Marco Pinchot

What kind of knife should I use?

<a href="https://buy.taylorshellfishfarms.com/merchandise/french-blue-oyster-knife">Taylor Shellfish actually makes a pretty perfect oyster knife</a>. When you’re shopping for a trusty oyster shucker, it’s important to get a blade with a tip to it—this makes for easier, safer opening. This piece from Taylor Shellfish has a tipped blade that goes all the way through the wooden handle of the knife, meaning more power and fewer opportunities for breakage.

Can we talk about that funny little muscle that connects the oyster meat to the shell?

We can talk about it all day. It’s called the adductor, and you want to sever that thing before you serve your sea treats. More on that below. 

Do I really need to use gloves?

At the end of the day, your hands are your business. But heavy-duty gloves will help prevent cuts and scrapes and such—common occurrences among shuckers-in-training.

Should I wash my oysters off before I serve them?

We recommend removing any sand or debris with your knife edge. But washing oysters with water will only dilute their delicious flavor.

Wow! Something on ChefSteps that has nothing to do with sous vide?

Har har. <a href="/activities/firming-oysters">Here you go.</a>

Before we begin

Grab an oyster with your nondominant hand. Look at it. See how one side is flat and the other is rounded?

You want that flat side to face upward and the rounded side to face downward.

Also, the hinge that connects the two sides of the shell? Make sure that is facing you.

Consider the oyster

Stick the tip of your knife into the hinge holding the two sides of the shell together. Wiggle it back and forth until it’s in there good.

Wriggle your knife into the hinge

Once you have your knife all up in there, give it a good, slow twist. 

The shell should pop open.

Twist and pop

Insert the tip of the knife back between the two shells. Gently push the blade further into the oyster and move it back and forth to sever the adductor muscle. Be sure to keep the blade close to the inner top surface of the upper shell so you don’t cut that gorgeous oyster meat!

Slice the adductor muscle

Remove the top shell, then hunt around for any small shell bits. Remove those. Careful now—you don’t want to lose any precious “liquor,” a vital part of the whole slurping experience.

Pop off the top and check for shell bits

Slide your knife under the oyster meat and slice the lower muscle to fully detach it from its shell. This makes it easier to slurrrrppp up that briny goodness.

Slice lower adductor muscle to release the oyster

Serve and slurp

Step 9

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This easy oyster-shucking technique lets you quickly and painlessly shuck a bunch at once.

Tips & Tricks: Quick, Easy Way to Shuck a Bunch of Oysters

Shell out for a great party.

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Want to know how to shuck oysters? This technique make shucking easy, and gives shellfish a nice plump appearance!

Firming Oysters

Step 11

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Briny and creamy, this Oyster Mayo recipe is the ultimate fried-seafood dip.

Oyster Mayo

Step 12

As anyone in the oyster game will tell you, <a href="https://www.taylorshellfishfarms.com/">Taylor Shellfish Farms</a> raises some of the best bivalves in the biz. Around since the 1890s, the company is known for innovation and excellence—and the crew can throw a pretty epic party too. Taylor’s Marco Pinchot has spent years at the company ensuring it operates at the highest standard of sustainability, and he’s picked up some pretty sweet shucking skills along the way. So while we have our <a href="/activities/tips-tricks-quick-easy-way-to-shuck-a-bunch-of-oysters">own quick tricks</a> for cracking into kumamotos and Kusshis, we enlisted him to walk us through the pro technique he teaches to guests of both the oyster beds and the high-end restaurants that stock up on Taylor’s one-of-a-kind offerings. Whether you source your oysters from the left coast or right, his unassailable approach will serve you well next time you snag a few dozen freshies to suck down with Champagne.*OTHER PEOPLE’S IDEAS: A Series from ChefSteps

At ChefSteps, we love to cook. And we love to share our top tips and techniques with you. But we’re not the boss of everything, and we learn from our friends and colleagues every day. That’s why we created Other People’s Ideas, a new series starring our favorite subject experts. These talented folks are here to help you tackle everything from <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/how-to-make-shanghai-soup-dumplings-with-andrea-nguyen">soup dumplings</a> to <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/how-to-make-pro-pizza-at-home-with-joe-heffernan-of-independent-pizzeria">pizza pie</a>—and have a ton of fun along the way. You down with OPI? Yeah you are. Let’s do this.*

How to Shuck Oysters Like a Pro, With Marco Pinchot of Taylor Shellfish