How to Boil Oysters: A Simple and Efficient Process

Enjoyed by our civilization for thousands of years, oysters are still an intriguing food to tackle in our kitchens today. This delicate, slimy, flavourful and expensive treat doesn‘t have to follow a complicated preparation route. And if done right, they can be tasty and safe to eat. They also possess high nutritional value in multiple aspects. And one of the best and quickest ways to prepare this exquisite seafood is to boil it. So, what are we waiting for? Let‘s learn how to boil oysters with a simple yet informative and efficient process that will deliver bacteria-free and yummy oysters to your table in no time!

How to Boil Oysters (Step-by-Step)

Step 1: Add Water and Salt to the Pot

Before we start learning how to boil oysters, we have to make sure we are doing it right from the very beginning. The first and one of the most important things to do is to make sure there is enough space in the pot for your oysters. This will prove important in the later stages.

Now that we have our pot ready, we add water to fill slightly more than half of the pot. After that, our loyal cooking partner, salt, follows with 2 tablespoons in amount.

We are ready to boil! Let‘s proceed in our journey of learning how to boil oysters.

Did You Know? Despite being small, oysters are packed with essential nutrients and vitamins. They’re particularly high in vitamin B12.

Vitamin	Amount (% RDI)
Vitamin B12	324 %
Vitamin B3	7 %
Vitamin D	80 %
Vitamin C	13 %
Vitamin B6	4 %
Vitamin K	0 %
Vitamin A	2 %

Step 2: Bring Water to Boil

Welcome to one of the easiest parts in this how-to-boil-oysters learning journey! Now, all we have to do is wait for the water to boil.

But before that, let‘s not forget to mix the salt so it doesn‘t settle on the bottom of the pot.

Our water is salty, soon to be boiling and in the meantime, let‘s get ready another simple yet crucial ingredient. This ingredient will allow us to make oysters extra delicious.

Step 3: Bring in the Aromatic Bay Leaves!

Learning how to boil oysters doesn‘t have to be complicated in terms of having other materials on hand. All we need are time-tested bay leaves to easily add more aroma and flavor to our already delicate treat.

But why bay leaves? When herbs such as bay leaves are infused into cooking liquid such as water, it will develop subtle hints of not only Christmas tree pine and black pepper, but also a minty flavor.

To lighten up and make the dish more hearty, around 3 bay leaves should be sufficient to deliver that extra punch of aroma and flavor.

Did You Know? Zinc is the most profound mineral found in oysters; zing is vital for the immune system to function.

Mineral	Amount (% RDI)
Zinc	605 %
Phosphorus	14 %
Iron	37 %
Selenium	91 %
Copper	223 %
Magnesium	12 %
Calcium	5 %
Manganese	1 %

Step 4: Submerge the Delicious Oysters

Once the water is boiling, it is time to add oysters and cook them. Take your oysters and gently add them to the water one by one while making sure all of them are submerged underwater in the end.

It‘s important to remember that they are delicate and quite fragile; therefore, let‘s stir them up with care and attention too.

Step 5: Plate, Serve and Enjoy!

After 2-3 minutes, remove the oysters from the pot carefully and put them straight into the plate while using a spatula with holes to remove water.

Once the oysters land on a spacious plate, take half of a lemon and squeeze over them as evenly as possible. Why lemon? As we all know, lemon and seafood go hand in hand like fish and chips.

Lemon juice will be your digestive aid, deodorizer, complementary flavor and appreciation for a meal all in one.

How Long to Boil Oysters?

And there you go! A question of how to boil oysters remains no more! As you can see, simplicity here is the key while at the same time its a quick and efficient process.

Before we complete the guide and summarize everything, let’s put together all the different stages of boiling we went through. This will deliver the overall cooking time that this method takes.

1. Adding water and salt will take only 1 minute.
2. Mixing salt and boiling water is done in 5 minutes.
3. Dropping in bay leaves and submerging oysters demands 1 minute.
4. Final boil and cooking will take 3 minutes.

Total cooking time: 10 minutes.

Please note that times might differ a bit depending on your heat source, initial water temperature, and other things, but you can plan your day and cooking time around these numbers!