The 5 Best Oyster Knives, Utilized by a Expert Chef

Latest oysters have extreme fancy-restaurant vibes, nevertheless with the suitable system, you might serve them up at dwelling. While you’ll be able to open an oyster with a screwdriver or paring knife, essentially the most safe and only means is to utilize an oyster shucking knife. If you happen to occur to’re a beginner, don’t concern—we found the perfect oyster knives for you.

As fellow seafood lovers, Meggan and I teamed as a lot as uncover the perfect oyster shucking knives, considering worth, safety, blade style—Boston, New Haven, and so forth—and required experience stage. From the knife in Meggan’s private kitchen to shopper favorites, we found the perfect shucking devices worth looking for.

Our Prime Picks

1. What’s in Meggan’s Kitchen: OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Non-Slip Oyster Knife – $11.99 at Amazon
2. Moreover Good: Mercer Culinary Boston Mannequin Oyster Knife – $18.99 at Amazon
3. Best for Novices: Dexter-Russell New Haven Mannequin Oyster Knife – $21.05 at Amazon
4. Best for Professionals: Messermeister Oyster Knife – $29.95 at Amazon
5. Best Designed: R Murphy New Haven Oyster Knife Shucker – $38 at Amazon

Evaluations of The Best Oyster Knives

1. What’s in Meggan’s Kitchen: OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Non-Slip Oyster Knife

OXO’s Good Grips Oyster Knife proves that you just don’t should spend a lot to begin out shucking. Meggan first used this New Haven-style oyster knife in culinary school, and it has been her go-to ever since. The bent-over tip of the blade makes it safer to utilize when separating the shell and helps ease the scooping course of with out damaging the meat. “[It’s] super easy to hold and use, sturdy growth, [and] will get the job achieved,” she says. “OXO is one amongst my long-time favorite producers and I exploit and have their merchandise normally on the positioning.”

The Specs:

• Supplies: Stainless-steel and plastic
• Blade Dimension: 2.75 inches
• Dishwasher-Protected: Certain

What I Like:

• Bent tip helpful for scooping
• Sturdy and sturdy
• Low-cost
• Easy to wash

What I Don’t Like:

• Cope with can develop to be slippery
• Blade might probably be thinner and sharper

What Others Are Saying:

That’s moreover useful by Extreme Eats and Saveur. Plus, it has better than 4.7 stars from 2,600 Amazon opinions.

Buy the OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Non-Slip Oyster Knife:

2. Moreover Good: Mercer Culinary Boston Mannequin Oyster Knife

The Mercer Boston Mannequin knife has an merely graspable cope with and a rounded blade to cease accidents, which is an effective safety precaution if it’s your first time shucking. This oyster knife’s prolonged, slender blade presents you a great deal of administration for a complete tray’s worth of oysters—merely make sure you don’t stick it throughout the dishwasher.

The Specs:

• Supplies: Stainless-steel and plastic
• Blade Dimension: 3 inches
• Dishwasher-Protected: No

What I Like:

• Easy to utilize
• Comfortable cope with

What I Don’t Like:

• Not dishwasher-safe
• Couldn’t work on small oysters

What Others Are Saying:

This knife has almost 1,300 Amazon opinions and 4.7 stars. The Spruce Eats and Extreme Eats named it the perfect value vary and best straight-blade as correctly.

Buy the Mercer Culinary Boston Mannequin Oyster Knife:

3. Best for Novices: Dexter-Russell New Haven Mannequin Oyster Knife

Not like a Boston-style oyster knife, this New Haven-style knife from Dexter-Russell sports activities actions a shorter and wider blade with a convex tip, which is sweet for opening the oyster with out slicing up the meat. For these new to oyster shucking, this knife feels less complicated as a result of huge blade—merely keep in mind to hand-wash after use, as a result of it’s not dishwasher-safe.

The Specs:

• Supplies: Stainless-steel and plastic
• Blade Dimension: 2.75 inches
• Dishwasher-Protected: No

What I Like:

• Prolonged-lasting
• Upturned tip merely opens oysters

What I Don’t Like:

• Cope with may be arduous to grip
• Not dishwasher-safe

What Others Are Saying:

With better than 2,000 Amazon opinions and 4.8 stars, the Dexter Russell New Haven Mannequin Oyster Knife was named the perfect plastic cope with alternative by Extreme Eats.

Buy the Dexter-Russell 2.75″ New Haven Mannequin Oyster Knife:

4. Best for Professionals: Messermeister Oyster Knife

If you happen to occur to’re a longtime oyster-shucking skilled in search of to enhance your gear, then Messermeister’s shiny, all-stainless metallic oyster knife is for you. Whereas it costs better than all of the totally different knives on this document, this Dutch alternative is method further sturdy than a plastic-handled alternative. The cope with features a “thumb fin” grip that makes prying open shells take a lot much less effort—glorious for those who occur to’re serving for a crowd. Merely know that the slick surgical-grade metallic can also make it barely more durable to cope with, which is why we advocate it for professionals. It’s moreover hand wash solely.

The Specs:

• Supplies: Stainless-steel
• Blade Dimension: 2.25 inches
• Dishwasher-Protected: No

What I Like:

• Manufactured from sturdy stainless-steel
• Particularly fashioned cope with permits for larger torque when opening shells
• Can cope with big oysters

What I Don’t Like:

• Expensive
• Doubtlessly slippery cope with
• Not beginner-friendly
• Not dishwasher-safe

What Others Are Saying:

Extreme Eats and The Spruce Eats moreover advocate this as your best option for expert oyster shuckers and professionals.

Buy the Messermeister Oyster Knife:

5. Best Designed: R Murphy New Haven Oyster Knife Shucker

To ensure that you a knife that shucks correctly and seems good doing it, then give the R Murphy New Haven Oyster Knife Shucker a attempt. As is the New Haven style, the knife has a conveniently curved tip to make quick work of leveraging an oyster open and scooping out the meat. Its wood-handled design in no way will get slippery, and it’s made throughout the U.S. Nonetheless because of it’s wood, you proceed to can’t wash it throughout the dishwasher.

The Specs:

• Supplies: Stainless-steel and plastic
• Blade Dimension: 2.63 inches
• DishwasherSafe: No

What I Like:

• Sturdy, curved wood cope with
• Prolonged-lasting growth
• Made throughout the USA

What I Don’t Like:

• Not dishwasher-safe
• Expensive

What Others Are Saying:

Every Saveur and Extreme Eats named the R Murphy New Haven Oyster Knife Shucker the perfect basic.

Buy the R Murphy New Haven Oyster Knife Shucker:

Totally different Oyster Knives to Take into consideration

Toadfish Oyster Shucker’s Bundle

Toadfish offers an entire oyster shucking bundle—good for these hoping to host this summer season—full with two completely totally different sorts of oyster knives and a shucking materials. With 4.8 stars on Amazon and a suggestion by Saveur, it’s a shame that the bundle is so highly-priced, making it an extreme quantity of of an funding for a beginner and barely better than the usual oyster lover might need. The Toadfish Oyster Shucker’s Bundle is obtainable at Amazon for $77.01.

Victorinox Oyster Knife

This Victorinox Windfall-style is just like the New Haven-style decisions on this document nevertheless with out the upturned tip, and it’s earned 4.8 stars and 1,377 opinions on Amazon together with a suggestion by Extreme Eats. However, it’s not pretty as setting pleasant or hardy as Meggan’s favorite—and it costs twice as lots. The Victorinox Oyster Knife is obtainable at Amazon for $24.49.

Opinel No.09 Stainless Steel Folding Oyster & Shellfish Knife

Chances are high you may know Opinel for its esteemed pocket knives, and this one’s look is just as spectacular. The knife’s stainless-steel blade and exquisite wood cope with are conveniently foldable and ring up at a extremely inexpensive worth degree. Sadly, it’s not sharp ample to make this document. The Opinel No.09 Stainless Steel Folding Oyster & Shellfish Knife is obtainable at Amazon for $21.90.

Why You Can Perception Us

Initially from the East Coast, I actually like seafood, notably oysters. So I teamed up with Meggan to make this info to the perfect oyster knives, leaning on her expert chef background and work on Culinary Hill. Meggan’s favorite oyster knife, the OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Non-Slip Oyster Knife, is the one she utilized in culinary school when she was learning the suitable option to shuck oysters.

We put our heads collectively to hunt out the perfect oyster knives by researching ideas from totally different meals blogs, dependable publications, and foremost retailers. We combed by way of purchaser opinions for the professionals and cons of each product to hunt out the perfect of the perfect at a variety of prices and expertise ranges.

The whole thing to Know Sooner than Looking for an Oyster Knife

What to Take into consideration Sooner than Looking for an Oyster Knife

Not like a butter knife or steak knife, oyster knives can fluctuate of their blade growth. Whether or not or not a beginner or knowledgeable, listed below are some parts to recollect as you retailer.

Experience Diploma: Make sure you’re taking your experience stage into consideration when choosing one. Whereas frequent oyster shuckers might probably cope with sharper blades, novices must go for rounded or duller blades to protect themselves from accidents.

Safety: Because of one slip-up can merely set off injury, it’s essential simply make certain you and the knife you buy are ready for the job. “I exploit the oyster knife with an oven mitt for additional hand security on the hand that is bracing the oyster,” Meggan says.

Blade Mannequin: The shape, dimension, and angle of the blade can fluctuate by knife. Be certain you familiarize your self with the frequent sorts. The additional pointed New Haven-style blade is best for novices, whereas the straighter Boston style is finest for these further experiences. Totally different commonplace sorts embody Galveston, Duxbury, and Windfall and all are based totally on the realm and the oysters that develop in that house.

Cope with: The cope with is usually fabricated from stainless-steel, plastic, or wood. Because of oyster shucking may be pretty laborious, you’ll have to be sure that the cope with in your knife is sturdy, cozy, and grippy—notably when moist.

How Do You Open Oysters With out an Oyster Knife?

If you happen to occur to don’t have an oyster knife, Meggan recommends just a few choices that you simply may need lying spherical. “It is best to make the most of a flat-head screwdriver as a substitute of an oyster knife,” she says. “A paring knife, if it’s thick and sturdy, may also work.” Merely take additional care with a sharp blade.

What’s the Distinction Between a Clam Knife vs. Oyster Knife?

Whereas oyster knives are pretty sharp on all edges of the blade, clam knives are inclined to have one sharp side that’s nonetheless duller than an oyster knife. This makes it less complicated to wedge into the tighter fringe of clam shells, which have a further fragile exterior. As a consequence of this, it isn’t useful to utilize a clam knife on an oyster.

Can You Use a Butter Knife to Open Oysters?

Consistent with Meggan, there is a approach by which a butter knife might be utilized as an alternative of an oyster knife—you’ll merely should heat the oysters first, which is ready to solely work for those who occur to’re making a cooked oyster dish. “You probably can bake oysters throughout the oven at 350 ranges for about 3 minutes, they usually’ll open,” she says. “Then you might pry them apart with a typical butter knife. It’s excellent!”

How Do You Eat Oysters?

As quickly as your oyster is open, it is also doable to make use of your knife to loosen the meat from the underside half of the shell. Then, you might add any condiments you want— like lemon, vinegar, or scorching sauce—and slurp the oyster immediately from its shell.

The Best Oyster and Seafood Recipes

Whereas many people favor to eat oysters raw, they might even be fried, broiled, or baked. If you happen to occur to’re a fan of cooked oysters, Oysters Rockefeller is a conventional that Meggan makes time and again. For seafood lovers, Meggan has a ton of various recipes that don’t embody oysters to get your restore.

Prices have been appropriate at time of publication.