How to Open
"The most important thing about opening oysters is to understand what keeps them closed" Michéal Kelly explains. Michéal is a holder of the best presentation of oysters received during the World oyster opening championship in 1999 & 2002.

"The oyster shells are held together at the hinge (a) and are held closed by the adductor muscle (b), so to successfully open an oyster you must first break the hinge and then sever the muscle."
1/ You will need an oyster knife, a cloth and of course some Kelly Galway oysters.
2/ On a solid worktop place the oyster on the cloth, deep shell down and hinge towards you. Cover your hand with the folded cloth and hold the oyster firmly. Put the tip of the knife into the crevice at the hinge, and push it in firmly. When you feel the knife has penetrated the hinge give the knife a twist to separate the shells.
3/ Now change the position of the hand holding the oyster, and keeping the blade close to the top flat shell slide it in along to cut the muscle holding the two shells together.
4/ Then run the knife underneath the oyster to sever the muscle from the deep shell. Then flip the oyster over in the shell put be careful not to spill any of the delicious juices.
Storing oysters.