• Make sure you have the right tools. Either an oyster shucking knife or a flat head screwdriver and small knife (like a paring knife). Also fold a large cloth napkin or dish towel into 4 and make sure it comfortably covers your whole palm, while holding the oyster.
• Next, clean the fresh oysters under cool running water. Use a scrubber or brush to scrub the oysters to remove any sand, grit, or debris on the shells.
  12 pieces fresh live oysters
• Place the oysters on paper towels or another cloth napkin. Make sure the flat surface (top shell) is on top. Pat dry the oysters so they won’t be too slippery.
• Crumple up some wet napkins or foil and place them on a tray or baking sheet. This is where we place the shucked oysters.

How to shuck an oyster with an oyster shucking knife

• Place the folded cloth napkin or dish towel over your palm (if you're right-handed, place it over your left palm).
• Hold the oyster by the napkin in your palm, with the cup side (curved side) of the shell resting on your palm.
• Insert the point of the shucking knife into the hinge of the oyster while firmly holding the oyster. Gently but with firm pressure, rock the shucking knife in until the tip is firmly inserted into the hinge. Continue to rock or “shimmy” the shucking knife with firm pressure to get the tip of the knife into the oyster.
• When the tip goes far enough inside the hinge, the rocking motion will cause the two shells to “pop” open and separate.
• Insert the blade of the shucking knife horizontally between the two shells from the open end at the hinge.
• With a gentle rocking motion, pry open the shells further, while moving the blade between the two shells, as close to the top shell as possible. This will sever the adductor muscle in the oyster meat that is attached to the top shell.
• Remove the top shell and set it aside.
• The oyster meat should be in the cup shell (bottom shell), which should also contain the oyster liquor. Be careful not to spill the liquor. The oyster meat should be attached to the bottom shell by an adductor muscle (that looks like a small white circle).
• Run the oyster knife blade under the adductor muscle, as close to the bottom shell to sever this. Then gently prod the oyster meat to make sure it's not connected to the bottom shell anymore.
• Gently shake the shell and the oyster should float in the liquor and jiggle. Place the shucked oyster on the prepared tray. The crumpled napkins / foil should provide stability to keep the shucked oyster upright without losing any of the oyster liquor.

How to shuck an oyster with a flat head screwdriver

• Insert the flat tip of the screwdriver into the hinge of the oyster. Gently, shimmy it into the hinge while holding the oyster with a firm grip.
• With the same shimmying / rocking motion as with a shucking knife, gently push the screwdriver into the hinge of the oyster. When the screwdriver has gone far enough into the oyster shell, the rocking motion will pop open the shells apart.
• Then swap the screwdriver for a small paring knife. Insert the paring knife blade between the two opened shells horizontally, and move the knife across between the shells as close to the top shell as possible to separate the adductor muscle from the top shell.
• Then use the paring knife to sever the adductor muscle attached to the bottom shell as well.
• Similar to the oyster shucking knife method, make sure the oyster meat is floating in the liquor and not attached to the shell.
• Place the shucked oyster on the prepared tray. The crumpled napkins / foil should provide stability to keep the shucked oyster upright without losing any of the oyster liquor.

Storing

• Once you have shucked all of the oysters, place them on the tray and cover them well but loosely with plastic wrap. (If the plastic wrap touches the oyster liquor, the liquid may leak out of the shell and the oysters may dry out.)
• Keep the shucked oysters in the fridge. I prefer to shuck the oysters only 1 - 2 days in advance. If the oysters were freshly harvested, then the shucked oysters could be stored in the fridge for a few days, but I prefer to consume them within 48 hours for best flavor.

To serve

• Top the serving platter with a generous layer of crushed ice. Then place the shucked oysters on the ice, making sure the shells are stable and don't tip over. Also make sure the ice won’t melt INTO the oyster shell as well.
  Crushed ice
• Serve with lime or lemon wedges, or a combination of hot sauce, cocktail sauce, and mignonette sauce.