You Don't Need to Go to a Restaurant to Eat Oysters — Here's How to Shop, Shuck, and Serve Them at Home

When I think about the moment I fell in love with food, I think about oysters. I was maybe 12, and slurping down a raw oyster felt like an alarming dare. I picked up the rough, jagged shell and, using a tiny fork, scooped the meat directly into my mouth. I’d never tasted anything like it — briny, sweet, and overwhelmingly fresh, like the ocean. I ate a whole dozen.

Oysters are humble yet magical. In the ocean, they promote aquatic biodiversity, and according to the Billion Oyster Project (a nonprofit devoted to restoring oyster reefs in New York Harbor), one oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water a day — meaning that oyster farming can be incredibly sustainable when done responsibly. And on land, oysters are just as delicious raw as they are grilled, baked, and charbroiled.

For most people, oysters feel like a food that needs to be eaten while out to dinner at a fancy restaurant, or at a celebratory happy hour, or at a beachside seafood spot while on vacation. And yes, there is a certain kind of luxury attendant on a shiny platter of icy-cold shellfish being set down in front of you. But once you understand how to source, store, and open oysters yourself, enjoying these beautiful mollusks at home becomes easy. To level up your holiday party — or any party! — bring out a tray or two of oysters. Shuck them tableside. Pair them with Champagne (or a dirty martini) while you’re at it. Just make sure that, for each one you eat, you take a beat to savor the moment.

Here is everything you need to know to enjoy oysters at home.

The difference between East Coast, West Coast, and Gulf oysters

Where an oyster was grown has a lot to do with how it tastes. Generally, oysters from the West Coast are sweeter, oysters from the East Coast are saltier and brinier, and Gulf Coast oysters are similar to East Coast oysters but larger and meatier.

In addition to where it was grown, the exact oyster variety also influences its final flavor, texture, and shape. The five most well-known oysters — the only ones commercially harvested, grown, and sold in the United States — are Pacific oysters, Kumamoto oysters, Atlantic (or Eastern) oysters, Olympia oysters, and European flat oysters. Read more about each variety's unique characteristics (and how to talk about them like a pro), here.

Where to buy oysters

If you’re lucky enough to live near oyster-rich waters (like New Orleans, Savannah, or Maine), the best, most efficient way to buy them fresh is from a farmer or at a local fish market. The only hitch is you may have less control over the type of oysters available and their freshness. “I’d want oysters that were pulled in the last 48 hours,” says Bryan Rackley, co-owner of Kimball House in Atlanta and founder of Oyster South, a nonprofit that supports oyster aquaculture. But, Rackley says, it’s not an issue buying oysters that were harvested three to four days ago. “They’ll be fine in your refrigerator for another week or so.”

But for those who don’t have in-person access to an oyster farmer — i.e., most of us — you can always order your oysters online. Here are five of our favorite options for mail-order oysters. 

The best way to store oysters

“Oysters are actually pretty resilient," says Ari Kolender, chef and owner of Found Oyster in Los Angeles and Queen St. Raw Bar & Grill in Charleston, South Carolina. "They stay fresh for a really long time if they’re stored properly." To prevent the loss of the oyster liquor, or the briny liquid surrounding the meat that’s the sign of a fresh oyster, Kolender suggests packing oysters tightly in a mesh bag — the more space they have, the more likely they are to open and close. “Even though if they open, they’ll close right away, they still release a little bit of their liquor, which is their lifeline.”

Once they arrive to your home, Kolender suggests leaving the oysters in the bag set over a plate or bowl in the coldest area of your refrigerator for up to seven days. “That way, if they do release liquor, it won’t go all over your fridge.” Alternatively, set oysters on ice in a colander inside a bowl covered with a damp towel, or lay them out on a sheet tray, cup side down so that, if the oysters open, the liquor will just pool within the oyster itself.

How to shuck an oyster

Shucking an oyster can be intimidating, given the reputation for hand injuries. “The knife could slip out of the shell and puncture your skin,” says Joshua Pinsky of Penny in New York City. “Once you’ve done that, you’ll probably never want to shuck an oyster again.” To protect your hand, use a kitchen towel or steel-mesh glove. According to Pinsky, a foolproof oyster-opening technique requires an oyster knife. Here’s how to do it.

1. Place oyster in your hand

Fold a dry towel into fourths, and lay it on the palm of your nondominant hand to protect from accidental slips. Nestle the oyster in the towel, cupping the bottom shell in the palm of your hand with the hinge facing you.

2. Pop the hinge

Place the point of the knife at the hinge between the shells, and apply enough pressure to slide the tip of the knife through. Gently wiggle the knife slightly, and turn, like a key, until the pressure releases and you feel a “pop.”

3. Remove the top shell

Carefully run the knife along the inside of the top shell from back to front, following its contours, and cut the adductor muscle that holds the oyster shells together. Lift the top shell open and remove; set aside or discard.

4. Release the oyster

Wipe the blade clean. Glide the knife under the oyster to cut the muscle from the bottom shell. Try to keep the liquor inside the shell. Set the oyster on the half shell on a platter with ice or rock salt, and serve.

How to build the ultimate oyster platter

While you might associate them with restaurants and raw bars, oyster platters are just about the easiest party appetizers you can prepare. These are chefs' tips and tricks for creating your own raw bar experience.

Don’t worry about the plate

Putting your oysters on a French porcelain oyster plate will look gorgeous, but don’t go out of your way to buy one. “If you want a spread to be impressive, it’s really about how you lay it out more than whether you have a really expensive platter,” says Rackley. “You can use some metal plates or casserole dishes — anything that, once chilled, stays cold for a while.”

Give the display some range 

Whenever Rackley prepares an oyster platter at home, he mixes in a variety of seafood — shrimp cocktail, seasoned crab claws, even a tin of caviar. If you want to stick with oysters, try to get a range of varieties. “If you’ve got the ability to put multiple oysters from multiple places on a tray, I think that’s really cool,” he says. 

Get the right ice 

To keep your shucked oysters cool, lay them on a pile of ice. “Pebble ice is always going to be the best for seafood because it doesn’t stick together and you can easily nestle the oysters into it,” says Kolender. If you don’t have a pebble-ice maker at home, Kolender suggests picking up a bag at a fast-food chain like Chick-fil-A or Sonic.

Plate with intention 

According to Pinsky, it’s remarkably easy to make oysters look beautiful on a platter: All you have to do is have them face the same direction. “If you have a couple of oysters, face them the same way, and keep them equally spread apart. If you have a lot, shingle them in a circle like a flower, or place them facing the same direction, and they’ll look like fish scales.”

Have fun with the accoutrements

Any chef would agree that an oyster platter should come with the classic accompaniments: lemon, mignonette, cocktail sauce, and hot sauce. But if you want your spread to stand out, have some fun with the sides. Play with nontraditional condiments like garlic aioli or pico de gallo, and throw in some chips and crackers. (Pinsky and Kolender both love buttery Ritz Crackers.)

The absolute best accompaniments for raw oyster

If you're going to make anything to serve with your raw oysters, start with these recipes — the ultimate cocktail sauce and mignonette.

Tangy Cocktail Sauce

For recipe tester and developer Nicole Hopper, cocktail sauce must have all the classic notes — spicy, tangy, tart, and sweet — and still adapt to a variety of flavors. Make the sauce extra-bright by adding more lemon juice. In the mood for a fiery kick? Hopper suggests adding more chile-garlic sauce, as in this recipe, balanced with soy sauce for added depth. For a milder, sweeter flavor, use a little more ketchup. Taste as you go, and don’t be afraid to make it your own. 

Celery Mignonette

How to eat raw oysters

"There's something intimidating about eating oysters, even if you've done it hundreds of times before," says writer Clarissa Buch Zilberman. "Though there's no wrong way to eat one, there are a few things to keep in mind."

Buck Zilberman asked 2011 F&W Best New Chef Kyle Bailey of New England-inspired seafood restaurant, The Salt Line, in Washington, D.C. about the proper way to eat an oyster — here are his most invaluable tips.

What to drink with oysters

Despite countless opinions about pairing wine with oysters, it’s a surprisingly flexible proposition (as long as you avoid red wines). And while oysters offer a range of flavors, brininess underpins them all; with that saline quality as your guide, keep three rules in mind. — Nils Bernstein

Cut salt with acid

A chef’s kitchen trick is adding lemon juice or vinegar to an oversalted dish. That’s why a squeeze of lemon or a drop of mignonette somehow makes briny oysters taste sweeter and more complex. Try pairing briny oysters with a crisp white, like a Muscadet, Assyrtiko, Chablis, or Albariño, and skip the lemon wedge.

Pair sweet with salty

Salted caramel aficionados know how perfectly sweet and salty flavors match. Sauternes, a sweet white wine from Bordeaux, has considerable acidity to balance its sweetness (think lemonade), which helps explain its affinity with oysters. It’s especially good with powerfully flavored oysters.

Match luxury with luxury

Oysters are often part of a lavish meal, and eating one is itself a luxurious experience. Reflect that same mood with the wine pairing. Champagne has the acidity and minerality to match raw oysters, and the bubbles help cleanse the palate when eating richer cooked-oyster dishes.

Excerpted from 'The Joy of Oysters: A complete Guide to Sourcing, Shucking, Grilling, Broiling, and Frying' by Nils Bernstein. Copyright © 2023. Available from Artisan, an imprint of Hackette Book Group, Inc.

How to cook oysters

Oysters certainly don't have to be eaten raw. They're just as delicious roasted, baked, and grilled. Here are three of the best ways to prepare them.

Cheater's Oyster Roast

More hack than recipe, roasting oysters in the oven is one of the simplest ways to open the bivalves. The heat loosens the adductor muscle that helps hold the shells together, allowing the oyster to pop open. Once the oysters are cool enough to handle, pry them open with a knife or your hands, and enjoy their fresh-from-the-sea brininess with minimal effort.

Oysters Rockefeller

According to lore, when these oysters first appeared in the late 19th century at Antoine’s Restaurant in New Orleans, the buttery sauce was so rich and green that it was named in honor of one of the world’s richest men at the time, John D. Rockefeller. Although the original recipe remains a secret, in this version, Emeril Lagasse adds Herbsaint, an anise liqueur, to the spinach-herb sauce and tops the oyster with buttery crackers mixed with Parmesan cheese.

Grilled Oysters with Spicy Tarragon Butter

Plump, tender oysters are grilled to perfection in this recipe from Bobby Flay. Pats of compound butter made with fresh tarragon and hot sauce are added to the oysters, which are returned to the grill until the butter melts, for a spicy, smoky, herbal flavor. Look for oysters that have a deeply cupped bottom shell to reduce the risk of spilling the oyster liquor.