FROM THE SEA

Photograph: courtesy of Blue Point Grill

CONSIDERING
THE
OYSTER

BY DIANA CERCONE

In Consider the Oyster, M.F.K. Fisher classifies oyster eaters into three groups: those who eat oysters both raw and cooked, those who only eat them raw, and those who only eat them cooked. There’s no mention of people who don’t eat oysters at all—apparently Fisher couldn’t conceive of anyone who didn’t share her gastronomical pleasure in them. As far as the three oyster-eating groups compare, Fisher holds that “the first group may perhaps have the most fun.”

Jack Morrison couldn’t agree more. Morrison’s the owner of Nassau Street Seafood & Produce Company and the restaurants Blue Point Grill and Witherspoon Grill in Princeton, as well as the founder of the Princeton Farmers’ Market. On a recent afternoon I caught up with him at the Blue Point Grill to talk about all things oyster.

Joining us at the table was Colin Rooney, Nassau Street Seafood’s general manager. As I expected, each of these men recalls his first taste of an oyster and how it triggered his love and study of oysters. Between the two of them, they have 60 years experience tasting, testing and buying for the market (Nassau supplies all the oysters served at Blue Point Grill and Witherspoon Grill). This means getting to know the many oystermen and other purveyors they buy from—even making visits to oyster farms.

“Around here,” says Morrison with a smile, “we’re considered oyster snobs.” But, he adds, “When I first opened Nassau Street Seafood in 1982 we learned from our customers. They know oysters and we listened. We’re very fortunate. We have a great clientele that’s knowledgeable about oysters.”

If you think all oysters are shucked from the same shell, well, then, you haven’t really tasted an oyster, says Morrison. Like fine wine, oysters taste of their terroir. “Water temperature, the salinity of the water and what the oyster feeds on affects its taste and texture,” Morrison explains. And like wine, an oyster can taste flinty, sweet or fruity; have metallic overtones, notes of minerals or hints of cucumber; be rich and buttery, briny or creamy; and have a bright crisp finish. For example, an East Point oyster from the Delaware Bay, Morrison says, is “juicy, meaty and not real salty—even a non–oyster eater will love them. It makes a great beginner oyster. They’re also versatile. Great in oysters Rockefeller, roasted, fried, in stews or eaten raw. You can do a lot with them.”

Though I doubt he’s met an oyster he doesn’t like,Morrison admits preferring those that are “crunchy and salty—like a Pemaquid [one of the larger oysters with a briny and lemony taste] and all the others from Maine.” Then there are those from Long Island, he says—and Blue Points from Connecticut, Blackberry Points from Prince Edward Island and Wellfleets from Cape Cod. And we haven’t even hit his favorites from the West Coast or Down Under.

Rooney adds that he’s also fond of Moonstones from Rhode Island. “They’re mild, have a little saltiness to them, but they’re not as briny as a Malpeque [from Prince Edward Island].” Tatamagouche oysters from Nova Scotia also make his list. “They’re like an artichoke. Everything you eat tastes sweet after.” (You see what I mean about oyster lovers.)

Oysters can range from thumbnail size, like some Olympias, to saucer size, like some Blue Points. And there’s a wide range to choose from not only in size, taste and texture, but in species. According to food writer and cookbook author Mark Bittman, there are four species: Eastern, Pacific, European and the Olympia. “Almost every oyster grown from the Canadian Maritimes to the Mexican border, from North Atlantic to the Gulf, is an Eastern oyster; any other names given them, and there are dozens—Wellfleet, Blue Point, Apalachicola, whatever—is based on their geographic origin.” Same with West Coast or Pacific oysters, says Bittman in Fish: The Complete Guide to Buying and Cooking, except for the Olympia. The only oyster native to the West Coast, the Olympia is diminutive in size and similar to the European flat, which he says, is often called a Belon.

Shuck and Dive

“There’s nothing like eating oysters just popped open,” says Morrison. And nothing ensures being invited back as a guest than showing up with a bucket of fresh oysters and knowing how to shuck.

Which brings me to my next question: Is shucking oysters difficult?

Not very, they say. It just takes time, concentration and plenty of practice. All you need is a flat, hard surface, a good oyster knife and some towels. Although there’s no right or wrong way of opening oysters, Morrison and Rooney favor the hinge method (see page 44), which entails slipping the knife under the hinge side of the oyster to pop the top half open. “Of course, if you’re not sure you’re ready to shuck,” says Rooney, “we’ll open them for you at the market.” Many seafood shops, like Nassau Street Seafood, don’t charge a shucking fee, but it’s always best to ask.

When buying oysters, he says, trust is as important as taste. “You have to buy oysters from a reputable seafood market,” he says, “just like we need to buy from reputable sources. And we have good people we buy from.” Rooney advises storing unopened oysters in an open container in the coldest part of your refrigerator. Place a wet paper towel over them. “You don’t want to suffocate them because they need to breathe.” For shucked oysters in their juice (or “liquor”), the advice is to keep them in an enclosed container, also in the coldest part of fridge. Shucked oysters are great to have on hand for frying or to use in oyster stew and stuffing, says Morrison. If properly stored, both the oysters in their shells and shucked oysters should keep seven to ten days. Rooney recommends bringing a cooler when you shop, or asking your fish market for a bag of ice to place on top of the oysters for your trip home.

Then there’s the art of eating oysters. Should you slurp or chew? “I like the texture of the oyster, so I bite,” says Morrison, “but I started as a slurper.” Laughing, Rooney says, “I slurp them down. You can call me a slurper; I can handle it.” For the very large oysters, they agree, chewing is a must.

Over at the Milford Oyster House in Milford, chef and co-owner Ed Coss shares Morrison’s predilection. “Biting into the oyster releases the flavor inside,” he says. “That’s when you taste all the nuances of the water where the oyster was raised. The colder the water, the brighter the briny taste is and you get a real salt pop.” Coss, who admits that he would rather eat steak, nevertheless waxes eloquent on the bivalve. “I can tell you what each oyster on our oyster menu will taste like. And if you put ten oysters in front of me and I pop them open, I can tell you which one will taste the best by the color of the meat, the way the meat lays in its shell and the amount of the liquor it has.

“All oyster meat is gray,” he explains, “but it should be a bright, shiny gray. ... It should look like fresh metal as opposed to a dirtysock gray. The meat should have a thin dark edge, almost black, with the meat laying almost to the end of the shell. And there should be a good amount of juice still in the shell’s cup.”

Like Morrison, Coss is a big supporter of everything local and often has Delaware Bay oysters, including CapeMay Salts, on his menu. The Cape May Salts, he says, tend to be a smaller Delaware Bay oyster and have a deeper cup to the shell, so they hold more of the liquor when opened. “The Rutgers aquaculture programhas done a phenomenal job in restoring the bay and making it a great shellfish source again,” Coss says. He also credits JimWeaver, chef and owner of Tre Piani restaurant in Princeton, for championing Delaware Bay oysters, especially the Cape May Salts (see story, page 28).

Saving An Endangered Bivalve

When I talk withWeaver later, he says, “You’ll find no better Eastern [oyster] than the Delaware Bay oysters, especially the Cape May Salt. It has a world-class elegance and is consistently a great-tasting oyster. Call me biased, but I think the East Coast oysters are the best, and I’ve eaten oysters from all over the world—and I think it’s cool to have them right here in New Jersey.”

As head of Slow Food Central New Jersey,Weaver was instrumental in the Cape May Salt oyster becoming the first Slow Food USA Ark Project, a program whereby the international organization recognizes, celebrates and promotes a specific food item or artisan. In 2002, Weaver, along with representatives from Atlantic Capes Fisheries, Rutgers aquaculture project and Slow Food, helped the Cape May Salt gain Presidium status, which is reserved for an heirloom, endangered or lost food item. The oysters in the Delaware Bay more than qualified.

Weaver worked with Dan Cohen and James Tweed of Atlantic Capes Fisheries in Cape May to repopulate the Delaware Bay oyster beds. Cohen and Tweed used selectively bred and disease-resistant East Coast seed from the Haskin Shellfish Research Lab at Rutgers. Together, they saw the Cape May Salts thrive to become one of the area’s more popular oysters.

According to Gregory A. DeBrosse, director of Rutgers Cape Shore Laboratory in Green Creek and manager of New Jersey Aquaculture Innovation Center in North Cape May, New Jersey’s oyster farming in the Delaware Bay dates back to the 1830s and continued until 1957, “when a disease labeled MSX appeared in the bay.” In two years’ time, he says, about 90 to 95 percent of all the oysters on New Jersey oyster grounds and 50 percent of those on the seed beds were wiped out In 1997, oyster farming took another devastating hit from a second disease, named Dermo, “causing up to 90 percent mortality in native or ‘wild’ oyster stocks.” In response, the late Dr. Harold Haskin of Rutgers University launched an oyster-breeding program in the early ’60s. Since then DeBrosse and his associates have continued Haskin’s work in cultivating disease-resistant Eastern oyster seed in the Delaware Bay.

Today, says DeBrosse, there are 11 different Jersey oyster farmers, including Atlantic Capes Fisheries, growing oysters from Rutgers’ disease-resistant seed and the outlook for oyster farming in New Jersey is excellent. More are signing on, including some from Maine, Delaware, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Virginia and North Carolina.

A Serving of Salts

I ask DeBrosse about the “R rule”: never eat oysters in months without an R in their name. The rule dates back to the days before refrigeration, he says, when it was difficult to store or ship oysters in the summer. The rule also refers to the fact that the summer months are traditional spawning months for some oysters, leaving them on the thin side, although still perfectly good to eat. But with refrigeration and the variety of oysters available today—and with Rutgers aquaculture oysters—the R rule is no longer a concern.

Though oysters have been touted as the Viagra of their day since Roman times, their aphrodisiac quality is mainly myth. The good news, however, is that oysters are good for you. A near-perfect protein, low in calories and high in nutrients, including omega-3 and zinc (an essential element in producing testosterone), oysters can boost your energy level. Who knew that Casanova, who was said to eat 50 oysters a day, was just being health conscious?

One of the draws of raw oysters, besides their luscious taste and health benefits, is the fact that they need little dressing or prep work to be enjoyed. Just a squeeze of fresh lemon or a dab of cocktail sauce is all you need. “Who doesn’t love ketchup and horseradish?” says Coss. “Although the cocktail sauce can be a little overbearing, especially with a small, delicate oyster.” A better choice, he says is the classic mignonette sauce. “The combination of red wine vinegar, black pepper and minced shallots balances the salt of the oyster. Makes it a more complementary sauce.”

When choosing a wine to pair with oysters,Morrison suggests dry whites, especially French Chablis, Pouilly-Fuissé and Champagne. “Sauvignon Blanc andMuscadet tend to have a touch more fruit and work well withWest Coast oysters ... because these oysters tend to be a bit meatier, creamy and sweeter.” Similarly, he says, a Muscadet or Sancerre will work well with the European flat, as these oysters have a flintiness to them. “The thinking behind the pairing is to pick up on the flavor nuances of the beverage that pairs with the food. For example, buttery wine with lobster; lemony, crisp wine with oyster.” For beers, his choices are dry stouts and light lagers. Again, the aim is to complement and not to overpower the delicate flavors.

If you need more reasons to enjoy oysters, here’s one: there are so many varieties to choose from that you’re almost sure to find a favorite. Both Morrison and Coss understand this. When Coss and his sister, Amy Coss, bought the Milford Oyster House in 1997, it had only one type of oyster on the menu: the Chesapeake Bay. That was not going to fly with Coss. He quickly worked up a special oyster menu, offering three to six different ones each day. On the day I met with him, the menu consisted of Pemaquids, Beausoleils, Tatamagouches and Blackberry Points.

On the raw bar menu at Blue Point Grill there’re usually seven to 12 different oysters. In its earlier days, the restaurant sold orders by the dozen, but changed that tradition to suit customers’ growing interest in oysters, and now sells them by the piece to allow people to try a variety. “Eating oysters is a very social thing,” says Morrison. “Like Pinot Noirs, people like talking about them and comparing them.”

So who knows?Maybe “Is that a Kumamoto oyster on your plate” is destined to become the next great pickup line. Perhaps oysters are aphrodisiacs after all.

RECIPES

MIGNONETTE SAUCE

OYSTER STUFFING

OYSTER STEW

How to Shuck Oysters
Using the Hinge-Entry Method
Photographs: Glenn Race

1. Place the oyster, flat side up, on a towel on a stable surface. Put another towel over the hand that’s holding the oyster to give you a better grip and added protection—although with practice, the second towel may become unnecessary.	2. Insert your oyster knife at the oyster’s hinge to pry the top shell loose.
3. Slide your knife blade against the top shell to sever the connecting muscle and discard the top shell. Be careful to leave as much of the liquor in the bottom half as you can.	4. Slide your knife under the oyster to separate it from the bottom shell.Again be careful not to spill out the liquor.

BLUE POINT GRILL
258 Nassau Street, Princeton
609.921.1211
bluepointgrill.com

MILFORD OYSTER HOUSE
92 Water Street, Milford
908.995.9411
milfordoysterhouse.com