Johnathan Swift said “He was a brave man who first ate an oyster,” but people on the Mississippi Coast overcame that prejudice a long time ago and oysters have always been an important part not only their diet, but the industry that made the coast the wealthy place it was. Today the industry is highly regulated with harvested oysters required to be inspected by the Bureau of Marine Resources before coming ashore.
The system is so effective that there is no record of anyone becoming ill from eating an oyster tagged by the MBMR. Contaminated oysters that made someone sick have always been the fault of faulty storage or handling by the restaurant. So, rest at east when eating those raw oysters just harvested from Hermit Island Oyster Company or one of the oyster beds in the eastern Mississippi Sound.
Perhaps you have heard of Murder Point Oysters? They are reputed to be some of the best in the Mississippi Sound (did you know the Gulf of Mexico starts on the northern side of the barrier islands? From the islands south to the shore is the MS Sound). At one time the oyster beds were privately owned and some poor soul got caught stealing oysters from someone else’s bed, and lost his life for the trespass, thus the name. Today the best oysters are raised off bottom, meaning they’re suspended in cages, not resting on the muddy bottom and are suspended in nutrient rich waters away from predators, creating the best conditions, for the best oysters.
Off bottom oysters started with Hermit Island Oyster company with one relatively small bed, but today there are more the forty acres of off bottom oysters just south of Deer Island and perhaps in other places as well. When first introduced to executive chef Wade Guise of the Beau Rivage Casino, he called them “Biloxi Butter,” a name well deserved.
It really does take somewhat of a connoisseur to appreciate the complexity of a good oyster, while so many people judge an oyster by it saltiness, but that is determined by the salinity of the water where the oyster resides, not the robustness of the oyster.
Raw oysters are the domain of the real oyster lover, unless he covers them with hot sauce and other fixens, which kind of defeats the purpose. Grilled oysters, topped with cheese, butter and sauces are good, but again the add-ons change the nature of the oyster, but I have to admit my favorite oyster is a huge fat one that has been deep fried but only till is it still raw and juciy in the middle.
Thank goodness for Johnathan Swift.