How To Shuck Oysters Like A Pro

As anyone in the oyster game will tell you, Taylor Shellfish Farms raises some of the best bivalves in the biz. The company, which has been around since the 1890s, is known for innovation and excellence.

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 our friends at ChefSteps 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 his one-of-a-kind offerings. Whether you source your oysters from the left coast or the right, his unassailable approach will serve you well the next time you snag a few dozen freshies to suck down with champagne. Check out the short video and full directions for shucking oysters below.

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. Once you have your knife all up in there, give it a good, slow twist. The shell should pop open.

4. 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!

5. 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.

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

7. Serve and slurp!

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