The same Strait oysters, already opened, so the shell work is done and what is left is the part you cook with.

What It Is

Bluff oyster meat, shucked from live stock and potted with the liquor from the same shells. No water added, no brine, no preservative. The meat is small and firm rather than plump, which is why it holds its shape in a fritter or a pie instead of dissolving.

Where It Comes From

Shucked at Bluff from oysters dredged the same week in Foveaux Strait. The meat is packed in the shed rather than shipped away, so it spends hours rather than days between shell and tub.

Specifications

State on Arrival

Chilled and firm, sitting in a small amount of its own clear liquor. The meat should smell of the sea and nothing else; a sour or metallic note means it has been out of temperature.

Storage and Use

Keep at 0 to 4 C and use within 3 days of opening, or freeze it in the liquor on the day it arrives and use within 3 months. Pour off the liquor and keep it: it is the best stock you will get for a chowder or a pan sauce. Do not rinse the meat under the tap.

Shelf Life and Delivery

Best within 4 days of packing; the tub is date-stamped on the base. Shipped overnight with gel packs. Freeze on arrival if you are not cooking within three days.

How to Cook It

Bluff meat is small and lean, so it takes heat fast and turns rubbery slowly — the window between raw and overdone is wider than for a Pacific oyster, but it still exists.

• Fritters chop roughly, fold into a thick batter with parsley and lemon zest, and shallow-fry in spoonfuls for 2 minutes a side.
• Pie soften leek and celery, add the meat and its liquor at the end, thicken lightly, and top with puff pastry.
• Chowder use the liquor as the base with potato and milk, and drop the meat in for the last 90 seconds only.
• Grilled return the meat to a shell with garlic butter and grill until the edges just set.

Allergen Information

Contains molluscs. Shucked in a facility that also handles fish and crustaceans.