This weekend I shucked oysters from a number of Chesapeake and Atlantic coastal waters.
On the wild side: Harvest area 537, Broad Creek off the Choptank were fat and sweet, like a Bay oyster should. Harvest area 229,farther down on the western shore, off Solomans were also nice and plump, with a little more salt and a little less succulance (www.misterfishinc.com). The "Virginia source"...undisclosed, was not as salty as one would expect from a Bay or James River oyster, not as sweet & petite as a Rappahannock...might have been a North Carolina oyster for all I know. They were fat, a little bland and pleasingly sweet.
On the aquaculture side: Heather Terry Lusk's Sewansecott oysters (hmterry.com), from the outer Virginia shore, were delicious, pristine, minerally and salty as usual, but the grading and sizing indicated a reduced level of care for the product. Johnny Shockley's Chesapeake Gold oysters from the waters off Hoopers Island are appearing with some consistency at the big local events and Baltimore restaurants. Sweet with a bit of bay grass and a touch of salt. (www.cgoysters.com) |
