Pacific oysters, native to Japan, are likely incapable of successful spawning in the cold waters of Oregon and Washington. This fact accompanied with their high value, ease of growing and minimal enviromental impact makes them a good choice for aquaculture. Photo courtesy Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife www.dfw.or.state.us
Tips from the Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association
It is thought by some that oysters are poisonous during the summer months (the months without an "R" in their names). Not true. Oysters are usually not marketed during the summer because this is the reproductive season and so much of its substance is expended in producing eggs and sperm that the meats are often too thin and watery for marketing.
How do I know a good unshucked oyster?
Oysters should always be tightly closed, clean and unbroken.
How do I know good shucked oysters?
Look for plump meats in clear liquor (juices) without shell particles or grit (liquid should not exceed 10 percent of total volume). Smell for a fresh ocean-like scent (not sour or sulfur-like).
Best way to keep them?
Cover oysters with a moist cloth and refrigerate in an open container for up to five days, or freeze for up to three months.
Don'ts
Do not store live shellfish in water.
Do not store in airtight bags or containers where they could suffocate and die.
Do not store live shellfish in salt water; it shortens their shelf life.
Do not store them in fresh water; it kills them. Keep live shellfish alive.
Do not cook or eat oysters that have died during storage.
Heaven on the half-shell
By Gary Adams
One sure bet around this part of the country is that if you have a hankering for an oyster treat, you'll probably be getting an oyster from Washington's Willapa Bay.
The Willapa was carved out by glaciers long ago. When the ice retreated, the ocean rushed in to fill the void. Eventually, sand collected, forming the Long Beach Peninsula, a 24-mile spit that protects this shallow bay and creates a unique cool rich upwelling of marine water mixed with fresh water from the many streams draining the Willapa hills. It makes a perfect place for algae to grow, and shellfish happen to love the stuff.
Depending on whom you believe, Willapa Bay supplies either one in six oysters or up to 30 percent of the oysters that oyster lovers throughout the United States crave. Either way you shuck it, that's a lot of oysters.
Oysters are packed with nutritional goodies: They're rich in proteins, vitamins and such trace elements as iron, iodine, copper, phosphorous, cobalt and manganese - all of which make for a healthier body. But above all, these little bivalve mollusks are tasty and fortunately very available here in our area. I'll get to that a little later.
But first, how do little oysters become grown-up oysters? Prolifically and inexplicably is the answer. The female Pacific oyster may spawn up to 200 million eggs in a season (that's the proliferation part), expelling them into the water where an ever-ready male is there to fertilize them. Only a few will develop into mature larvae, but with up to 200 million siblings out on their own, it only takes a few to make it. They drift three to four weeks until some lucky survivors find a suitable hard clean surface on which to "set." It may take up to six years to reach their full oyster potential. The inexplicable part: Pacific oysters exhibit the unusual phenomenon of sex reversal. Yearly they may become male and female, making getting a date much easier, I should imagine. That's nature's way.
Of course, most of the oysters in Willapa Bay are now helped in their quest to reproduce by the various oyster growers maintaining oyster beds in the bay. The methods may vary, but all mimic and help along the natural oyster growing process.
In addition to their taste, oysters have another value. They keep their backyards clean because by simply spending their days feeding, they filter out nitrogen and phosphorus, among other things, cleaning and clarifying the water. The shellfish farms that work the bays do their part to keep the bay clean as well. Their livelihood and future depend on it. Willapa Bay is considered the largest producer of farmed shellfish in the nation, and it is considered to be the most pristine bay in the nation.
Native peoples harvested oysters from this bay for 1,500 years. Commercial harvesting started in the mid-19th century. Since there was such easy access to the Pacific from the bay, schooners laden to the gunnels with Olympia oysters from Willapa Bay made their way to San Francisco to feed all those hungry folks with gold rush fever. For a brief shining moment, Oysterville, located on the Long Beach Peninsula, was the wealthiest town in Washington and nicknamed "the Baltimore of the West." But by 1870 or so, the bay was overharvested to the point that the Olympia oysters were diminishing. That combined with the first transcontinental railroads reaching San Francisco with loads of Eastern oysters meant the boom days were over.
With the native Olympia oyster devastated, the industry was rebuilt with an oyster introduced from Japan: the Pacific oyster. Those newcomers found the Willapa very much to their liking and a new industry was born. Cultivating oysters where they did not occur naturally was also the beginning of the long private stewardship in Willapa Bay we see today.
But we're here to ballyhoo the tasty side of the oyster, so let's get to it.
Oysters are available in the shell and out of the shell from local fish purveyors, markets and even canneries up and down the North Oregon and South Washington coast, so getting them is no problem. However, getting them out of their comfy shells - that's another story.
Here's how the Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association recommends you do it:
First, firmly cup the oyster in your palm upside down with the hinge pointed toward you. Insert the point of your shucking knife between the upper and lower shells at the hinge. Apply pressure while slowly rocking the knife point back and forth between the shells to break the hinge. Then, twist the knife to pry the shell open about a half-inch. Slide the knife along the upper (flat) shell to about the midpoint until encountering the adductor muscle. Sever the muscle from the flat shell, freeing the flat shell. Be careful to contain the liquid (oyster juices) in the cupped shell. Discard the detached flat shell.
Then slide the shucking knife along bottom of the cupped shell until the adductor muscle is severed. For the best presentation, flip the oyster meat into the cupped shell. There are a number of ways to enjoy your oyster. The Daily Astorian Web site can direct you to several sites that list many delicious recipes. However, if you're not into do-it-yourself, most restaurants in our area prepare oysters in a variety of ways.
There's the more elegant: freshly harvested Oysters Rockefeller broiled with bacon, spinach and Pecorino Romano and served with yam fries at Astoria's Clemente's Restaurant. Or Astoria's Silver Salmon Grille's Pan-Fried Willapa Bay Oysters dusted in seasoned flour and pan-fried to a golden brown and served with caramelized sweet onions and remoulade sauce. There's also something more down-home like Willapa Bay Oyster Stuffing from the Dock of The Bay Restaurant in the town of Bay Center, Wash. For something simplier, there's an Oyster Sandwich made wih oysters lightly coated and served on a toasted bun with lettuce and tartar sauce from Doogers Restaurant in Warrenton,.
However you choose to prepare or order your oysters, feel fortunate that we live in an area blessed with an abundance of this delicious shellfish.
