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THE EATER: In praise of local clusters

by Kirk Ross

Oyster season is upon us. The beds opened on Oct. 15, and bins filled and emptied at fish shacks of all sorts throughout the state.

The North Carolina Oyster Festival in Southport kicked things off the first weekend of the season. If you’re ever near Southport for the opening of the season, a trip to the festival is well worth it, if not for the sight of several large steamers steaming endless bushels of oysters then for the outlandish olfactory experience it offers.

Photo by Kirk Ross

Around here, opening season was typically ho-hum, outside of Tom Robinson’s, as local oysters just don’t seem as celebrated as they once were. It’s one of those foodways that still has adherents but has become more for ritual than nourishment.

Oyster are special, but they shouldn’t be mysterious, and if you know a little about the local varieties, you can save yourself some money and get a type tuned to your preferences.
As with most seafood, weather plays a big role in the oyster harvest.

This year, Hurricane Irene tore through Pamlico Sound, and there was a lot of worry about the impact on the sound’s prolific western beds. The harvest from the Pamlico has been up in the past few years, so much so that last year the Division of Marine fisheries increased the amount it allows to be taken. The Eater had some very plump, not-too-salty Pamlicos last year.

Division biologists say the beds north of Sneads Ferry were damaged from silt and debris, which suffocated a large part of the oyster population. The affected areas are expected to come back though, with oysters big enough to harvest in about three years.

Farther down the coast, it has been a particularly good season so far, especially in the deepwater beds around Topsail. Stump Sound production has been good as well, but heavy rains closed the sound waters for a few days after the first week of the season.

The main difference between the two is that Topsail oysters tend to be a little saltier, while Stump Sound oysters are a little plumper. Topsail Singles seem to be particularly salty.

Right now, retail prices on the coast are in the $12-17 per-peck range. Add a few dollars to that for prices here in the Piedmont.

On the high end of the scale, you’ll find cultivated varieties like Stump Sound Selects, which are prized for their consistency in plumpness and size.

Oysters from both places can be bought either as singles or clusters.

Here in the Piedmont, you’re more likely to see singles, with bushel prices in the $55 to $60 range. If you’re going raw, they’re far easier to handle.

But if you’re steaming your oysters, there’s no better way to go than a bushel or so of clusters. Inconsistent size and number of oysters in the clusters makes them harder to sell to restaurants and other places that demand consistency. That lowers the price down, and on the coast — a mere three-hour drive away — you can get a bushel of clusters in the low to mid $30s, and often cheaper.

It’s hard to tell right now just how the rest of the season will go and how long the beds will be open, but North Carolina oyster season is definitely off to a fine start.

Just be careful with the knife, OK?