Don’t know your Mystics from your Malpeques, your Kusshis from your Kumamotos? Whether ordering at the bar or from home, here’s your primer.
By Charles Coxe
Even more than wine and cheese, oysters draw their flavor from their environment. “The same oyster will taste completely different depending on where it grows, tidal flow, water salinity, and food source,” says Robert Daffin, who shucked his first oyster at age eight and has won shucking championships in Alabama, Louisiana, and his native Florida. The 200 different North American appellations (all high in zinc, the source of oysters’ legendary aphrodisiac power) are a testament to that varied environment. “I get people who say they only want West or East Coast oysters,” Daffin says. “Personally, I like to try everything.” Here are his top six:
Apalachicola
Grown In: Apalachicola Bay in the Florida panhandle
Taste: “Cold-water oysters store more sugar and fat in their meat,” says Daffin. “These have a clean finish: very briny, big, and meaty.”
Why They’re Special: Some people are leery of warm-water oysters. “It comes from the myth that you should eat oysters only in months with an R, when the water temperature is so cold bacteria doesn’t grow,” Daffin says. “Nowadays they clean them carefully so they’re safe year-round.” And consistently meaty.
Order From: Sam Rust Seafood in Virginia ($30 for 100; samrust.com).
Mystic
Grown In: Fishers Island Sound, Mystic, Connecticut
Taste: “Full, plump meat, medium brine,” says Daffin, “with a sweet, clean finish.”
Why They’re Special: Mystics are known for their distinctive white-and-green ridged shells and round meat. Like most Northeast oysters, Mystics are best September to winter, as they fatten up for the cold (by mid-winter, their meat gets leaner), and again from April to early June as they prepare for spawning.
Order From: Connecticut Cultured Oysters ships direct in winter; check site for retailers ($80 for 50, shipping included; ct-oysters.com).
Indian Creek
Grown In: Malpeque Bay, Prince Edward Island
Taste: “Crisp and light, pretty briny, with very delicate meat,” Daffin says. “A great beginner oyster.”
Why They’re Special: Harvested in the cold waters of northwest PEI (even when the bay is covered in ice), Indian Creeks can take four to seven years to reach mature size. Thanks to local regulations, all wild Malpeques have to be harvested the traditional way: from a small boat called a dory, by hand with long tongs.
Order From: The exclusive seller is J.P.’s Shellfish (only sells direct to your local distributor; jpshellfish.com).
Totten Virginica
Grown In: Southern Puget Sound, Washington
Taste: “Full, plump meat with light brine and a creamy, sweet finish,” says Daffin.
Why They’re Special: From Washington’s most hallowed oyster-growing ground, Tottens thrive in deeper water thick with algae, a good 200 miles from the ocean, meaning there’s less salt in the water (and in the resulting rich meat). “It’s actually an East Coast oyster that was moved to the West Coast,” Daffin says. “It’s bigger than most West Coast oysters.”
Order From: Taylor Shellfish Farms ($9 per dozen; taylorshellfishfarms.com).
Shigoku
Grown In: Willapa Bay, Washington
Taste: “A clean yet meaty taste,” Daffin says, “with a cucumber-melon finish.”
Why They’re Special: These Japanese imports are grown in floating bags rolled by the tides, which constantly chips the shells’ growing edge like a rock tumbler. It may sound gimmicky, but it grows a deeper cup — “a plump, hearty oyster,” says Daffin, “with a strong adductor muscle to hold in its light brine liquor.”
Order From: When Shigoku are harvested, Taylor Shellfish Farms sells out before it can even list them online, but it will take phone orders when they’re available ($50 for 60; 360-432-3300).
Olympia
Grown In: Totten Inlet, Puget Sound, Washington
Taste: “A light brine with a citrusy metallic finish. It has a taste all its own,” says Daffin. “No other oyster can be compared to it.”
Why They’re Special: The only true native West Coast oyster, Olympias once ranged from Alaska down to Southern California, but pollution and overhar-vesting depleted them to near extinction by the 1930s. Now recovered, they remain rare and difficult to farm: As even the adults are not much larger than a bottle cap, the oysters must still be harvested by hand at low tide.
Order From: Taylor Shellfish Farms ($7.50 per dozen; taylorshell fishfarms.com).
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How to Buy Oysters
I. Read The Tag
“Every shipment is tagged with the date, place, and time of harvest,” Daffin says. “Buy yours within a couple of days of shipping.”
II. Check Its Pulse
“Oysters are living creatures,” Daffin explains. “You want one that’s tightly shut. When you cut it open, if it’s dry around the edges, throw it out.”
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The Classic Oyster Sauce
“Down South, they eat oysters on saltines, slathered in cocktail sauce,” Daffin says. “But that’s not an oyster; that’s a sandwich. I want to taste oysters. The best way is right out of the shell with a squeeze of lemon or Tabasco.” If you prefer a sauce, the key is to not overwhelm the oyster; think simple, like a classic French mignonette. Mix 2 tbsp minced shallots, 1/2 cup red-wine vinegar, 1 tbsp fresh ground pepper, and salt to taste.
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This article originally appeared in the July/August 2009 issue of Men’s Journal.
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