These Ekone Lemon Pepper Smoked Oysters came from Whole Foods, where they are a new item. The $12.99 regular price would usually mean I wouldn't give them a second look, but at $9.89 on sale, the oyster lover in me was intrigued. Cross your fingers.
Initial impression upon opening the can: 5/5.
Some nice, big oysters. As someone who has the luxury of accessibility to fresh Gulf oysters, it's nice to see such sizeable specimens. The aroma is bold, of smoke and some other spicy notes I can't quite pin down.
Digging In
I'd already had lunch, but this tin was calling my name, so I decided I had a little more room and cracked it open. The first thing you note is the rich color which the smoke has imparted to the oysters. There's ground pepper on top, mixed in with some other ingredients. Plucking them from the tin, there are five big oysters total.
The carton reveals there's a lot more going on in there than meets the eye: organic sunflower oil, lemon pepper mix (spices, salt, cane sugar, garlic, onion, lemon peel, citric acid, orange peel, extractives of turmeric, silicon dioxide (less than 2% as anti-caking agent), parsley), salt, organic cane sugar, organic garlic powder, organic onion powder, natural smoke. Whew! That's a long list, but everything works extremely well in this context. Sodium is listed as 810 mg. but does not taste that salty. I will say, however, that the lemon gets buried in the mix.
Raw oysters, for those not having had the privilege to enjoy them, are texturally kind of homogenous. Cooked oysters or even smoked ones, on the other hand, have a bit of a split personality. Parts are chewy and meaty, while the rest is softer and a bit mealy. Nature of the beast, one could say. But still tasty if not overcooked. Smoked oysters benefit from not being fried into mush, as can sometimes happen. These were nice and firm as is reasonably practical.
All in all, a tasty if somewhat extravagant treat. On sale, they're about $2 per oyster.
Main Takeaways
- Big, meaty oysters
- Well-smoked and seasoned, even if the lemon is kind of lost
- Pricy, but worth it
Brand: Ekone Oyster Co.
Description: Smoked Oysters with lemon pepper mix
Species: Pacific oysters
Country of Origin: USA
Source: Farm raised
Skin/Bones: N/A
Net Wt: 3.0 oz.
Price Range: $12-13