Aw Shucks

The worst time to hit the farmer's market is right around 1- 2 o'clock, early-rising vendors are itching to pack up their holey produce displays and the season's first strawberries are long sold out.  I hate it.   I'm left with tracking down the best of the market dregs.   

Luckily this time 'round the dregs included the Gilson Marine Farms stall who were selling the most beautiful oysters.  Surrounded by an army of blue coolers, a shy quiet fellow sold me two dozen oysters for the incredible price of $7.40/dozen.  With several sizes to choose from, from slurpable to extra-large fryers,  I opted for the large ones which were packed gently in brown paper and bags of ice.

Opening these suckers was a pain, thankfully Eddy helped.  Without a shucker  we raided the tool box and improvised shucking with a screwdriver and hammer and managed to get all of the oysters free of their shells.  Some were eaten raw, others broiled with a bit of garlic, lemon, and butter.  Sweet, briny with a twinge of mineral, these were some of the best oysters I've ever eaten and certainly the ones I worked the hardest for.