that can make you sick. Cooking it will kill that bad stuff, so that’s a good idea.


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10 Comments on How to cook an oyster

  1. How do you cook oysters with stuffing

  2. Remember to always throw your used oyster shells back where they were harvested. They will reattach and over time grow new oysters. This will insure the long lasting harvesting of oysters from your beds. This is newly discovered over the last 20 years. Oyster shells were used for years to landscape flower beds in most costal communities. Die to the resent discovery oyster shells will reattach and repuduce after being harvested This is now ileagle think goodness.

  3. i catch them some times when im on vacation and open them with small rocks then eat the meat raw

  4. What does oyster meat taste like?

  5. These are all good ways of cooking oysters. Sometimes, I catch them with my fishing pole, and with a net, but I don’t like to eat them, so I release them.

  6. Coock oysters in boiling water on stove or over camp fire. Then
    pry them open and, enjoy!

  7. How do I open an oyster? How do you find them?

    • You find them at the bottom of the ocean in shallow and deep water. The best time to find them is at low tide.You open them with your hand and a knife. If you read the thing above with the picture of the oysters,you’ll find more information.

  8. A screwdriver to open it. You can eat them raw in the months with R. like september, october and march.

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