Gary999

I can get oysters in the shell for a decent price but they are from LA and they are cloudy and not salty. Could I put then in clean salty water at low tide and get them at high tide to impove them? Sort of like purging crawfish.

cappy tan

oysters are bivalves, they intake seawater then purge, shipping half dead oysters from LA and immersing them to impart a "salty" taste is like wiping wagyu beef on a hotdog hoping for the taste to improve..yea..NO

Oysters from LA..Jesus..why ?

Gary999

Thank you for your insight.

wdlfbio

We get oysters from a producer 3/4 mile from the house. Fresh as can be. My GF often prefers hers to sit in a bucket of fresh water for 30-60 minutes to reduce the saltiness. If they are alive, chances are they may still be after a soak in your saltwater area.

moonzy1

I think you are on the rt track.
From what I understand, they do that around here to clean clams of sand and mud before sale and I dont think it takes very long to do. Cpl days.
So I would think you could affect the brinyness by putting them in salt water of higher concentration. Maybe not change the flavor of the oyster but just the saltiness.

Tireless

If the low water you are talking about isn't close to where the oyster were harvested, I am confident your first batch of purged oysters will be dead when you retrieve them.

Gary999

Very much a possibility hence my post.

trout25red

I'll bite your troll spread. Could you first explain why not? Asking for a friend who has raised eyebrows towards you.

flcatcher1

I spent many weekends fishing out of Chincoteague VA 50 -60+ years ago. They used to have semis haul clams in from Canada to Burton's Seafood docks on Eastside Drive and load them on barges, called monitors, and plant them on the flats for a few weeks to acquire the taste of the salty water there. The trucks would then load up with shellfish that had spent some time in the local waters for the return trip. They had pens where they stored oysters as well, but I never saw the oysters being loaded or unloaded. I believe the clams were kept in the water for several weeks back in the day, but have heard unsubstantiated rumors that one change of the tide was sufficient to label the shellfish as a product from Chincoteague. Such a practice is likely to affect the saltiness of the product, but may not affect the actual flavor of the tissue of an organism that grew in different waters. Of course you'd have to chew them to notice that. If you just slurp and swallow mock Chincoteague oysters may be highly satisfying to you. Don't know what is donje in other locales, but the mock shellfish component of the seafood industry still exists In Chincoteague today and Burton;s is still in business.

BACKTOTHESEA

Shellfish are transplanted all the time, often to remove them from contaminated areas to areas being rebuilt.

That said, non commercial, unregulated transplanting of species from out of state I suspect is highly illegal. And hanging in a bag is transplanting albeit for a short period.

Steve195

Maybe he thinks the OP means Los Angeles instead of Louisiana.

louiefl

One of the reasons you don't eat them in the months without an R (May-August) is that it is rainy season and many of the brackish areas they grow get inundated with freshwater runoff causing the waterways to be less salty. Oysters will not exchange waste products with the environment in an effort to hold onto their salinity if it gets much below 10 parts per thousand. They also need oxygen, so putting them in a bucket of salt water would be a death sentence. All that being said, probably wouldn't hurt to put them in a cleaner brackish / salty water as long as they stay submerged, and water is not stagnant - something with tidal exchanges would be good.

YeOldeStonecat

Stock up on teepee...or paper towels...or sponges. Might spend a bit of time on the toilet with the babbling brook after eating oysters that have been transplanted that radically...from muddy swamp waters to..wherever you are. Unless you're in similar water I don't see them taking well to a whole new type of water.

Boat Hound

Why not just buy good oysters?

EMC Pursuit

I have never tried it with oysters, but I do it every time with Middle Neck Clams. I use sea salt and leave them in for an hour or even overnight. Gets all the mud out. I imagine it would work for Oysters.

20biminitwist

Don't buy oysters from any place that is experiencing extreme flooding and record rain fall. What you getting is a product of low salinity and probably higher than normal bacteria.

That said, Louisiana at times turns out some of the best oysters the gulf has to offer.

Gary999

Sometimes that isn't possible.

Going to try it the 2 dozen I have else I would throw them away. I'll report back if I don't die.

skibum

That's the spirit!

Louisiana of Cali?

Fish Haid

Dump into washing machine. Add a whole container of salt (not iodized). Run through "delicate" cycle.

scottdd1

Yes.

Tidal timing shouldn’t matter.....better if over a week.