As with all seafood, the fresher the better. Check the oysters and throw away any that are already open. Then place the oysters in a large tub and add 2 tablespoons baking soda. Fill the tub with cold water and let the oysters soak for 10-15 minutes.
Use a stiff-bristled brush to remove sand, dirt, and debris. You can also put your oysters into a cold icy saltwater bath to soak for an hour in order to purge them of sand and grit.
If, on the other hand, you want to eat them raw, it's best to eat your oysters as soon as you get them home and opened. To store your oysters, simply arrange them on a plate and place a damp towel over them in the fridge. Make sure you never soak your oysters in fresh water, or they'll die.
Oysters will die if they sit in fresh water. You can keep them on a tray of ice for an hour or so but avoid letting them sit in a puddle of fresh water.
Step 1: Rinse the oysters in cold water, picking off any barnacles, dirt, sand, or other flotsam. Step 2: Prepare an ice cold, saltwater bath. You'll want a ¼ cup of salt per 4 cups of water. Step 3: Plunge the oysters into the saltwater bath and refrigerate them for 1 hour.
Clean your oysters under cold, running water. Place an oyster cup-side down inside the tea towel, leaving the hinge of the oyster exposed. Insert the oyster knife at the hinge and twist, popping the hinge. Run the knife along the top shell to release the meat.
This article has been viewed 289,298 times. Like any type of fresh shellfish, raw oysters are best when consumed immediately. However, if you can't eat your oysters right away, you can store them for a few days in the fridge or even longer in the freezer.
Unless you are going to eat your oysters straight away, it's better to buy them unopened. Given the proper care, oysters will live for 5-7 days after being harvested.
Oysters are able to tolerate short pulses of freshwater conditions as they can close their shell during stressful conditions. However, low salinities for a long period of time will eventually kill the oyster.
Oysters will die if submerged in freshwater. If stored in a cooler, make sure the ice melt has a way to run off. Keep oysters between 34-45 degrees. Keep your cooler as shaded as possible.
Once people have polished off the first round of oysters, dump out the semi-melted crushed ice in the serving bowl, and replenish with the extra crushed ice you processed earlier. Transfer the second round of shucked oysters from the sheet tray to the bowl of crushed ice. Rinse and repeat until you're out of oysters.
Eating raw or undercooked oysters that contain Vibrio bacteria can make you sick. Some kinds of Vibrio bacteria cause the illness vibriosis. An oyster that contains Vibrio doesn't look, smell, or taste different from any other oyster. Cooking oysters properly can kill Vibrio and other harmful germs.
Most of the time, you'll see oysters or clams served on a bed of crushed iced with lemon wedges, hot sauce, and a mignonette sauce (more on this later!). The top shell is popped off to reveal the meat on the inside sitting in the bottom shell. You're meant to eat them on their own or with the condiments.
Cold water yields crisper, leaner oysters with a sweeter finish, while warm-water oysters are meatier and hold more fat, resulting in a saltier, more briny finish. Cold-water oysters can take three to four years to develop, resulting in a more complex flavor profile.
If your oyster is bad, it will have a cloudy, dry, and withered appearance. Contaminated oysters will be grey, brown, black, or pink. Take a sniff. Your oysters should smell like the ocean, but not fishy.
Once they come out of cold storage, the clock starts on you getting them back into cold storage. You have a max of two hours to accomplish this. After two hours, bacteria present in the oyster will start to multiply and the likelihood of something causing an illness will go up.
Cover the oysters with a damp paper towel or damp cloth and place them in the fridge. They should keep for up to seven days like this, but it's best to eat them within a day or two. Storing shucked oysters: You can store shucked raw oysters in the fridge for four to five days.
You may have heard the saying that you should only eat oysters in months that contain the letter "r," meaning oysters harvested in the warmer summer months of May through August were not safe for consumption. However, oysters are now sold and consumed year-round with little to no worries.
If they go past this date, you'll want to discard them. Shucked oysters typically have a 10-14 day refrigerated shelf life upon receipt.
Fridge Is Fine
You can also store your oysters in the refrigerator in a closed container or sealed plastic bag. Oysters don't breathe once they are taken out of the water. They will keep fresh like this for 1-2 weeks after harvest.
Fluctuations in temperature must be avoided. Live oysters should be stored away from the door of the cooler, where temperatures rise every time the door is opened. Live oysters should never be stored in direct contact with ice, in plastic bags or in water because the oysters will die.