A Taste of Cape Cod Oysters

Raw on the half shell, you can chew them or allow them to simply slide down your throat. Either way, the taste of this bivalve mollusk differs like wine, depending upon the soil, water locale and temperature as well as the algae the oyster feeds upon.

A typical menu from a restaurant such as McCormick & Schmick's will list these "aphrodisiac" shellfish as: "James River Oysters, Ware River, VA, USA; Carlsbad Blonde Oysters, Carlsbad, CA, USA; Duck Island Oysters, Long Island Sound, NY, USA; Kumamoto Oysters, Baja, Mexico; East End Oysters; Peconic Bay, NY, USA; Lasquiti Island Oyster, British Columbia, Canada". Just like choosing a glass of wine, each will have a distinct taste. Moreover, each will also have a unique texture.

The process begins on oyster farms, some of which I visited on Cape Cod. A restaurant in Hyannis, The Naked Oyster, owns two acres of oysters in a 'shellfish grant' in Barnstable Harbor. As a result, customers of The Naked Oyster become familiar with the consistency and flavor of the naked oyster, hence the name, while a talented executive chef adds for some dressed up variations.

The Naked Oyster prides itself on its baked oysters, topped with Panko crumbs. In the "Rockefeller", the bacon flavor is complimented by spinach, Pernod, parmesan cheese, BBQ Bleu of bleu cheese, caramelized onions, and bbq sauce. Casino baked gives a combination of the Panko bread crumbs, garlic, shallot, pepper, and parmesan. The Beinville comes with mushrooms and shrimp, while the Pomodori is simply roasted tomatoes and parmesan and the Pesto is... you guessed it... pesto sauce.

To get the full picture of the oyster world on Cape Cod, I was invited to tour the East Dennis Oyster Farm, owned by John and Stephanie Lowell, who each have an acre in the cool clear waters of Cape Cod. We had to wait until the tide was low in order to get to their oysters, just as you would for anyone else's. The view is of hundreds of trays, usually in piles of two.

Oysters do not spawn on the farms. The "seeds", as they are called, are obtained from certified hatcheries, such as one on Fishers Island on Long Island and are about the size of a small fingernail. To make a long story short, the larvae gets sprinkled with ground up oyster shells and that is what they attach themselves to. For the long story, check out www.fishersislandoysers.com.

The "seeds" arrive in netted bags and placed on top of the trays that are already holding more mature oysters. It takes about 3-4 years for oysters to grow to a truly edible size and shape. When the oysters are shipped they are placed in netted bags and tagged. It is a law that this is done as with any shellfish so that if a problem arises it can be traced back to the source.

With that in mind, it's important to realize that "oystering" is not as easy as going to the beach and digging for crabs. Depending upon where you are, you will most likely need a permit to collect oysters.

Just like wild or farmed salmon, oysters can be wild as well and you can actually see the difference between farmed and wild oysters. According to the Glidden Point Oyster Sea Farm in "The top shell of a wild oyster is no different than that of a cultured oyster, flat and smooth. The bottom shell of a wild oyster has a noticeable scar at the narrow hinged end, where the oyster had been attached to a rock, stick, ledge, shell or other substrate.

A wild oyster will often have a more fluted, wavy shell with more ridges than it's cultured cousin. This is due to more variability in daily and seasonal growth patterns. Wild oysters are subject to wider ranges and higher frequencies of temperature fluctuation, resulting in irregular growth and a shell with 'character'."

How about getting oysters shipped to you directly? That's certainly not difficult if you're willing to shuck them and use them within a few days of arrival. They should be stored in the refrigerator on ice and not allowing the ice to thaw, as it would interfere with the taste.

Click here to view a youtube interview with East Dennis Oyster Farm.