OK, I'll take all this on. Tony: Oyster 'eye' is the name given to the muscle that the oyster uses to attach itself to the shell and opens and closes the shell. Kinda like a hurricane eye as its in the center. Now on to mudbugs, crayfish, crawfish, crawdads. All the same. Now now, jupiterplants, you know you're going for the fat when you suck the heads. I restrain myself so I can dig out the fat to use in the etouffee, if I can save enough crawfish to make it. If not, I freeze it til next time. ladywingr: Those look like you got them fresh and did your own boil. Lucky you. All I can find here are the cooked, 'seasoned', frozen from CHINA. Yeah, like they know! But, when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. The table looks like about 5 lbs. You're being very generous to offer to share with Marion. You must be betting that she's an 'amateur'. You wouldn't make that offer to a 'professional'. LOL. Proud of your DH for willing to try something new but have never heard of a sauce for crawfish. Kinda like painting your diamond ring. And finally, tony: The head is at the other end from the tail. Think lobster only about 3 to 5 inches long. Hope I answered everyone, ron

OK guys, thanks. I'm going with 5 eggs. No peas...I don't "do" peas. I do have a box of pea pods in the freezer though so I'll cut those in thirds & toss in. I've already prepped everything else...carrots are very small, I lightly chopped the sprouts just so they weren't 4" long, onions are small, bok choy is thin & on a diagnonal, chicken is sliced & ready to cook, ginger is out of the freezer w/my microplane (thanks, I wouldn't have used that), don't have any mirin, & no Shao Hsing wine either. I'm going to use soy sauce 'cause I think those eating this are going to expect it but I'll go with 1/4 cup soy & 1/4 cup oyster sauces...taste & if it needs more I can always add. This isn't going to fit in my wok...have to do 3-4 batches. With my meds I'll need to rest between batches & I need to have this there at 5:00 p.m. so I'd best get cooking! Sure glad it's all prepped!! Thanks again. /tricia

Seagrass, I deep-fry battered dill pickle slices all the time. If you've never tried it, they're sooo delicious! Especially good with a ranch-type dipping sauce. Joe, thanks for all the recipes and tips! I had a feeling maybe a different style of sauce might be best. I'm a sucker for good sauces, so I think I'll try both. Cilantro isn't my thing, but hot Chinese mustard sure is. It would be okay to sub Italian parsley for the cilantro, wouldn't it? And those olives sound great. Will definitely throw some in the pot with the pickles next time. Fried rattlesnake is very common in Texas, but I never got up the nerve to try it. Thanks for confirming that my wussiness didn't cause me to miss out on much, RE. :) And thanks for all the wonderfully clear and detailed instructions! I've fried shrimp several times and oysters once but wasn't totally thrilled with the results. I feel *much* more confident now that I can pull this thing off successfully. Will have a practice session with some shrimp tomorrow. Jim -- great tip about not overmixing. Just like muffin batter, huh? Who knew? I've always stirred to a faretheewell... I was wondering how on earth to get the things out of the shell while still raw. Parboiling sounds like it might work, but any idea how long? (I think the tails are usually around 6 oz.) I also really like your suggestion about using tempura for the veggies! Now all I need is a good appetizer. Linda C., I'm sure you're right about the tails. My friends were visiting near the Gulf Coast, so warm-water lobsters makes sense. And we're so far inland that I'm sure frozen will be the only kind available. So, all you Mainers, we're NOT committing heresy! :) Want to hazard a guess as to how long they should be parboiled? Greatly appreciate all the help! Any more tips and recipes welcome. sm

We shuck them ourselves. A fall winter month tradition. Maine and north, just like the pacific northwest, the waters are under 65ºF all summer. The Chesapeake and north are very cold waters now. Shucked and jared are for stews and roasting. Just like anything we consume, I like to know where it is coming from and how it is harvested and stored/traveled/prepared. Beef, chicken, eggs, all proteins. Sushi from a good chef. Fish and shellfish straight from the water or flash frozen and sourced. Interesting the Maine Belons are wild. They were seeded in the 50's. Considered a failure for a while but they took off in the 70-80's. There are multiple names for the Belon -- European Flat, Harpswell Flat, etc., but it's scientific name is Ostrea Edulis. The oyster is of a different species than its North American counterparts (Crassostrea virginica and Crassostrea gigas) and originates from Europe, hence the name European Flat. A true Belon is only harvested from the Belon River in France.... link, HERE