Shore Thing Shellfish, Tall Timbers, St. Mary’s County, Maryland

This is a great idea for a big event.

I love oysters on the half shell. I also like them roasted, fried, tarted up with bacon or spinach and breadcrumbs, and in stews and in dressing. Most of all, though, I love them on the half shell, raw with perhaps a drop or two of lemon juice. So I feel blessed to have discovered Shore Thing Shellfish, headquartered in St. Mary’s County, over by Tall Timbers. You know the area — over past Chief’s near the Reluctant Navigator. You may have had Tall Timbers oysters at the Salt Line or at the Ruddy Duck in Piney Point. Shore Thing farms oysters in that area, and they have a wide range of services. They can set you up with an oyster farm, oyster floats, or create an oyster “Living Shoreline” to help protect your waterfront. It looks and tastes much better than rip-rap.

The company is run by Brian, Mandy, and Sheldon. I learned about Shore Thing at a birthday party to which Sheldon brought some hundreds of oysters and himself to shuck them. And Sheldon is an expert.

Sheldon understands that there’s a lot more to shucking oysters than opening them. Usually, shuckers remove the top and serve the oyster in the cup. Shore Thing oysters tend to have a deep cup and a flat top. Sheldon, in an act of genius, serves them on the flat, which makes them easy to eat without resort to a fork, and leaves a hand free for other vital purposes.

Sheldon is a very engaging person, and my new best friend. It was a joy to talk with him. He’s shucked oysters since he was a child. As a teenager, Sheldon used to shuck 90 bushels of oysters a week(!) for which he would earn $2 per bushel. Sheldon told me that in high school, the coach asked him to come out for the football team. Sheldon asked, “How much will you pay me? I make $180 a week shucking oysters.” The coach told him, “That’s more than I make!”

Shore Thing produces delicious oysters. The ones I had were bright, plump, and had moderate salt. These are fine oysters, and they were ice cold, even on a hot July day. (You need not worry about the letter R any more.) You can go down to Tall Timbers and pick up a bunch at a very attractive price — $70/hundred — as per their website. What you really want to do, though, is have them delivered, and have Sheldon come along to shuck them at your event. It’s the perfect centerpiece for a large birthday, wedding reception, or other event, including corporate events and fund-raisers. The oysters — and Sheldon — will turn the ordinary extraordinary, and make for a delicious and very special time.

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