Slurping Wild Oysters at Dosewallips State Park

 Posted by on May 25, 2014 at 10:55 pm  Food & Cooking, Outdoors  No Responses »
May 252014
 
Wild oysters on the half shell at Dosewallips State Park

Wild oysters on the half shell at Dosewallips State Park

Shucking and slurping wild oysters at Dosewallips State Park is one of my favorite pastimes in the Northwest. Several dozens of people had the same idea today but the beach has plenty of room to accommodate a lot more people. Although we did not see the sun today, the weather was great with the forecasted rain not appearing until we left the beach.

A dollop of cocktail sauce, a dash of Tabasco sauce and a squirt of lemon made for some of the best tasting oysters I’ve had in a long time.

 

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Shucking Shellfish by the Seashore at Dosewallips State Park

 Posted by on June 11, 2013 at 3:40 pm  Food & Cooking, Outdoors  1 Response »
Jun 112013
 
Dosewallips Pacific oysters on the half shell

Dosewallips Pacific oysters on the half shell

There’s no better food than food that you eat seconds after you harvest it. The other day, I took some friends to Dosewallips State Park for a day of clamming and oyster shucking. After a quick lesson in oyster shucking, we able to fill a plate full of fresh Pacific oysters. A little cocktail sauce and lime juice were all that were needed to render our oysters irresistible. Under a warm sky, we slurped our oysters looking out over the vast Hood Canal. A quintessential Northwest moment!

If you go harvest oysters, don’t forget you need to shuck the oysters on the beach and leave the shells behind for the young oysters to latch onto for the next generation.

Dosewallips oyster ready to be slurped

Dosewallips oyster ready to be slurped

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Happy as a Clam at Dosewallips State Park

 Posted by on June 22, 2012 at 10:45 pm  Family, Outdoors  No Responses »
Jun 222012
 
Clamming at Dosewallips State Park

Clamming at Dosewallips State Park

On a picture perfect day last weekend, I went clamming with some friends to Dosewallips State Park on the Hood Canal.

Dosewallips is one of my favorite places to harvest clams and oysters in Washington state because it has a scenic beach, there’s a ton of space for everyone, and the shellfish is plentiful. This is an excellent beach for Manila littleneck clams and Pacific oysters.

The Olympics near Dosewallips State Park

The Olympics near Dosewallips State Park

 

In a matter of an hour or so, we were able to harvest our limits of delicious Manila clams. These clams are within the top couple of inches of sand so all you need is a hand trowel to dig for them. It is not uncommon to get your limit of 40 clams within several square yards of digging.

 

Armed with a shucking knife and a bottle of cocktail sauce, we slurped fresh briny oysters right on the beach as they were extracted from their homes. Oysters don’t get any fresher than this!

 

Wide beaches at Dosewallips State Park

Wide beaches at Dosewallips State Park

Dosewallips State Park is comprised of 425 acres and has 5,500 feet of saltwater shoreline facing the Hood Canal. The park is located near Brinnon WA, about 2 1/2 hours from Seattle. It is open for clams from March 1st through October 31st and is open for oysters year-round.

 

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