How to open an oyster

Opening an oyster looks harder than it is. With an oyster knife, a tea towel and about ten seconds of patience, anyone can shuck an oyster cleanly at home without losing the juice or putting the blade through their hand. Here is how we do it, on video and step by step.

What you need to open an oyster

Three things: cold oysters, an oyster knife and a folded tea towel. An oyster knife has a short, stiff, pointed blade with a guard, which is exactly what you want for levering a hinge open. A kitchen knife is the wrong tool: the blade is too long and too flexible, and it is the most common way people hurt themselves shucking. The tea towel does two jobs. It holds the oyster still, and it sits between the blade and your palm in case the knife slips. An oyster holder or a chainmail glove does the same job if you have one.

How to open an oyster, step by step

1. Check the oyster is alive and keep it cold

A fresh oyster is tightly shut and feels heavy for its size, which means it is still holding its liquor. If a shell is gaping and does not close when you tap it, or it feels light and dry, or it smells of anything other than the sea, throw it away. Keep the rest in the fridge until the moment you shuck them.

2. Wrap it in a tea towel, cupped side down

An oyster has a deep, cupped bottom shell and a flatter top shell. Sit it cupped side down so the liquor stays in the bowl of the shell, with the pointed hinge end facing towards you. Fold the tea towel over the front of the oyster and hold it firmly against the board with your non knife hand. Your fingers should be behind the towel, never in front of the blade.

3. Find the hinge and wriggle the knife in

The hinge is the narrow, pointed end where the two shells meet. Push the tip of the oyster knife into that join and wriggle it, working the point in a few millimetres at a time. Do not force it. You are looking for the moment the tip seats itself between the two shells, and you will feel it when it does.

4. Twist like a key

Once the tip is in, turn the knife as if you were turning a key in a lock. The hinge will give with a small pop and the top shell will loosen. This twist is what opens the oyster, not brute force. If nothing happens, the knife is not far enough into the hinge yet, so wriggle it a little deeper and try again.

5. Wipe the blade

Pull the knife out and wipe it on the towel. Breaking the hinge often leaves grit and tiny flakes of shell on the tip, and if you go straight back in you will drag them through the oyster. This is the step most people skip, and it is the difference between a clean oyster and a gritty one.

6. Slice across the top shell and lift it off

Slide the knife back in and run it flat along the underside of the top shell, from the hinge towards the wide end. This cuts the muscle that holds the oyster to its lid. The top shell should now lift straight off. Tip out any bits of broken shell and, if there is grit on the oyster, use the tip of the knife to flick it away rather than rinsing, which washes out the flavour.

7. Free the oyster from the bottom shell

Run the knife under the oyster to cut the second muscle that fixes it to the cupped shell, so it lifts cleanly with a fork or slides straight out when you eat it. Try to keep as much of the liquor in the shell as you can. That salty juice is part of the point.

What if you do not have an oyster knife?

Buy one. They cost less than a round of oysters and the one we sell comes from Dorset Oysters, the same people who grow the oysters we send out. If you are stuck tonight, a sturdy flat head screwdriver will pop a hinge, and a butter knife will then do the slicing. A sharp kitchen knife will not, and is dangerous. Please do not use one.

How to serve oysters

Once they are open, get them on a plate of crushed ice or coarse salt so they sit level and cold, and eat them within the hour. A squeeze of lemon and a turn of black pepper is all a good Dorset oyster needs. If you want a shallot vinegar, mix finely diced shallot with red wine vinegar and a pinch of sugar and leave it for twenty minutes. Or save yourself the chopping with a bottle of Weymouth 51 Oyster Drizzle, made just along the coast from where the oysters are grown.

Where our oysters come from

Our Dorset oysters are grown in the clean, sheltered waters of Poole Harbour and Portland Harbour. They are mostly Pacific rock oysters, plump and salty sweet, which is what you see being opened in the video. Rock oysters are available all year round, and because they are farmed rather than dredged from wild beds, they are one of the most sustainable things on our menu.

Common questions about opening oysters

Which end of the oyster do you open?

The hinge, which is the narrow, pointed end. It is the only place you can get a knife tip between the two shells without breaking them. Never try to prise an oyster open from the wide, rounded lip.

How do I know if an oyster is bad?

Before opening, discard any oyster that is gaping and will not close when tapped, or that feels light and dry. After opening, it should look plump and glossy and smell clean and briny. If it is dry, shrunken or smells sour or sulphurous, do not eat it.

Can I open oysters in advance?

Ideally, no. Shuck them just before you serve them. If you have to get ahead, open them no more than an hour before, keep them flat on ice in the fridge with the liquor in the shell and cover them loosely.

How should I store oysters before opening them?

In the fridge, cupped side down so they keep their liquor, covered with a damp tea towel. Do not seal them in a bag or plastic box and do not store them in water or on melting ice, which will kill them. Eat them as soon as you can after they arrive, and ideally within two or three days.

Why will my oyster not open?

Almost always because the knife is not far enough into the hinge before you twist. Go back, wriggle the tip in a little further until you feel it seat, then turn. Very occasionally a hinge is so tight that it is easier to go in at the side, about a third of the way along from the hinge, but this is the exception.

Is it safe to eat raw oysters at home?

Yes, provided they are fresh, have been kept cold and are alive when you open them. The checks above are your safeguard. If you would rather not eat them raw, grill them for a few minutes with garlic butter or breadcrumbs until the edges just curl.

Buy fresh oysters online

We send fresh Dorset oysters out from the Online Seafood Market in boxes of a dozen, packed cold and delivered next day. Add an oyster knife to your order if you have not got one, or browse the rest of our shellfish. If you are cooking a shellfish supper, our guide to preparing and cooking mussels is the natural next read, and you will find the rest of our cooking techniques here.