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"Bet you can't eat just one!"

                                                 


Raw Oysters! Some of us will eat them, most won't. That's okay! Granted, raw oyster consumption is not for everyone. I do enjoy eating them! Years ago, a friend of mine, who lived in Maryland had a home at the shore, on the Chesapeake Bay. One weekend he invited me to go with him to gather some clams and oysters so we could prepare a fresh seafood feast for ourselves and our wives. This turned out to be an exciting adventure I'll never forget. It was late in the afternoon - low tide - and it was chilly. It had been raining. We took his dory (small paddle boat) from the beach, where we dug for our clams to a large oyster bed near the inlet and an estuary. The shallow water now revealed thousands of oysters all clustered and growing on top of each other. We had on heavy rubber boots and waders. We pried them apart or broke them off the reef with long handled hoes designed for such a job.

My friend took a special oyster knife from his pocket and held a pair of oysters stuck together in his gloved hand. He pried open one of the bivalved critters with his knife, cut it loose from its hard shell, and offered it to me. "Here, try one!" He offered. "No, you go ahead!" I replied. He held the shell up to his lips and let the slippery, slimy delicacy fill his mouth! I was shocked! Straight out of the murky, salt water and into his mouth it went! "Melton, try one! They are great tasting." Being a willing guest and curious I did. He was right! Strangely, it was just as he promised -- it was delicious! We continued to pick up 4-5 more heavy clusters of these little rascals and put them in our buckets with our clams, but not before we dined on a dozen more each right out of the water!

No, you don't have to eat 'em raw! They are good fried, baked or microwaved. Sally and I had some awesome oyster nachos down on South Padre Beach, Texas years ago, and they were to-die-for! Served on the half-shell with a jalapeno slice and melted cheddar cheese, microwaved this version of cooked oysters was amazing.

The thing about oysters, however you fix them you can't eat just one! A dozen or a half-dozen with some boiled new potatoes and corn on the cob...oh my, they make some mighty fine eating!

Go ahead, get you a dozen oysters. Try one raw, they are great tasting!



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