Tomales Bay Oysters - NOW!

Eat these. NOW!

The old culinary proverb advising the consumption of oysters only in months ending with ‘r’ is less important on the West Coast than in other places. On the Gulf and East coasts the water temperature rises considerably in the spring and summer months, resulting in a skinny, tasteless oyster. But the cold Pacific Ocean barely fluctuates in temperature throughout the year, and we all know how cold it is on the Bay Area coasts in the summer.

The beautiful weather in November this year has created the perfect environment for Tomales Bay oysters – RIGHT NOW. Rain is also the enemy of the Tomales Bay oyster, as runoff from the Marin Headlands affects the water composition in the bay and thus the flavor of the Point Reyes oysters. But with the temperature turning colder, the days becoming shorter, and the weather staying clear, there can be no better time to indulge in the local bivalves.

It was with this in my mind that we headed up to my friend Jeff’s house in Ross last Saturday. There was ultimately only one plan – to eat as many oysters as possible. Jeff and I took the lovely drive from his house up Sir Francis Drake Blvd. all the way to Point Reyes. The drive through Samuel Taylor State Park is particularly lovely this time of year, as the winter shadows cast their long glance amongst the redwoods.

I always buy my oysters in Tomales Bay from the Tomales Bay Oyster Company. We usually eat them up there at one of the many picnic areas with lovely tables and barbecue pits where you can prepare and enjoy your oysters. On the weekends in particular, whole families of farm workers turn the whole picnic area into one big party.

We purchased 150 oysters for 7 people! (Needless to say we ended up finishing them all. We got 75 large oysters for grilling and 75 small oysters for eating raw. After an hour round trip drive, we were back at Jeff’s and ready to go.  Jeff's wife, Sara, had just laid out a lovely spread of other antipasti including a wonderful salad of mixed chicories from nearby Marin Roots Farm when our other friends.
  I fired up the grill and away we went. I was just back in New Orleans and we grilled up some oysters, but they don’t come out as well (that species is better eaten raw). The fat and protein content on the oysters in Tomales Bay really lend themselves to grilling. I like to grill my oysters right in the shell, and the steam that build up inside forces the oyster to pop open.  Some people shuck them first and put the oyster on the grill open faced, adding whatever sauce they would like directly on the oyster as it cooks. That is perfectly acceptable as well – I just think the oyster has a meatier flavor cooked in the shell. The mineral flavors really permeate the oyster, making it taste like a small steak. We make a “cocktail” of thinly sliced jalapenos steeped in soy sauce to put over the warm oysters.   It is one of my favorite foods in the whole world. The standard accompaniments of cocktail sauce, Tabasco, and lemon also work well with the cooked oysters. Damn were they tasty! Fortunately for me, I can eat a lot of oysters, so when my friends one by one got their fill, I was able to do some serious eating. It certainly wasn’t pretty, but at least I was amongst friends.

The raw oysters were just as good. The perfect balance of fat and brine. And ice cold to boot. Sometimes the one negative of certain species of Tomales Bay oysters is the brittle nature of the shells. You shuck these raw and it is nearly impossible to get out all of the little bits of shell that have fractured off the edges. The oysters we had this day were a sturdier variety that made for easy shucking. I had no problem shucking 50 oysters. Of course, the hundred oysters that I shucked in NOLA two weeks ago helped build up my oyster calluses, so I was good to go. Here’s the shuckin’ machine in action! .

That’s as good as the Tomales Bay oyster can be. I can’t implore you enough to get up there for some oysters as quickly as possible before the winter’s rains come in full force. You won’t be disappointed. I’m headed up there again now – I’ll be there in one hour.