For the East Coast choice this week, I shucked some Thatch Island Oysters from Barnstable, MA. They were really clean, creamy, and definitely had a brine that reminded you of the ocean. Meat content was close to perfect because each oyster I shucked was full. In terms of shell, I gave the Thatch a 3.5 out of 5 -- they were not consistently uniform in size and one of the oysters I shucked had a pretty brittle shell.
The highlight of the shucking was definitely the Thatch Island's shuckability, which I gave a 5 out of 5. The hinge was so easy to pop. Just with a little leverage, not even a twist, the shell came right open. And when you ran the knife across, meats instantly came off.
For Thatch Island Oysterology, click here.
For West Coast, I shucked some Glacier Point Oysters from Alaska. Just as their description says, at 3.5% salinity (full oceanic salinity), I definitely got a hit of brine. However, the cucumber finish was really pleasant and made it a nice oyster to eat at 7:30 a.m. this morning. In terms of shell shape, Glaciers were also brittle (looks like they could have used an extra tumble), but super clean and didn't even need to give it a wash before shucking. Meat content and shuckability were awesome, though. The hinges popped right open, and the cups were full.
For Glacier Point Oysterology, click here.
