12:42 pm Daily Log
I occasionally call the local seafood retailers, Mt Pleasant Seafood, Simmons Seafood, Crosby’s Seafood, to check on their prices and availability and I’ve noticed a trend this year with their responses. What’s not surprising is that their prices are between $24 and $27 plus tax per bushel (you pick them up and they can be as old as 15 days out of the water, but, to be fair, their oysters have usually been picked within the past week). So, my prices are very competitive and my product is equal to or better than what the retailers provide – I pick pretty oysters, wash them super clean, and deliver them to you for $27 which includes any taxes due.
What surprises me is what they say about McClellanville oysters or Bulls Bay oysters as compared to Beaufort oysters…they say that the McClellanville or Bulls Bay oysters are muddier and smaller and that they recommend the Beaufort oysters because they’re bigger and cleaner; the Beaufort oysters also cost between $32 and $39 plus tax per bushel. Now, I do agree that Beaufort has some pretty oysters, but they are the same oysters I pick right here in the Charleston area, the Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea Virginica) , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Oyster . So, when you hear someone say “Beaufort oysters are better than McClellanville or Bulls Bay oysters” then just remind them that it all depends on who’s picking the oysters and who’s washing the oysters.
If you can maintain them at a temperature of 45 degrees or less, but not below freezing, then they should fit into the criteria set by SC DHEC for safe shellfish handling. I’ve seen people ice a bushel down in a 48 qt cooler with the drain plug pulled so that they don’t sit in the water…keeping fresh ice on them at all times, but I can’t guarantee that this will keep them cool enough. Please read the regulations as they’re written by SCDHEC at http://www.scdhec.gov/environment/water/reg.htm#61-47 before you attempt to hold oysters for 36 hours. If you have any questions you can SCDHEC directly or call me and I’ll give you their number. Thanks.
I am hosting an oyster roast tailgate in Jacksonville in the middle of October. I want to bring the oysters with me from Charleston and am leaving about 36 hours before we will be roasting them-and suggestions for transporting them safely
Hi Sam,
I estimate about 5 people per bushel, give or take. So, with 60 people, you could feed them all with 12 bushels; however, if you’re providing other food (frogmore stew, chili, burgers etc) or the crowd is not a bunch of heavy oyster eaters then you should downsize the order to something like 7 or 8 bushels. You can call me to place an order (843-568-6380) or order online from the homepage. Thanks!
How many bushels for oyster roast 60 people
Do you deliver to Columbia?