Quintessentially Lowcountry: Oyster roasts: An evolving tradition

Beaufort native Charley Webb, who grew up near the now-closed Maggioni cannery on Lady's Island, remembers oyster roasts as a Sunday-evening neighborhood tradition.

Throughout the fall and winter -- during any month whose spelling includes the letter "r" -- Webb and his family would wade through the pluff mud to harvest a couple of bushels of oysters and host roasts at their home on Factory Creek Road.

While the children played games like hide-and-seek, the adults would build an oak-wood fire and heat a large sheet of metal over it. After shoveling the oysters on top and covering them with a wet crocus sack or burlap bag, they'd steam the mollusks until the shells popped open.

Webb, now 57, said the small roasts he attended as a child differed from the large fundraisers now held throughout the county that feature chili and hot dogs, as well as local oysters.

"It wasn't a big entertainment function," he said. "It was a family affair."

Dozens of local clubs, churches and schools hold oysters roasts to raise money and give the community a chance to socialize.

Tina Toomer, who operates the Bluffton Oyster Co. with her husband, said they cater three to four roasts each weekend from September until May, in addition to several during the week. They cater weddings, birthday parties, holiday parties and fundraisers, including the annual roast for the Bluffton Rotary Club that serves between 600 and 800 people, she said.

"There are more and more every year," Toomer said. "People go to one and then say, 'Let's do it.'"

Douglas Massalon organizes the annual Oyster Roast and International Microbrew Festival benefiting St. Peter's Catholic Church and School in Beaufort. He said oyster roasts allow people to have fun and enjoy local seafood while helping a good cause and celebrating a local tradition.

"If you're in the Lowcountry, everybody enjoys a good oyster roast," he said.

Roddy Beasley, who operates Maggioni Seafood Co. on St. Helena Island, said many people have moved away from the traditional method of steaming oysters over a wood fire with a wet crocus sack, like his family used to do when he was growing up. At large oyster roasts, most people don't watch them cook and instead wait at tables to be served, he said.

"Everything is done in pots now, and you do get a more uniform cook," Beasley said. "But it's not the same as standing around the fire."

Although the atmosphere at local oyster roasts might be changing, many say South Carolina oysters remain among the best.

"We have the best oysters in the world," said Chris Long, a chef at Beaufort's Rhett House Inn who has lived in the area since 1969. "They have good flavor, good salt. I've had oysters from a lot of places, but ours are the best."

Long said most locals eat their oysters with cocktail sauce or hot sauce and sometimes a plain saltine cracker. He said he's seen more northerners use melted butter, sometimes with garlic.

Moe Phifer, who has lived in the Beaufort area since 1979, hosts oyster roasts in his backyard for friends and family. He serves oysters with a simple cocktail sauce made with two-thirds ketchup, one-third horseradish, a squeeze of fresh lemon and a little bit of garlic pepper.

"That's the perfect mix and how easy is that.?" he said.

Webb said he eats his oysters with Texas Pete hot sauce on a cracker.

"With oysters, there's no in between," Webb said. "You either like them or you don't. For those people who don't like them, I feel sorry for them."

What's essential for a successful oyster roast?

• "A good chilly evening, local salty oysters and people who like to eat them. And an ice-cold Pabst Blue Ribbon beer."

-- Beaufort native Charley Webb

• "You need good, very clean oysters, cold beer and great people to share it with."

-- Douglas Massalon, who organizes the St. Peter's oyster roast.

• "They've got to be fresh, and there's nothing like our good ol' East Coast oysters."

-- Long-time Beaufort resident Moe Phifer

Recycle Oyster Shells

After an oyster roast, keep the area's oyster population healthy by recycling empty shells. The S.C. Department of Natural Resources has large bins at several drop-off locations where the public can turn in empty oyster shells for replanting by the agency. For a list of locations with directions and maps, go to saltwaterfishing.sc.gov/oyster.html.