The world is your oyster at upcoming Cork festival
A food event in Cork will have a big focus on oysters. meets an expert who urges people to shuck ‘em and see.
If you’re ever asked “do you like to shuck?”, please resist the urge to slap them across the face. The phrase refers to the ancient and noble art of oyster opening — and one which will be very much on
display later this month at Cork Oyster and Seafood Festival at the Metropole Hotel.
One of the prime events happening over this foodie’s dream weekend will be the All-Ireland Oyster Shucking Competition, where the current world record holder, ‘Shucker Paddy,’ will be in attendance. Paddy McMurray is the present Guinness World Record Oyster Shucking holder having opened 39 oysters in a minute, and 1,114 in an hour. While he is Toronto born and bred, Paddy is most proud of his Irish lineage: “My grandparents are from County Antrim — Muckamore — and came to Canada in 1910.” He won the World Oyster Opening Championships in Galway in 2002, the only Canadian to win the contest in over 60 years.
For a newcomer to the tricky business of opening these slippery molluscs, he outlines the most important things to know:
You must be One with the oyster, Grasshopper — focus on the hinge, the knife placement, hold the oyster-like you mean it, and use finesse, not force, to pry open the shells.
As a safety measure against that sharp-edged blade, he adds: “Always wear protection — no glove, no love.”
Shucking can be a dangerous business, even for an experienced hand. “Fourteen stitches and some 80 odd holes, and yet I keep coming back. I’m not saying I’m the sharpest tool in the shed, but since I created the glove that I use daily, injuries are a thing of the past. I highly recommend gloves — steel mesh is best,” he advises.
Patrick also designed his own version of the standard oyster knife, adding a pistol grip. “The pistol grip comes from the idea of an injection moulded ski boot. I needed something that fit more into my palm, an exact copy of my hand.”
The late chef Anthony Bourdain was one of Patrick’s regular customers. Such is McMurray’s devotion to these molluscs, he penned a guide to the art in 2007, Consider the Oyster: A Shucker’s Field Guide.
“I must have been dropped on my head as a kid or something, the information that I learn about oysters just stays in my brain, and I can blather on for hours on end about Latin names, species, locations.
I think I’m one of the original people to start talking about oysters like wine, in Toronto at least, and paralleling that universe of wine tastings to oyster tastings.
When it comes to grading the world’s oysters, Patrick is fulsome in his praise of the variety found in Irish waters: “Covet is a word I would use — as in ‘thou shalt not covet thy neighbours’ oysters.’ I covet the Irish oysters as they come into my restaurant, and when I show them at parties. Irish waters are magical, and produce some of the best tasting oysters anywhere — but you won’t know if you are a saucy person.”
For the best experience, he counsels: “No sauce or lemon, just close your eyes, two bite chew, and areate — to truly taste the oyster. You can taste the sea, the water, the air, the cliffs — it’s a true experience.”
Patrick has been bringing oysters and fresh fish to Toronto for more than 15 years through his restaurants Starfish Oyster Bed & Grill, the Ceili Cottage and Pearl Diver. Given his vast knowledge, shucking ability and teaching skills, he now wears the mantle of oyster sommelier.
“Like wine, an oyster sommelier knows the species, region, grower, growing method and special properties of each oyster that we deal with — and can relate that information to the customer to make an informed decision. We are neither chef, nor bartender, nor wine steward, but we do all of the above, shucking, tasting and storytelling. Oyster Sommelier is the best-fit description most folks can understand.
The Oyster Sommellier knows all about the oysters, and hopefully can shuck a few as well,” he adds.
But is this maritime mollusc as popular as ever? “It’s funny, as an oyster shucker of a certain age — 55 — I’m seeing third generation families pop into the Oyster Bar and enjoy oysters, and that’s just in Toronto.
“Oysters are always on a ‘perpetual upswing’ and they are as popular now as I’ve ever seen then in my 25 years of oystering. The social media foodie movement only helps and bolsters that. Oysters have been around some 25 million years, and will be around some 25 million more,” he concludes with the zeal of a true convert. “In the end, we’re just shuckin’ around.”
