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Oysters and clams have for eons been eaten raw on the half shell, steamed, baked or grilled and enjoyed by multitudes of seafood lovers. Any fan of these bivalves will no doubt consume them no matter what method of presentation is used but every shellfish lover no doubt has an affinity for one favorite technique for consumption. The use of crushed ice for holding the raw opened or shucked shells for chilling and juice retention is a commonly seen method of presentation whereas a platter of rock salt is the most commonly used to allow cooked shellfish to be served without juice or ingredient loss. Now, using a shellfish grate, designed to eliminate use of ice or rock salt is a new quicker, easier and "greener" way of preparing and serving these tasty morsels.

The heat cooking the adductor muscles determines which shell the “meats” of your unopened clams, oysters or mussels are going to be attached when the cooking is done. The “in shell” cooking adds flavors that steaming steals as well as retains the delicious juices that are usually lost. Be sure to discard any shellfish that do not open!

When cooking fresh unopened oysters on a grill or in an oven, begin by placing each cupped shell level on an opening in the GreatGrate. When the shell opens about 1/8” the oyster is cooked. Then the top shell must be removed by sliding a sharp knife into the opening along the top shell to cut the adductor muscle. Be careful not to burn yourself!. I usually avoid doing so by holding the oyster steady with a towel. I think the taste, presentation and topping options are considerably greater if prior to cooking, the oysters are opened, saving the the juices and meats. Then, positioning the shells level on your GG and top with recipe ingredients of your choice. See my website recipes for additional ideas or consider buying the “Ol Swamper's” shellfish cookbook which is available on my webpages and contains dozens of offerings.

Clams unlike oysters have equally cupped shells, so simply put unopened clams on the GG so they are level and they will open wide when done. The entire grate can be removed by inserting tongs into the slots on the sides of the GG. You can usually control where the cooked clam is going to be located by the altering the cooking procedure. As mentioned earlier, the side of the clam subjected to the most intense heat while cooking is going cause the muscles on that side to release from the shell. Using shells of about the same size will result in their cooking at the same rate if your heat source is even. As with oysters I like to shuck the clams first for a greater variety of taste and presentation.

Placing unopened fresh shellfish on your GrateGrate in a closed grill chamber over a med/low (350deg.) heat source or indirect heat source will cause most of the meats to drop into the lower shell. When I'm cooking for hordes of hungry slurpees at seafood gatherings I often will place the medium(triangular) or small (hexagonal) loaded GreatGrates on the upper warming rack of the gas grill with the cover down. With the lid of the grill closed the top of the cooking chamber is hottest at the top so the adductor muscles will cook and drop the meat into the lower shell. When inside using an oven on broiler setting, the meats will always remain in the lower shell due to the heat source coming from above which cooks the top shell’s adductor muscles first. Remember, discard any that do not open!