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“He was a bold man who first ate oysters”
Or a very hungry man…

Your Next Oyster Pairing
We love oysters on the half shell at our house, and we usually stick with the tried and true when it comes to wine: Champagne or lean unoaked chardonnay.  Have you ever considered trying something new? Elaine Brown (aka Hawk Wakawaka) gave some great ideas for unusual pairings in an article on Serious Eats. Moral of the story? Try something new with your oysters!

Not your everyday oyster pairings: Manzanilla sherry, Cru Beaujolais, dark beer, and a rich Syrah.

We enlisted a couple of adventurous friends, loaded up on 4 dozen oysters, and spent an evening trying new pairings with oysters.  If you have access to fresh raw oysters and you’ve never shucked them yourself, you should give it a try.

For $22, you can equip yourself with an oyster knife and a set of kevlar gloves. I like the “New Haven” oyster knife with the bent tip.

It’s easy if you have the right tool, a kevlar glove and a little instruction. This is your chance to try something new! (click on any photo to view slideshow)

Shucking instruction

It’s all fun and games…

Until you pop open that first shell

First: find the hinge and pop it.

You get the hang of it quickly

Mighty concentration

Equal opportunity oyster shucking

They smell so fresh from the sea!

Unusual Pairings

• Manzanilla Sherry
• Cru Beaujolais !
• Dark Beer?
• and, Gasp! a ripe Syrah

Manzanilla sherry offers an unusual flavor, but pairs beautifully with oysters & traditional mignonette

Manzanilla Sherry
Manzanilla sherry is a new taste for me, and one that requires a bit of a commitment to understand.  After just a sniff and a taste, I was the only one willing to drink it, oysters or not. Give it a chance, Manzanilla is dry with saline notes and goes well with the oysters unadorned or with traditional mignonette sauce. Even if you don’t care for it by itself, try it with food.

Beaujolais and oysters? Why not?

Cru Beaujolais
Before our experiment, I would never dare open a red wine with raw oysters. Wrong! The balsamic mignonette sauce made the perfect bridge to the deeper fruit flavors in the red wine.  Nothing overpowered the oysters, I could still clearly enjoy their briny flavor.

Thanks to Elaine Brown (Hawk Wakawaka), we tried a Porter with oysters. Yep.

Porter with Oysters?
Back in the 18th century, at the beginning of stouts and porters, oysters were a very typical tavern/public house food. I never would have guessed, but they are great together. Who knew? Again, I thought the balsamic mignonette was a winner, but the bare oysters were wonderful with the beer, too.

Even a ripe red wine deserves a chance!

Rich, Deep California Syrah
True confession, when our friends arrived with this Syrah, I just couldn’t think of it with oysters.  Know what, when your friends bring a bottle, open it. Know what else? This wine was just fine with oysters.  Plus, I should give Field Stone big credit for clearly labeling what to expect from their wine: “deeply extracted and full of fruit”.  A cool climate Syrah full of funk and plenty tannic may not have paired at all, but this wine was smooth and still had nice fruit. Bingo!

Oyster Advice
If you decide to do it yourself, always get a variety of oysters.  We like to sample oysters from both the east and west coast. East coast oysters are usually more purely briny, while west coast oysters usually offer a combination of fruity flavors as well.  Try them for yourself and see which you prefer!

New Haven on the left (red handle), standard blade on the right

Calm Cove Oysters from the Hood Canal near Seattle

Cortes Island oysters from British Columbia (Oyster of the week at Coastal Seafoods)

Skinny Dipper oysters from the Chesapeake Bay

Wellfleet Oysters from Massachusetts

Sometimes it’s not so clear where the seam and the hinge are located

Oyster Sauce Suggestions
You’ll need some condiments to serve with your oysters.  One of my favorites is just a squeeze of lemon; it amplifies the flavors without hiding any of the oyster’s own flavor and texture. Some people like Tabasco sauce, or Tabasco-laced cocktail sauce.  Lastly, mignonette sauce is another classic topping well worth including.