Honey, it is soooooo BIG!!!

Before I get toooooooo involved in this blog post, I have to apologise for the quality of these 3 photos. It could be a product of my camera being dropped a gazillion times over the last 5 years - but I can tell you honestly, the real reason that these photos are not so great, is because the SUN was SHINING SO BRIGHT - it ruined my photos. I, for one, am not complaining. If you have to squint a little to read the blog due to this fact - then suck it up :-)

We have just wrapped up a week of Full Moon Feasting here in Galway. The reason for feasting is that when the full moon arrives, the locals (and us) all head to the beaches and gather an abundance of just about any imaginable shell fish you can think of!

There are 3 - 5 days of 'picking' during the full moon week, and mostly we were there for the Oysters and the Clams. We did hope to find some Razor Clams this time around, but due to a rough current, the little buggers were laying low - Stay tuned on this though, we are going back out in April to catch them! (Eric H. If you are reading this, Wellie up! as it will most likely be your vacation treat!).


The first image is of a tiny amount of the Oysters we harvested that day. We stumbled upon some of the biggest boys either Chef or I have ever come across. So big in fact, we were a little intimidated by them!! We washed them and left them in our fridge for a few days - wondering if they were going to cause a revolt with the Clams, Mussels and smaller shellfish we found.

A man I met (my new BFF) named Billy told that these Giants of the Sea are actually from Portugal. About 15 years ago, there was an arrangement between Galway and Portugal where we took the baby oysters from them and allowed them to grow in Irish waters for 18mths. Then, we sold them back to Portugal as Portuguese Oysters. (Remember my September 2008 Blog - same thing is still going on in Waterford - except the relationship is with France).

Anyway, things did not work out with Portugal, so the arrangement fell through about 6 years ago. Now, we are still left with some of these giants along our shores. Billy thinks that the ones we harvested are about 3 - 4 yrs old. Imagine finding a ten year old??


So, what is a girl to do with something so big???? Thankfully, the Chef himself intervened and came up with a few different ways to try these giants!

Raw of course, Oyster Stew (yumba!), Oyster Stuffing (for Paddy''s Day tomorrow), Oysters Rockerfeller (oh, yes, still delicious!) and of course, the old reliable - dunked in Franks Red HOT sauce and deep fried..................

I am sure you think we are in Oyster coma by now, but there has been a lovely smattering of Mussels, Clams & Scallops thrown into the mix - so we are lust kind of in Seafood Utopia..............

A little sickening, I know,

That is all the WiseWords I have for today - the eve of St. Paddys'!

WiseMóna