Oysters at Thanksgiving - advice on buying in NYC and keeping fresh

November 20, 2023 4:09 PM

I'm contributing a few dozen oysters to the big meal this year. I've never actually kept oysters in the fridge though -- they've always been consumed immediately. Any advice on when to buy them and how to maximize freshness until shucking time? Should I wait until Thursday morning to buy them if at all possible? And any recommendations on where to get good ones at a reasonable price in NYC, assuming I won't have much time for shopping over the next couple days and would prefer an easy and reliable place to pick them up in Brooklyn?

I'm fine with doing the shucking just before we eat and will have some helping hands.

posted by theory to Food & Drink (7 answers total)

Do not store unopened oysters in the fridge - it will kill them. Assumptions - you buy oysters in mesh bags like oranges. Keep the bag/ shells moist, in a cool place covered with a wet tea towel. They will last a week in Australia this way.

Opened oysters should definitely be stored in the fridge,
posted by insomniax at 5:43 PM on November 20, 2023

Picking at random from google results that match what oyster farmers have told us: "The best way to store them is in their bag, inside a bowl with a damp cloth over the top." They're harvested once a week around here, and IME they should have the harvest date on a tag attached to the bag (and you should not buy a bag of oysters without such a tag). They'll last a week from harvest if stored according to those directions. What you don't want to do is leave them sitting in fresh water or on ice (which will melt and become fresh water), as described on that page. You can put shucked oysters on a bed of ice, though.

At least in DC (and perhaps farther afield), Whole Foods carries oysters from a producer in VA we really like, so if I needed to get some without arranging for pickup (say, at a farmer's market) I'd probably start and end there. When there were articles in 2020 about how all the oyster farmers were hurting because of a lack of restaurant business, we learned about that farm and we've always enjoyed their oysters.
posted by fedward at 6:08 PM on November 20, 2023 [1 favorite]

Freshdirect has still has lots of delivery timeslots in my neighborhood on thursday until 3pm, and they sell several types of oysters
posted by wowenthusiast at 6:18 PM on November 20, 2023 [2 favorites]

The Whole Foods on third Avenue in Gowanus, Brooklyn has reasonably affordable and yet quite good oysters. I cannot comment on how unhinged the Whole Foods serving the gentrifyinest parts of Brooklyn may or may not be during the approach to Thanksgiving, though.
posted by Jon_Evil at 6:24 PM on November 20, 2023

I collect my own oysters on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. After scrubbing them, I keep them in the fridge until we eat them. After a week in the fridge, they have no noticeable decline in quality and are certainly not dead. I don't think you need to wait until Thursday morning to buy yours.
posted by Jasper Fnorde at 7:48 PM on November 20, 2023 [2 favorites]

Best answer: “How to Store: Still in their netted bag (or something breathable), put the oysters in your crisper drawer with one wet cloth below and one wet cloth above the bundle. Despite what many people think, you should not store them on ice--"their instinct is to drink water," says Bil. "As the ice melts, and they drink that chlorinated water, it will affect their flavor." In the crisper, west coast oysters will be good for one week, and east coast oysters will be good for two weeks.”

Advice from a dear friend: John Bil, who spent twenty years of his life - the last half, fuck cancer - growing, harvesting, and shucking oysters, as well as starting award-winning restaurants, supporting some of the best chefs in Canada, and fighting fiercely for more sustainable foodways.
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 7:58 PM on November 20, 2023 [2 favorites]

We go oystering and keep them in a bowl in the fridge for up to a week with a damp towel over them and they don't die or go off. I'd call around and see who has oysters and just get them ASAP.
posted by spacebologna at 4:14 PM on November 21, 2023