Pearls of wisdom

Shuck, slurp, savor

Fact or fiction– raw oysters should only be consumed in months containing the letter “r.”

Answer: fiction. While this mnemonic may have been the case in 1599, when it appeared in the English cookbook “Dyets Dry Dinner”, due to our advances in refrigeration, regulations on harvesting during “red tides” (a.k.a. the discoloration of seawater caused by a bloom of toxic red algae), + the commercialization of oyster farming, summer months are now pro-slurping.

It is to be known, however; that the warmer waters cause oysters to spawn, thus losing 30-40% of their body mass. The weight loss makes the oyster more watery + thin, hence changing the taste + consistency that most desire.

But where did our love of bivalves spawn from?

We’ve been eating oysters since 6950 B.C. (at least that is the date of the oldest middens– a.k.a. ancient piles of shells). Here in the Lowcountry, it was in the 1820s when David Truesdell– known as the “Oyster King”– brought his shucking ways to Charleston from NYC, opening The New York Oyster House. Truedell also had an oyster farm near Breach Inlet on Sullivan’s Island. Fast forward to the 1920s, when the waters of the NY Harbor were so full of oyster habitats, that it is estimated that as many as 1 million New Yorkers ate oysters every year throughout the decade. So it’s safe to say, that slurping is here to stay.

Whether you are all about that oyster shooter, or would rather keep that po’boy fried, we’ve got the pearls of wisdom when it comes to oyster facts, oyster farms, + most importantly– oyster happy hours. DYK that eating four oysters a day gives you a complete daily supply of copper, iodine, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, + zinc?

Let’s get shuckin’.

Impress the shell out of your friends with these oyster facts:

• Max shell size: ~8 inches.
• Oysters filter between 30-50 gallons of water daily. This is especially important when considering harvesting. If an oyster is infected with vibrio vulnificus– a bacterial microorganism found in seawater– you could be in for a long night of vomiting, diarrhea, + abdominal pain… hence the regulations.
• Oyster reefs act as a natural barrier to storm waves + sea level rise by absorbing 76-93% of wave energy. Additionally, they provide other sea creatures a habitat– resulting in 1.5 extra tons of seafood a year.
• Oysters can live up to 20 years in captivity.
• Oysters can change their gender. Typically they start out + mature as males, but will change based on environmental, nutritional, + physiological stresses, or to procreate.
• Regardless of the multitude of varieties spanning across each + every raw bar menu– there are only five species.
• Oyster reefs are the single most imperiled marine habitat on Earth, with 85-90% of wild reefs lost.
  
  • Thankfully, oyster reef restoration projects are possible + are happening across the Lowcountry.

Here are few local farms who are making that mollusk money:

Lowcountry Oyster Co. |📍Green Pond (in South Carolina’s ACE Basin)

• Founded in Aug. 2017 by two “boys” from Mt. Pleasant, a company 20 years in the making
• 750 floating oyster cages (with plans to quadruple in size over the next five years)
• Where to #EatLowco or have Lowco shipped to you
• #CreektoTable– Lowco encourages restaurants to order more often in smaller quantities, ensuring the freshest oysters around (they get the oysters in the hands of the chefs within 48 hours of leaving the creek)
• Connect with them at OysterFarmersOnly.com

Charleston Oyster Farm |📍Charleston

• First oyster farm in the City of Charleston
• Founded in 2016 by twin brothers Thomas + Peter Bierce
• Utilize wire off-bottom cages
  
  • The triploid seeds (oysters which do not reproduce) are kept in mesh bags to ensure water flow
  • During low tide, the cage exposure allows the oysters to brine for maximum flavor
• Farms Stono Selects + Mosquito Fleet Petities
• The company is currently looking into providing tours of their farms

Barrier Island Oyster Co. |📍Between Edisto + Seabrook Islands

• Utilize floating cages a few thousand of yards from the open ocean
  
  • With constant wind + wave action, overset + extra shell growth is chipped away
• Farm Sea Cloud singles (start as a hatchery-spawned seed)
• Can be found at: The Ordinary, 167 Raw, The Obstinate Daughter, Leon’s, The Ocean Room, Chubby Fish, + McCrady’s

Clammer Dave |📍Capers Island Wildlife Refuge

• Run by Dave Belanger over the past 15 years
• Owns thirty acres of sub-tidal salt marsh bottom lands
• Harvested via the “cull in place” technique– where only market size oysters are removed from the reef, allowing the others to mature + build the habitat
• Raised above the fertile pluff mud sea bottom so the highly oxygenated surface waters can naturally purge the shellfish of any mud or grit, yet maintain it’s salty liquor
• Farms Capers Blades
• Offers same-day harvest/delivery and are guaranteed to be grit-free, white tablecloth quality
• Can be found at: FIG, Husk, Hank’s Seafood, McCrady’s, Amen Street Fish & Raw Bar, Middleton Place, Oak Steakhouse, Trattoria Lucca, Wild Olive, + The Macintosh

Where to shuck, slurp, savor:

Downtown

The Darling Oyster Bar |📍513 King St.
⏰ 4-7 p.m. daily
💰$1 oysters

The Ordinary |📍544 King St.
⏰ 5-6:30 p.m., Tues.- Fri.
💰$1.50 oysters

Prohibition |📍547 King St.
⏰ 4-6 p.m., Mon.- Fri. (at the bar)
💰$1 oysters

Pearlz Oyster Bar |📍153 E. Bay St.
⏰ 4-7 p.m., Mon.- Fri.
💰$14 for a dozen oysters on the half shell (raw or steamed); $4 oyster shooters; $8 southern fried oysters; $12 for a half dozen charbroiled oysters

Amen Street Fish & Raw Bar |📍205 E. Bay St.
⏰ 4-7 p.m., Mon.- Fri. (at the bar)
💰$9.95 for a dozen oysters; $3.50 oyster shooters

167 Raw |📍289 E. Bay St.
⏰ 11 a.m.- 10 p.m., Mon.- Sat.
💰$2.75 daily selection; $30 per dozen

Rappahannock Oyster Bar |📍701 E. Bay St., No. 110
⏰ 4-7 p.m., Mon.- Fri.
💰$1 oysters (minimum order of six)

Victor Social Club |📍39-F John St.
⏰ 4:30-7 p.m., Mon.- Fri.
💰$1.50 oysters

Hank’s Seafood |📍10 Hayne St.
⏰ 4:30-6 p.m., Mon.- Fri.
💰 $1.50 oysters

Mt. Pleasant

Nico |📍201 Coleman Blvd.,
⏰ 5-7 p.m., Mon.- Fri.💰$1.50 oysters; $9 for a half dozen; $18 for a dozen

Art’s Bar and Grill |📍413 Coleman Blvd.
⏰ 1-7 p.m., Sat.- Sun (oyster roasts starting in October-April)
💰$17.99 for all-you-can-eat Bulls Bay clusters

Shem Creek Bar & Grill |📍508 Mill St.
⏰ 4-7 p.m., Mon.- Fri.
💰$1.25 oyster shooters; $12 fried oyster basket

Charleston Harbor Fish House |📍32 Patriots Point Rd.
⏰ 4-6 p.m., Sun.- Fri. (at the bar)
💰$2 oysters

Opal |📍1960 Riviera Dr., Ste. C
⏰ 4-6 p.m. daily
💰$2 oysters

Pier 41 |📍1039 SC-41
⏰ 4-6 p.m., Mon.- Sat.
💰$1 oysters (plus $1 champagne)

West Ashley

Pearlz Oyster Bar |📍9 Magnolia Rd.
⏰ 4-7 p.m., Mon.- Fri.
💰$14 for a dozen oysters on the half shell (raw or steamed); $4 oyster shooters; $8 southern fried oysters; $12 for a half dozen charbroiled oysters

James Island

Bowen’s Island |📍1870 Bowens Island Rd., James Island
⏰ 5-9:30 p.m., Tues.- Sat.
💰$12 for half trays; $17 for full trays; all-you-can-eat steamed oysters at market price

IOP

Boathouse at Breach Inlet |📍101 Palm Blvd.
⏰ 4-7 p.m., Mon.- Fri.
💰 $9 for a half dozen; $18 for a dozen; $8 fried oyster rolls

Disclaimer: This is by no means a definitive list. If there is a spot that makes you say “shuck yah!” + we missed it, please let us know in the comments below or via email.

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Personally, I could easily eat the “recommended” four oysters a day until I die. Die happy, I would. But it did take me a good while to figure out my beloved bivalves. I fancy Beaufort’s Single Lady. A great way to taste test– the Lowcountry Oyster Trail.

For those new to the shucking scene, check out this guide on how to properly slurp your way to serendipity. And beyond asking for an overall flavor profile (a.k.a the merroir), ask your shucker about its texture, whether it is briny or sweet, and the minerality profile. You’ll be tossing them back in no time.

I’ll meet y’all at the raw bar.

– Nicole