Only in Beaufort: How the oyster defines fall in the Lowcountry

The Lowcountry can teach you things.

Take former Vice President Walter Mondale. It taught him the proper way to eat a shrimp, a lesson he learned the hard way. On a trip here 30 years ago, Mondale famously bit into the shell before anyone could explain that it's always best to peel it first.

He might have had better luck with an oyster. Even people from Minnesota know better than to bite into those hard-as-a-brick shells.

Had he visited Beaufort in the fall, Mondale would have had ample opportunity to attend a charitable oyster roast. They seem to roll in with the tide which, like oyster roasts, apparently stop for no man.

The Rotary clubs -- Beaufort, Lowcountry and Sea Island -- hold a joint oyster roast fundraiser each year. The Technical College of the Lowcountry does as well. So does St. Peter's, which jumped into the shell game in recent years, as has the Beaufort High Booster Club. There are a number of other nonprofit groups, faith organizations and civic clubs who call the oyster king.

The roasts, apart from the charitable causes, help define our area. One can imagine the popularity of a barbecue fundraiser in Memphis, full of authentic pork that is styled after the city. Somewhere in Wisconsin, a melted cheese festival probably draws thousands each year.

Here, though, it's the fresh oysters -- available each fall -- that bring out the crowds.

Not that the task is an easy one. Cooking oysters, like traveling through the Holy Land, is easier to do with a group than as an individual.

Without going all Bubba Blue here, there are several ways to prepare oysters, including frying and eating them raw. The most popular is still roasting them over an open fire.

If you get tickets to a roast, there are a few things you should know.

- Bring your own glove or towel.

- Bring your own oyster knife. No one likes to share a knife and, if you live here, you probably have one of your own. It's in your closet next to your seersucker pants and Croakies. It may even be engraved. Resist the urge to show to everyone. No one cares. Just bring it and use it.

- Bring your own beer is usually optional, but the beer does help wash the little darlings down.

- There's an option for those who go but don't like oysters -- usually hot dogs or chili. These choices are usually for children, people allergic to shellfish -- and the weak. Know that you will not be allowed to socialize at the oyster table if you go the non-oyster route. We do have our standards.

- Prying open an oyster is more laborious than peeling a shrimp, but the salt you'll lose in the sweaty effort will quickly be replaced.

And remember, unlike visiting politicians, look before you eat.

Ryan Copeland is a Beaufort native. He can be reached at rlcopeland@hargray.com.

This story was originally published December 6, 2015 at 6:57 PM with the headline "Only in Beaufort: How the oyster defines fall in the Lowcountry ."