Oy. I’ve eaten hundreds of raw oysters in my life, and never with any ill effects. Then again, I always eat them in the non-R months, and I always get them from reputable sellers. In the bay area of California, that usually means Hog Island Oysters.
Yesterday morning, we went to Marshall, California on the Tomales Bay. It was a gorgeous morning, sunny and warm, and Mr. Pug and I each devoured a dozen or so oysters right out of the bay for breakfast, together with some crusty bread and a bit of the local pear cider. The oysters were living, fresh, briny and sweet.
By early afternoon, I was feeling a bit queasy, and by late afternoon, I was extremely nauseated and the lower intestines were starting to rumble. To say that I had diarrhea last night would be an understatement - it was more like periodic dumping of slightly brown-tinged water. I must have lost a half-gallon of fluid easy over the course of a couple of hours. After I was thoroughly emptied out, shakey and feeling faint, I drank some Cytomax sport drink and was feeling almost normal by 9 p.m. last night.
Ay caramba! I thought you couldn’t get dodgy oysters in winter, and we were careful to dispose of any that looked funny in any way. I guess if you’re an oyster addict, it’s a big roulette game no matter how careful you are.
::off to drink some Pepto Bismo::