Oyster Season is in full swing, and I have officially begun enjoying it.  Not with the occasional delicacy at a restaurant, but am the knee deep and anxious to jump straight in.

Last week I went with some friends to Tomales Bay Oyster Company in Point Reyes.  We spent a pour hour shucking and enjoying a 50 bag of Preston Point Oysters per person, good briny full flavor jewels, before going on a hike and spending some time on the bay.

Tomales Bay Oyster Company simply offers bags of un-shucked oysters, oyster knifes to loan, a picnic area, and well that’s it.  So bring your bread and cheese (I recommend stopping in at Cowgirl Creamery store in Point Reyes along the way), wines or beers and also your mignonette, lemons and other sauces you may like on the oysters them selves!

Then Shuck away:  Those of you who are timid or new to it a knife glove for protection is a very good idea, but a towel will suffice.  Place it in your less dominant hand flat side up and find the hinge of the oyster.  Put the knife in the hinge so that you could lift the oyster up out of your hand with the knife.  Keeping the oyster level in your hand, push lightly at an almost a 45′ angle down and twist the knife back and fourth like wiggling a door knob.  You will hear a pop, take the knife out and clean it of shell debris.  With the oyster still level, keeping those juices in, run the knife along the roof of the shell to free up the top shell.  Cut the abductor muscle of the oyster, located top and bottom at the two-o-clock position. Clean up any bits of broken shell or sand and then slurp away.

If you want to grill them instead, they have grills there and coals for sale.  Just put them on the grill and let them go until they began to bubble out juice then the the shell opens right up and ready for saucing.  Alternatively you can shuck them then grill them with butter and herbs until they bubble.

For the visual learners, here is a brief video