How to Host an Oyster Roast

The winter months in Columbia usually mean sweater weather. This is a great time for a cool-weather outdoor party around the fire pit, and it’s always fun to shuck oysters on the back deck.  Here is everything you need to know about hosting an oyster roast of your own.

First, while oysters may be eaten raw, most people seem to enjoy them steamed.  To steam oysters, you only need a large, hot, flat metal surface and some wet burlap sacks.  Build a fire in your fire pit, lay a sheet of heavy gauge metal on top, and when it gets hot, shovel the raw oysters onto the surface.  Throw wet burlap sacks over the oysters and let the shells steam until they start to open up, usually just a few minutes.  Pull them off the fire with your flat shovel and dump them onto a wooden table for people to shuck and eat.  It’s that simple.

Photo from t that you should only eat oysters in a month with an “R” in it.  This is not as strict a rule today with improved food handling and refrigeration equipment, but somehow it still feels best to eat oysters in the colder months.  Regardless, keep the oysters on ice in a cooler until you are ready to cook them, as spoiled oysters can make you very sick.

Ready to try it? We hope we’ve inspired you to plan an oyster roast of your own.

Let us know how it turns out!!