Oyster roasts have long been a seaside tradition where friends and family gather to enjoy fresh shellfish, wonderful camaraderie, and have a great time dining together outdoors. The no-fuss coastal feast is also on the Murrells Inlet Events calendar. Whether you are a shellfish aficionado or a rookie, you are welcome to participate in the fun, and delight your senses at the Oyster Roast Murrells Inlet, SC 2017.
The 14th Annual Murrells Inlet 20/20 Oyster Roast will be held in the Wicked Tuna Parking Lot on Saturday, November 18th, 2017 from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The Wicked Tuna is located at 4123 US 17 Business, Murrells Inlet, South Carolina with a spectacular waterfront view. The Oyster Roast Murrells Inlet 2017 features all-you-can-eat oysters, libations and entertainment by a local band from South Carolina, The New High. The ticket for the event also includes an official MI2020 Oyster Roast koozie as a souvenir.
For those of you who have never participated in an authentic, low-country oyster roast, this event is sure to be a rare treat. Imagine yourself outside in the fresh, inlet breeze, smelling the salt air, dining on succulent, fresh, roasted oysters straight from the firepit, brimming in their delicious juices. Using a paper towel, pick up a hot, roasted oyster, open it right on your table and dip it in warm, melted butter, your favorite seafood sauce or a combination of both. Then, place the carefully-prepared, to your taste, warm oyster into your mouth, and savor the mouthwatering flavor as you laugh and talk with a few hundred of your new friends or favorite old friends. It is a low-country tradition that everyone should have the opportunity to experience!
There are several ways that you can prepare an oyster roast. Oysters can be cooked in the oven on a cookie sheet until they open or are “roasted” to the degree that you desire. They can also be cooked on the stove in large pots, with a little water, and steamed to the desired degree of tenderness that you prefer (dry, medium or wet). Another way to prepare them is to put them in large buckets, covered in old towels, on an outdoor burner, and when the steam begins to rise, and they are open to your liking, dump them on a picnic table and enjoy.
Yet another way to roast oysters, as told by Chef Bryan Caswell to Francine Maroukian: “To help keep the oysters moist, we roast them on a bed of hot rock salt that allows each oyster to cook with equal heat from above and below, steaming in its own juices without drying out. Whether you’re roasting oysters or just eating them on the half shell, serving them on a bed of rock salt keeps the oysters level, so they don’t tip over and they don’t lose any of their liquor—that’s pure flavor.”
Our favorite, the Traditional Low-Country Oyster Roast is prepared on a large piece of metal over an open fire. You get all of the flavor and the ambience of enjoying the oyster roast outside with your friends and family. We are going to give you the instructions for creating your own backyard, low-country oyster roast, or you might want to take all of your fixings to the beach and make it authentic. First, you will need several items to help you prepare, roast and eat the oysters such as:
- 1 Large piece of sheet metal– 3.5 feet square and approximately 1/8 -1/4 inch thick
- 4 Standard-sized masonry blocks
- 1-2 Burlap sacks or beach towels
- Oyster knives
- Heavy gloves (thick, cotton-lined rubber gloves are best)
- Trash Can lined with a heavy-duty plastic trash bag
- Firewood or propane tank and burner
- Newspaper-lined table
- Clean shovel or dustpan
- One bushel of oysters for every five people dining
Build a fire that will be the appropriate size for the sheet metal or you can use the propane gas burner if you prefer. Position one masonry block at each corner and lay the sheet metal on top of the blocks just as the fire begins to die down. Sprinkle a few drops of water on the metal. If it sizzles, it is ready for you to place the oysters on the sheet metal in a single layer. Cover the oysters with a soaking wet beach towel or burlap sack and cook for about 8-10 minutes based on how well-steamed you like your oysters.
The shells will open ¼ – ½ inch per your preference and you are ready to dine. Scoop the oysters up with your clean shovel or dust pan, transfer to your paper-lined table, and reheat the sheet metal for another load of oysters to begin roasting as you dive into your feast of succulent shellfish. Add more wood to the fire as needed.
To begin your dining experience, you will need to pry open your oysters with an oyster knife and run the knife under the oyster meat to release it. At this point, you can either dip your oyster in butter, cocktail sauce, a combination of both or just eat the oyster straight from the oyster knife. Discard the empty shells into your trash can lined with a trash bag, and clean up will be easy.
Makes you want to participate in a traditional low-country oyster roast, doesn’t it? Why not!! Make plans now to join the participants at the 14th Annual Murrells Inlet 2020 Oyster Roast on Saturday, November 18, 2017 from 11:30 – 3:00 and feast on our delicious shellfish!!
