Raw oysters: I tried it and ...

By Jonniker

The verdict is a solid, "Meh?" followed by, "I don't get it!"

Internet, help me get it. I'm a fairly adventerous eater. There is little I won't try, honestly, and my palate runs pretty vast and deep. I can count the number of things I don't like on one hand -- among them, celery and sea urchin -- and I'm the easiest dinner guest you've ever had, I promise. 

How I managed to go 35 years without trying a raw oyster on the half shell is beyond me, however. I guess because no one I regularly dine with orders them, and it seems like an expensive risk to order a plate for myself, only to discover that I find them disgusting. 

So, fast forward to this weekend, when Adam and I had a date night and found ourselves at this surprisingly high-end seafood bar/buffet with an absurd amount of fresh oysters included in the price. (Seriously, this place was amazing, but also very expensive, so ...) 

I tried them! I squeezed some lemon and a little Tabasco on those bad boys and I ate three and ... well, Internet, it didn't TASTE like anything. I ate them so fast (they're only one bite, after all) that it was over before I could process the experience, and even after eating three -- the last two more slowly than the first -- I STILL DO NOT GET IT. 

Am I doing it wrong? Am I supposed to (gulp) let them swim around my mouth a while first? 

Plate of nothing exciting, I say.

The thing is, this seems like such a polarizing food. Like the kind of thing you LOVE LOVE LOVE and HAVE to have, or the kind of thing that grosses you out to the point of no return. It doesn't seem like the kind of thing you try and just think that it tastes like nothing but Tabasco and lemon, right? 

Help me, Internet. Help.

{Photo credit: Urban Fare}

Comments

[Valerie]

For me and my husband, oysters are all about the horseradish/cocktail sauce mixture that usually comes with them. Without that, I can’t get excited about oysters either. It makes a huge difference. Next time you have them be sure to ask for horseradish and cocktail sauce and make your own mixture to the heat you so desire. Then I dare you not to like them!

[Alice]

i feel the same way! i never order them, and usually don't eat any if someone orders them as an app to share... just because i don't LOVE LOVE LOVE THEM OMFG the way most people do, so i don't want to "waste" an oyster on myself when someone else will benefit more than i would. but i don't HATE them (i know people who gag just talking about it).

[jonniker]

Yeah, but Valerie, can't I just put cocktail sauce on shrimp or clams or something I eat anyway? Is it that much more thrilling on an oyster?

[Kate]

Agreed. It's a texture thing for me; I don't know how to describe it -- too squidgy? I also pass when someone else at the table orders a plate and offers to share, as they will undoubtedly appreciate them more than I could. However, garlic and butter laden oysters Rockefeller? Sign me up.

[Ginny]

HMMM. I just do a squeeze of lemon juice - and to me, the right oyster tastes just like the freshness of the ocean. Salty, a mineral-y... Maybe it was the type of oyster? Please give them another try!