Eating Nose to Tail


One weird oyster , and a guest.

05/31/2012

6 Comments

 
Having a few good oysters when the mood strikes you is one of the best parts of living in New England.  After picking up a dozen or so at a reputable fishmonger, I pop open the first one to find this.
Has anyone ever seen anything like this?  For those that don't have the best eyesight that's a tiny, vaguely see-through crab inside my oyster.

Oysters by nature are a all-or-nothing creature.  Anything that's not the shell goes down that hatch - I'm not too sure about this little guy though.  Glad I noticed him before I got an extra crunchy bit in my oyster.
 


Comments

Joel
06/01/2012 03:34

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oyster_crab

A century ago, they were fried up whole and served as a delicacy that has fallen out of favor in the years. I'd love to be able to read the full article (referenced above) from the New York Times on November 9, 1913.

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Sydney
06/01/2012 14:43

That's too funny! I used the NYT as a primary source in my MA thesis - about oysters! I've got to check and see if I have the article you're talking about :D

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Joel
06/01/2012 21:25

Awesome, tweet me @Sekkyo or email me at joel@tehforce.net with what you find! It would be great to bring these back.

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bebere
06/06/2012 09:06

Oh yes, find those all the time in the oysters I get when in France. We call them 'victims of circumstance.'

Remember reading in MFK Fisher's "Consider the Oyster" that they were delicious fried.

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Sydney
06/09/2012 11:37

@berbere - Like a teenie soft shell crab, yum.

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Daniel
07/14/2012 17:50

We find them all the time in our oysters in South Carolina. I eat them from time to time steamed (along with the oyster), but don't think they're anything spectacular.

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