Custom Oyster Knives Smoking Blue Point Oysters Are A Winning Combination

Oysters are great on the  Smoker or Grill when done low and slow.

Smoked Oysters

For the holidays I smoked some Blue Points on the barbecue pit. I washed them good first in fact soaked them a small bit , then piled them in my "butt chicken" smoking tray in small batches. This tray has open holes in the bottom to let the heat in.

Oyster Shucking is only possible with a good knife.

#1 Smoking Oysters Tip: Get Yourself A Good Knife: Coastal Custom Knifeworks

Smoking the oysters or grilling them is easy. The number one problem with doing your own oysters is having a good shucking knife. I'm not just talking any knife and I'm definitely not talking old school style with screwdriver. I cherish my fingers here folks.  I prefer the ones over at Coastal Custom Knifeworks.  My pal Shannon's company down South hand crafts custom oyster knives--you can see them on his website or his Facebook page.

This one PURDY custom oyster knife from Coastal Custom Knifeworks.

I'll tell you why Shannon's knives work so well and last so long.  Shannon says, " I  started making knives as gifts that could be passed down from generation to generation for friends and family and it took off from there."  He crafts all the knives himself, in a small shop. He does the quality testing to make sure each knife is easy to hold and easy to use based on her experience. There is no made in China bullcrap here, and no store bought blanks. That's why. Generations of oyster shuckers used those knives.

Big Fat Daddy's Shucking Oysters!

#2 Smoking Oysters Tip: Oyster Shucking 101

Shannon knows what a good oyster knife means . He says, "I designed my oyster knife with the positives of all the oyster knives I have ever used, while keeping the idea of having both form and function in the knife especially when incorporating a bottle opener into the design!"

I only use Shannon's knives because he uses the finest materials available and tries to give every option possible to the making of each knife. Truly each are unique and no one has my particular knife. I haven't had to replace it. If I don't have my trusty knife with me, I'm not shucking today folks!  (You can see more of his knives over at Coastal Custom Knifeworks .)

As for shucking and keeping your fingers, I look for the small opening, slowly insert knife, and wiggle ever so gently until the baby opens up for me. Don't shove the knife in or open real hard or you will have more juice and bits of oyster coating your walls and counter and self than you do left in your oyster. Professional shuckers may do this outdoors when they are under pressure to shuck a gazillion oysters quick for bull roasts and oyster roasts but in the comfort of your family and friends take your time. What's the rush

For this dinner, I simply put a kitchen towel under a cutting board, and took my time shucking. I even find doing it over a rectangular cake pan is helpful to catch the extra shells and juice--making transfer into the garbage can easy as pie.

#3 Smoking Oysters Tip:  Low and Slow Oysters on the Barbie

Just remember when doing your own oysters that's in this case it's not the size of your grill. I used my mom's very small grill at this meal, and turned out a half case of oysters batch by batch. I only put charcoal in the bottom 1/4 and make sure the heat was low, you don't want to cook too hard too fast and burn them up.

Who says you can't grill oysters? 

I do flip them and check on them quite often. Once your coals heat up the next batch will take a little less time. You may have some open sooner, and I pull those off first. It's constant rotation.

#4 Smoking Oysters Tip:  Watch Your Butter With Blue Points

If you enjoy butter with your oysters, (who doesn't) check to make sure your butter isn't going to be too salty for the variety of oysters you have. In this case, real Blue Points are super salty, so I recommend cutting your salted butter in half with unsalted butter and a squeeze of lemon juice.  If you don't like a lot of salt, then use unsalted with lemon.

And of course, if you like a dab of cocktail, so be it:

Custom Oyster Knives

Make sure to visit  Coastal Knives for the best selection of oyster knives. You'll only have to buy one, because it will last you. So, what's next for Shannon? He says, she wants to start crafting hunting knives and filet knives, I can't wait.     As for me, I'm off to stuffing some lobster..........

Dinner is on!

Special Thanks to Shannon for Making Great Knives. This dinner wasn't possible without her! 

Coastal Custom Knifeworks

Summerville, SC 29483|843-514-1459 

This post last updated 12.22.14  Like it?  Pin it Below!