[music playing] - They're all live oysters? - This is all live oysters. - So they're everywhere. I'm here in Maine or
North Haven island, where I'm going to harvest oysters
with Adam, a local farmer of America's favorite mollusk. - This little, tiny
bed can produce 250 to 300,000 oysters a year. - I'm walking through
the water, thinking, where are these things. I'm actually standing on them. It was a proper oyster bed. They're free. Nothing's caged. Nothing's in racks. Look at size of this. - Oh, it's a monsters - That is insane. What an amazing little river. - So the freshwater comes
from freshwater pond up here. - Yeah. - And then the tide
comes from the sea. And then the two
meat, and it creates really good algae blooms. - Yeah. That's the advantage
of the tides obviously. - And the flow. - And the flow. - And so that's gorgeous one. - That's a beauty there. The extreme tidal fluctuations
of this estuary and the mixing of fresh and salt
water are a part of what makes this the
perfect environment to grow the oysters. How do they get here? - I grew oysters in
the past four years, and I have this kid
harvesting for me, and he shucked the oyster
and dropped them on the bed. And they created
a natural spawn. So I came down the next morning,
and the whole 17-acre pond had three feet of foam on it. And I was like, oh, my
God, what's going on? - Some of the oyster larvae swam
into this connected estuary, where they ended up thriving
on the gravel bottom. So Adam now replicates this
process for each new batch. - Actually, you want an oyster? You want try one out right now? - I'd love one now. Yes, please. Yeah. Are you kidding me? - Let's do that. - Look at that. Oh, my God. - Try that. - Thank you. Just look at the color. My God. They're nice and thick,
and dense, creamy. - Mm-hmm. - Cheers. Look at that. - Cheers. - Cheers. Bloody hell. Man-- - There's a reason
I have five kids. - Guess how many kids I've got? - How many? - Five. - No [bleep]. That's awesome. For me, it makes
a big difference having these free-range,
bottom-cultured oysters, because they're spread out. There's nothing set in cages. They're not hanging
horizontally, vertically. They literally are laying
on the bed of that river, and then this surge of
saltwater against the freshwater is just producing
a perfect oyster. Honestly, some of the best
oysters I've ever eaten. Oh, my God. - All right. Let's go smoke some big ones. [music playing] So these oysters here
are market oysters. So this like half shell market. - Gotcha. - The big ones like
this one we got today, that is not a half shell oyster. - How do you open
something like that? - I'll shuck this one. - Please. - Check it out. Oh. - Man, look at that. I mean, honestly. Wow. - So then we'll brine
that overnight, and then-- - That is beautiful. So beautiful. - And then this is what it looks
like after 24 hours of smoking. - Oh, my God. - Right here. - So they've
already been brined. - They're brined, smoked. - Wow. - Yeah. - Mm, that's delicious. - Yeah. And then the way we
finish them is in-- - There's another process? - Yeah. We pack them in virgin
olive oil with a couple other little secret ingredients. - I love that there's secrecy. - We've got to
have a few secrets. - That smells sweet. Is there honey in there? - Yeah, there is. See. You got me. [bleep] You got me. - Chefs share their
secrets, right? - Yeah. One's enough. - Mm, my God. Wow. That is so good. Smoked oysters are out there. You know, it's a fine
balance when something's salty, creamy, and delicious. But amazing flavor. What works for me
there is that honey. Any herbs in there? Oh, you're not going to tell me. You're such a [bleep]. I know Melissa won't
have a jar like that. May I take the fresh oysters,
the clams, and just a jar? Because that could
be the secret weapon. - Do it. - Yeah? - Take it. - Thanks, bud. - Share the love. - I think I'll become a Mainer. Now, I've got to cook like one. So these little pockets
of magic, fingers crossed, is going to have the
edge over Melissa. - All right, cool, man. - Take care. Thank you. - All right. [music playing]
