The Oyster Shucking Lesson

This story starts a few weeks ago when I set about to find the erfect jambalaya recipe. I took my request to facebook. I had a lot of people respond with ideas of where I could find a good recipe, but one in particular stood out. My friend Dave's dad (who lives in NOLA) sent me his recipe. I had his cooking before, so I knew it was sure to be a winner. I made it for my friends a few weeks later, and it was a HUGE hit. Not a single grain of rice was left by the night's end. I didn't manage to take any pictures, of course, which I'm very upset about, but that's besides the point. The point is that I realized that while the recipe called for fresh oysters, I had no idea how to shuck an oyster. When Dave and Dave's dad (John) found this out they promised me my first oyster shucking lesson when I moved to New Orleans. Today was my first full day in the city, so obviously it was a perfect day for my oyster shucking lesson, it also helped that it was 75 degrees today. Dave took some great pictures of the entire process for me to share anf blog about. Enjoy!

Me hard at work. The glove protectz my hand from the pointy parts.

Shucking oyster is hard work, so everyone helps out.


Dave made sure to get a pic of me with oyster in hand... and make note of my glitter manicure.


I'll cut you.

Avant garde oyster.

Oh we also had fresh red fish. Yum.

And after all the hard work these are oysters are cooked my favorite way: grilled, topped with butter, parmesean cheese, and bread crumbs. SO yummy!

Love, Tina Marie