Saturday was ridiculous. Everybody in the tri county was out worshipping our nearest star, causing me to be unable to access a public boat landing within the allotted time frame when semi-diurnal fluctuations around our nearest amphidromic point would have allowed the sequestration of certain choice bivalves. I was pissed.
Yesterday was better. 3 trailers at the ramp, on my way to the mound I waved at one offshore commercial boat that appeared to be hiding from the wind. I could see the ocean from my first picking spot, 2 hours passed without another human sighting. Just my style. sea whip sitting dry on the bank. whelks trying their best to look like inanimate objects because they got caught with their proverbial pants down too. I got a slam full bushel of the lowcountry’s finest, (**() near all big singles. Worst part was the wind slacked out when the tide did and the flying teeth came out to play for a few. TGFB (thank goodness for buffs).
Sman, I’ll report on the salt content when I find out. My youngest has already begged for a few dozen crispy fried for supper tomorrow.
I like oyster spots that don’t look like much to the untrained eye. busting clusters is for yahoos with hammers trying to feed 40 of their closest naturday swilling amigos. big flathead screwdriver, cull in place. come back next year and get the ones you separated down to medium singles today. throw the ones at the bottom of the tide covered in sponge and oyster drills back up the mound to thrive.
older pix to get the saliva flowing:
Cheers to the slowest month of the year, go get some all you salt lifers
It was really unofficial, but I started following a recipe for clam chowder and wandered off…
steam oysters, shuck and reserve liquor
fry bacon, remove and crumble
sautee celery and onion in drippings, remove
boil finely chopped potatoes in broth and oyster liquor till tender (this step optional, but its even better if you remove and mash half of them afterward and return them to the broth to thicken it)
return vegetables and bacon, simmer a while
add oysters, turn off and wait till slightly cool
add whatever milk and cream ratio you like (i saw everything from almost straight skim to straight cream, I did mostly whole milk with some cream at the end) and warm through while praying it doesn’t “break”. the turning off method seems least likely to cause this, but maybe JIpride or someone with greater expertise can comment on that)
serve with crusty garlic bread and a big salad, makes great leftovers
I left the univalves where they were yesterday, ain’t nobody got time for that
Y’all ever make scungilli out of some Busycon canaliculatum? there’s a commercial market here for them, mostly get sent to the NE for the italians who make snail salad as a traditional Christmas dish. knobbed whelks are tough as a boot, but my wife’s grandmother used to hit them in the food processor till they were minced and make a (**() good “conch stew”
“when semi-diurnal fluctuations around our nearest amphidromic point would have allowed the sequestration of certain choice bivalves”
this is why I read this site. maybe it’s not dead yet.
thanks BW
the unitiated can purchase local farmed singles from livingstons in mcville. not that I do that. i enjoy getting grounded thru a hole tide cycle, covered in pluffmud, cut 1000 x, and cleaned up at midnight.
Not as salty as they would normally be, but still plenty good. Very surprised by how meaty they are right now, even the ones at the bottom of the tide with the fragile sponge-ridden shells were plump as could be.
23, I appreciate that. I’m trying to follow suit with you and EF reinvigorating the place with some good vibes. I have been following the travel and off-topic stuff with interest, tried a few times to post a photo dump in the Cooking section but it won’t let me. I’ll keep trying.
For those of y’all who know me, I have to keep most of my opinions to myself and stick to the factual around here. I have hobbies and passions too, so I wanted to share since I enjoy reading about others’
PP, last sentence in your first post made me want to climb on top of my 4wd and wave a big American flag
