First of all, you need the right kind of knife.
Being oyster season (sort of, it's very near the end) I bought a dozen Cape Neddick blue point oysters to bring home and eat last night. Only to find out I couldn't open them. I know I've bought them from fish markets before, so I'm guessing they opened them for me before I left. Since I can't remember for sure, it must not have been for some time. I was able to find an oyster knife today, luckily, so we had them with dinner. The first six were ok, although a bit disappointing. The second six were delicious! I'm guessing it had to do with my skill at opening them: the first six were pretty badly (wo)man-handled, so they must have released some kind of stress hormone. Not tasty. After my practice run, I was able to open the remaining six quickly, without stressing them out, and they were as delicious as I was hoping they'd be.
One of the reasons humanely-raised animals taste so good is that they are processed by caring individuals who take care to minimize their stress. Not only does it make for happier animals, it makes for tastier ones, too.
Sorry, little oysters... next time I'll be gentle.
