Oyster information |  Opening oysters tips and oyster recipes from the Butler Bureau - a word in your shell-like...

You can eat  oysters without any accompaniment - traditionally straight from the shell (slip a knife, or the oyster fork provided to ensure the meat is detached completely from the shell -  thenjust pour the oyster and its juices straight into your mouth. Talk about a taste of the sea! Savour and swallow those seawater juices but don’t swallow the oyster just yet - rather press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue and, as it collapses releasing even more flavour, THEN swallow. Fantastic!

Here at Chateau Bouteiller we also offer various accompaniments to our guests and let them choose: Fresh lemon quarters to squeeze over , tabasco or chilli sauce, very finely chopped shallots soaked in quality red wine vinegar. Try them all!

Oyster recipes

Oyster recipes we adore include:

We also add them to our traditional Steak & Kidney puddings and pies, and a beef and oyster stew is just fantabulous with some creamy mashed potatoes!

Opening an oyster ( ‘shucking’ )

Make sure you have the right implements and protect your hands - wear protective gloves if necessary. Scrub the oysters well to remove all extraneous matter and using your solid oyster knife push the point into the ‘hinge’ or ‘seam’ push hard, rocking the knife backwards and forwards and ‘twist’ to separate the two shells.

Now run the knife under the shell to severe the muscle or ‘cord’ and the two shells will fall apart neatly. Keep the whole thing level as much as possible to avoid losing the juices. See the video below for similar info......

Buying fresh oysters online sounds crazy but visit our Gourmet Food Store ( lots of smoked oysters and oyster sauce stuff there) + a delivery of shucked oysters to your door !