There's an 'r' in the month and the first of the native Irish oysters are appearing on menus around the country. Although you may think that oysters are available all year round, what we generally see in restaurants are Pacific or Giga oysters. But the Irish natives are just a bit more special. And to ensure that they are truly outstanding in quality, they are left to spawn for four months of the year, from May through August, hence the familiar saying that you should only eat oysters when there’s an ‘r’ in the month.
Similar to the French Belon oysters, the Irish natives are so prized that they are exported worldwide and sold in exclusive restaurants and upmarket food halls such as Harrods in London. So what makes the native Irish oyster – the ostrea edulis – so special?
“It is a round, flat oyster, native to Europe. Here we call ours the Galway Flat. It takes five years to mature, which is twice as long as the tear-shaped rock oyster, also known as a Giga or pacific oyster, which is available year-round," says Diarmuid Kelly, who runs Kelly's Oysters with his brother Michéal at Dunbulcan Bay near Kilcolgan, in Galway, where they raise both types.
In Harrods, these oysters are considered to be of such quality that the company is name-checked: "Native Irish Oysters, taken from their beds in inner Galway Bay, where the Kelly family has been raising these for the last 50 years."
Much like the French Belon oyster – which is highly prized because of the unique flavour it has from being raised in the slightly salty, mineral waters of the Belon estuary – the geographical location of the oyster beds for the Galway Flats means that their flavour is unique and distinctively different from European natives raised elsewhere.
Some people refer to the “meroir” of an oyster, much like wine aficionados talk about terroir; and in Galway, where the native Irish oysters are raised, there is a perfect mix of salt and fresh water in the bay. The flinty, freshwater from the limestone landscape of the Burren to the south, combined with the earthy water from the turf bogs of Connemara to the north is mixed with the cold Atlantic Ocean. Mixing all of those flavours of the bay is what gives the native oysters their unique flavour.
Even though rock oysters are also raised in the same body of water, the natives taste different. “The flat oyster, which grows wild, is lower down on the seabed and it feeds off the heavier phytoplankton,” says Kelly. “A mature oyster can filter up to 11 litres an hour. The rock oyster is further up the shore and feeds on a lighter, more delicate phytoplankton, so it has a lighter taste. The texture of the native oyster is very meaty and firm and it has a stronger, heavier, more metallic taste."
“The native Irish oysters are the best in the world. They are just perfect au naturel with a nice glass of German Riesling or dry sherry. The dry sherry will actually bring out the flavour of the oyster and the oyster brings out the flavour of the sherry. They’re a perfect match,” says Dan Mullane of The Mustard Seed in Ballingarry, County Limerick. “And then maybe you can have them with some shallots from the garden. We grow a lot of herbs, so a little bit of Thai basil also goes beautifully with the native Irish oysters.”
Native Irish oysters are one of the truly unique delicacies that you will find on menus of the finer restaurants around the country. As well as The Mustard Seed, you will find the on the menu at Aherne’s Restaurant in Youghal, County Cork and in The King Sitric, in the coastal village of Howth in north county Dublin. It is the perfect excuse to make an extra special dinner booking or even head off for a well-deserved weekend break. We have plenty of wonderful suggestions for you here.
Written by Corinna Hardgrave
Food / Travel / Wine Writer / Online Content Strategist
Member Irish Food Writers' Guild
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