I recently visited South Carolina and learned that people eat oysters that grow in mud. It’s possible it was a tourist trick, but other people were eating them too, I swear.
This is how it goes: they get the oysters out of the mud, they steam them, they serve them, people pry the shells open with this crazy little knife, people eat the little oyster bit. I can’t imagine at some point they don’t wash them, but no one specifically mentioned washing and there was a fair share of dirt in the bucket so… Now, don’t get me wrong, I am a fan of many foods. Except octopus, but that’s a story for a different day. But, bless their hearts, these particular treats pushed me over the edge.
Get those delectable, nice, clean, adorable oysters on the half shell out of your mind. These babies look like barnacles, they grow all clumped together and to eat them you grab a clump, hold it in one hand and pry open the shells with your knife in the other hand. After a few attempts my hands were dirty. Not messy as in food mess, but dirty as in DIRT. And there was sludge at the bottom of the bucket.
You think I am making this up right? Nope. Not. Check out the bottom of the bucket in this picture. That’s not water or broth, that’s silt.
Karen Alma 