Oyster festival comes to Oyster Bay
Event staff shuck oysters in order to prepare them for people to buy and consume. (Oct. 15, 2011) Credit: Steve Pfost
Preparing and dishing out more than 40,000 East Coast oysters on the half shell in two days is no easy task.
And the riskiest part of the Oyster Bay Oyster Festival ritual -- shucking bivalves at super speed -- is strictly reserved for professionals.
"The most difficult part is opening them with the knife, because sometimes the knife goes through and it can cut your hand," said Freddy Yanes, 30, of Oyster Bay, a shucker for Frank M. Flower and Sons for 14 years.
Yanes, who wore thick black rubber gloves and an apron, did his best to satisfy the cravings of the more than 100,000 people who attended the waterfront festival at Theodore Roosevelt Park Saturday.
The 28th annual event sponsored by the Oyster Bay Rotary Club continues Sunday, offering a vast array of food and entertainment, including live music, boat rides and oyster eating and shucking contests.
The centerpiece oysters were donated by Flower and Sons, a local oyster and clams wholesaler. About 20 employees were on hand to handle the shucking.
Yanes proudly displayed his skills, holding an oyster firmly in one hand, a knife in the other. With twists of the short blade, he pried the top and bottom shells apart, trying not to lose any of the natural juices inside. Then he deftly cut the oyster free.
Elapsed time: 10 seconds. Injuries to digits: none.
"The employees are very knowledgeable experts, so we don't have to worry about them hurting themselves," said Donna Lee, of Bayville, an event organizer who has worked the oyster booth for 10 years.
"It is easier to eat them than to open them," said John A. Guiliano, 62, of Syosset, a longtime participant in the oyster-eating contest.
He likes his raw oysters with cocktail sauce or lemon.
Oysters weren't just slurped down raw Saturday.
About 25 members of the Mill River Rod and Gun Club served up thousands of the fried variety, benefiting three local charities. The oysters were tossed in seasoned flour then simmered to a golden brown on an electric grill in trans fat-free oil.
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Newsday Live Author Series: Bobby Flay Newsday Live and Long Island LitFest present a conversation with Emmy-winning host, professional chef, restaurateur and author Bobby Flay. Newsday food reporter and critic Erica Marcus hosts a discussion about the chef's life, four-decade career and new cookbook, "Bobby Flay: Chapter One."
