What’s In an Oyster’s Name?

Zydeco beats and the rich smell of seafood gumbo wafted into the entrance of Saint Arnold Brewing Company’s massive tour hall this past Sunday, February 17, for the inaugural Oyster Extravaganza. Raising $8,000 for Foodways Texas, the event featured raw oysters and of course, Saint Arnold beers. With a dual purpose of educating folks on the revived oyster-labeling system known as “appellations” and the raising of funds, the sold-out event was a success in every facet.

So, what are appellation oysters? According to Jim Gossen, seafood king of the Third Coast or, as his business card states, the chairman of Sysco Louisiana Seafood, appellations are simply a way of letting consumers know where the oysters come from. Similar to the concept of “terroir” in the wine world, the flavor, texture and subtleties of oysters vary according to their location. And also like grape production, elements like weather, current, rainfall, temperature and other aspects combine to provide individualities in that final product.

In a recent interview that will appear in full in My Table Magazine’s April-May “Local Foods” issue, Gossen explained all the intricacies of appellation oysters, and why it’s not just their location that is important.

“Basically these oysters are all hand selected. We’ll go through the reefs and pick out the most beautiful oysters, the tastiest ones, and those will go into the appellation [labels]. We want a big, nice, at least four-inch oyster. We want them to be plump, we want them to have a complexity of taste. We don’t them to just be salty, we want them to have a flavor that embodies the terroir. That is really the essence of doing an appellation system.”

Familiar with the appellation labeling or not, Sunday’s attendees were not shy about slurping down the bivalves, with 250 people devouring an epic 4,400 total oysters in the span of two hours. Waiting in line, many discussed their favorite appellation, from the silky buttermilk texture and tang of the Lone Oak oysters or the briny concentration from the Resignation Reefs. The essence of each honestly distinguishable, all excelling in one aspect or another.

Among the crowd were plenty of Gulf seafood pioneers like Gossen, who was also a co-organizer of the event; Bryan Caswell, owner/chef at Reef; Robb Walsh, former Houston Press food critic, current food editor and critic at Houstonia Magazine and Foodways Texas board member; Tommy O’Neal, formerly at the Magnolia Grill, who was overseeing the intense oyster shucking; chef Danny Trace from Brennan’s whose team supplied seafood gumbo and fried oyster BLTs; Lennie Ambrose, co-organizer and Saint Arnold’s marketing and events manager; and Brock and Karen Wagner, Saint Arnold’s founder and wife, respectively.

*Disclaimer: Writer Amber Ambrose is married to Lennie Ambrose, Saint Arnold employee and co-organizer of this event.*