Bad weather, good food

Annual Oyster Festival celebrates shucking speed and cooking excellence

Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009

Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photos by JAY FRIESS Tres Hundertmark, owner of the Lobster Trap restaurant in Asheville, N.C., tears into an oyster Sunday during the men's championship shucking contest at the St. Mary's County Oyster Festival at the fairgrounds in Leonardtown. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story Click here to enlarge this photo Deborah Pratt of Jamaica, Va., clinched her sixth women's championship since 1987 during the women's championship shucking contest Sunday at the St. Mary's County Oyster Festival on Sunday. Click here to enlarge this photo Mandy Fochrkoib of Baltimore passes the tray of raw oysters that she shucked Sunday during the women's championship shucking contest.

There is no cornmeal-coating it. The weather at this year's 30th Annual St. Mary's County Oyster Festival was miserable.

Damp, penetrating winds doused visitors with a constant spritz of thin, icy rain and turned the St. Mary's County Fairgrounds into a sea of muck.

Heat could only be found in two places outside the hot cider stand — the oyster cookoff and the shucking competition.

"I look around, and I see a house that is not full, and we don't care," David Taylor, the event's administrator, told the shivering crowd just before the championship round of the shucking competition Sunday afternoon. "You don't need a lot of people to have fun!"

The championship round was a rematch of the 2006 showdown between Deborah Pratt of Jamaica, Va. and Scotty O'Lear of Panama City, Fla.

Pratt edged out her older sister, Clementine Macon, to clinch the women's championship for the sixth time since 1987 with a net time of 3:03:04. Time was added to a shucker's scores if their oysters were sliced or nicked.

O'Lear was the fastest man on the dais, gaining his fourth championship since 2000 with a net time of 2:44:57. He won again in the final faceoff with Pratt, scoring a net time of 3:01:61 over her net time of 3:24:67.

Saturday's cookoff also saw some fierce competition. Jackie Hardin of Galena conquered both the main dish category and the grand prize with her oyster tacos dressed with chipotle cream.

Jim McDuffie of Durham, N.C., claimed the soups and stews category with a winning combination of Outer Banks Poached Oysters on smoked pimento cheese grits with fried green tomato croutons.

And Brendan Cahill of Lusby seized the hors d'oeuvres category with his baked half-shell oysters covered in a sherry sauce.

Leonardtown chef Loic Jaffres claimed the third place slot in the appetizer category with his Oysters Bourguignon in Puff Pastry, but he also walked away with the people's choice award and the award for best presentation.

jfriess@somdnews.com

Oyster Taco with Chipotle Cream

The grand prize winning recipe of the 2009 National Oyster Cookoff by Jackie Hardin of Galena.

Combine mayonnaise and chipotle peppers and set aside. Wrap tortillas in foil and place in a warm oven at 250 degrees.

Prepare fried oysters: combine flour, corn meal, salt and pepper in a bowl. Drain oysters. Dip each oyster in beaten egg and then into the flour mixture. Heat 2 to 3 inches of oil in a frying pan to 375 degrees. Fry the oysters a few at a time until golden brown (about a minute or two), but don't overcook.

When all the oysters are done, remove the tortillas from the oven. On each tortilla, spoon on the chipotle cream and cole slaw and top with fried oysters. Garnish with cilantro and lime wedges. Serves four.

1 pint Maryland oysters, select

� cup flour

� cup fine yellow corn meal

Salt and pepper to taste

2 eggs, beaten with 1 tblsp. of water

Oil for frying

8 flour tortillas

1 8oz bag of cole slaw

1 cup mayonnaise

2-4 minced canned chipotle chilies in adobe sauce

Lime wedges and cilantro for garnish