Chef John Beasley is shucking oysters to put together a platter at Clark’s in Montecito. He’s shucked thousands of them in his career and makes it look easy.
Now, as part of the Santa Barbara Culinary Experience, he’s teaching others how to shuck.
"A lot of times people are afraid of them, or have a love-hate relationship, or hear a bad story about them, but they're a wonderful, wonderful food," said Beasley.
It’s one of many classes, workshops, dining events, and tours from the art of butter to coffee tasting, taking place during the 6-day event, which celebrates farm-to-table food production in Santa Barbara County, as well as the area’s connection to TV chef Julia Child.
"The most complicated thing about an oyster is just opening it, and they're really not that hard to open," said Beasley. "You just have to know a few tricks and be careful, and you should be good. Then we make our own cocktail sauce right here, and we also make our own mignonette, which is a classic French accompaniment to oysters. Julia Child would be proud."
I’d better roll my sleeves up and try opening one of these for myself! Donning gloves, Chef Beasley guides me through inserting the knife and turning it "like a key" to prize open the tightly clamped shell.
"I don't know how many oysters I've shucked. Hundreds of thousands by this point, and I've found four pearls, so it's pretty rare," said Beasley.
John will be sharing his pearls of wisdom on Monday at Clark’s.
