Minutes from being pulled out of the bay, you can buy these beauties, harvest-fresh and tasting of briny salt water, from Humboldt North Bay Oyster Company (sorry, no web site) on Saturday mornings at the Arcata Farmers Market .
These are plump, sweet Kumamoto oysters, a specialty of Humboldt and Arcata Bays (actually one very large body of water stretching from Arcata in the north, past Eureka to the National Wildlife Preserve in the south.)
Interesting reading about how this strain of oyster came to be grown just 1/2 hour's drive from my kitchen may be found here.
And did you know that Arcata is host to the annual Arcata Bay Oyster Festival which attracts 10,000 to 15,000 oyster-loving revelers each year? Yes it is. And this year the event is being held on June 16th which also happens to be our 23rd wedding anniversary. You can bet we'll be there.
Mr CC likes to serve these babies hot off the grill, dribbled with melted butter and sauteed garlic slices. That's the way I like them best.
Not at all fussy when it comes to libation pairing, oysters go well with Champagne, a zingy white wine or a good microbrew.
Slurp!
4/28/07 - Cook's Notes:
Now here's a lesson in shoddy research. The oyster pictured above is not a Kumamoto, it's actually a Pacific oyster, also originally from Japan. We got Kumamotos at the Farmers Market this morning. Photos coming.
Copyright © 2005-2007, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved
I can count on on hand the number of times I've eaten oysters. Wish I could try some Mr. CC has cooked, sounds wonderful.
ReplyDeleteThey look really nice, I've never had them like that always willing to try.
ReplyDeleteAnne
Kalyn,
ReplyDeleteI know if you were out here Mr CC would be delighted to grill you some oysters!
Hi Anne,
If you like garlic and if you like butter and if you like oysters, these are for you.
Fresh oysters, lucky you. When my dad was stationed at an air force base in Mobile Ala, we would get out at a seafood restaurant fairly often. I always wanted french fried oysters.
ReplyDeleteFreshly plucked from the bay! How romantic.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I get a big blank space when I visit here these days - is it me?