Oysters

In our travels we are always on the lookout for local food specialties. 

We've eaten crawdads in Louisiana, BBQ in Kansas City and North Carolina, lobsters in Maine, scallops in Digby Nova Scotia, poutine and donairs in Canada, salmon and halibut in Alaska, crabcakes in Maryland, chilies in Hatch New Mexico, tortillas from Los Algodones Mexico, and of course ice cream from Tillamook Oregon.

So, when we saw the oyster beds from the overlook at the Umpqua Lighthouse, Craig immediately said: "Where can we buy some?".

The Umpqua Triangle Oyster Company is right on the docks at Winchester Bay. They have a little store that sells fresh oysters within hours of being shucked.






 










The store is in the front, and the garage door around the side opens into the shucking room. 

Because I am not a fan of raw oysters, I looked up grilling recipes. The one I chose called for putting the live oyster on the grill until it opened, removing it, shucking it, and putting it back on the half shell on the grill to finish cooking, then topping it with finishing butter mix.  All this sounded daunting.

The oysters were being sold already shucked in containers with their juices. I discussed my dilemma with the lady behind the counter. She told me many people just take some half shells from the big pile outside, wash them, and cook the shucked oysters on them in the grill.

So that's what we did. Craig got the job of scrubbing them out on the picnic table.

I used foil to keep the shells level so the juice wouldn't run out.

I grilled them on high for about eight minutes, turning them over in the shell once. My recipe said five minutes, but these were very large oysters (which the store labelled "small") .

When they seemed done, I added a generous scoop of unsalted butter that had been creamed with fresh tarragon and Crystal hot sauce.

After two or three more minutes on the hot grill, the butter was nicely melted. I carefully removed them and placed them directly on out plates so if any good juice was tipped out it would not be lost.

Served with steamed potatoes, asparagus, tarragon carrots, and a nice sourdough baguette

The grilled oysters were pretty good, and we both liked dipping our potatoes into the extra buttery juices. However, I still am not a big fan of oysters, and doubt I will make them again. But if you are an oyster lover, we do recommend the Umpqua Triangle Oyster Company at Winchester Bay, just south of Reedsport, in Oregon.

Oh, one added fact: a dozen fresh shucked oysters cost us $11.50

Grilling at the campground is priceless.  🙂