My outdoor life extends beyond just hunting and fishing. It brings itself full circle with a love of entertaining and cooking. 

Winter is my favorite time of the year here in the lake country. The mosquitos (or as my Cajun friends call them maringoins) are mostly gone, and the gnats are dead. Cool-weather at night brings the country folk out to party and whether you are here, in the Low Country, or down da bayou, that means oyster roasts and crawfish boils. The rules for each are interchangeable.

Like most things down here, our traditions run deep and have their own etiquette. Now, I know a lot of my readers are not from here and you might need a little help navigating the lay of the land. So here we go! 

If you are hosting an oyster roast:

This ain’t the time for your grandma’s silver. This is outside and wax cloth over plywood tables. The biggest thing you will need is a large quantity of oyster knives. Yes, some of your guests will show up with custom Williams Knives oyster shuckers or Damascus steel knives, but most of us save that kind of stuff for our bird knives and filet knives. Just go get the ACE hardware or Walmart white-handle Dexter oyster knives. They are cheap and will last forever. You need tons of bar rags for everyone to use to shuck with. And finally, unless you get fancy, we usually have a few types of condiments here. Paper bowls filled with cocktail sauce everywhere, horseradish and hot sauce. Honestly, we mostly all have our little recipes for this, and I could start a small war by claiming the best hot sauce — and that’s Crystal, by the way. This is also the time to splurge for the GOOD saltines. Don’t buy the cheap ones, and for Pete’s sake, none of us want a Triscuit. 

Drinks are easy for an oyster roast. Cheap beer, and I mean Lite or Bush Lite, is just fine. Personally, I love MGD so there you go. Cheap wine, and if you are partying early, Bloody Marys! The spicier the better (one of the greatest things about working with people from Wisconsin is going there and drinking Bloodies!). You might want to kick it up a notch by adding in some bourbon or cheap whiskey. Drinkware is simple, too. This is Solo cup territory, or better yet, 20-ounce foam cups from Sam’s. You need a 120-quart cooler full of ice and to stash the beer in, that’s it.

Music is a must. And hey, let’s be honest here. We don’t go to oyster roasts to listen to the Spice Girls. We want country, ‘70s rock, swamp pop, and some down-home swing. So put away the Cole Porter and dig up Marshall Tucker, Dr. John, the Neville Brothers, Nonc Nu and the Wild Matous, Hank Williams and George Strait have a strong presence in my parties, too.

The oysters. Listen, this is important. We don’t do Maine selects, Virginia points, or some such things. Down here, the oysters are from the gulf, from Bluffton/Beaufort, Charleston, or MAYBE North Carolina. But, they are oysters we go get. Usually, that means a long road trip with a buddy, barbecue stops, and a country ham pickup. 

Cooking oysters is simple. My favorite way is to simply place oysters in a grill and let them roast till they just barely pop open. If you can do it over an open fire, there are two great ways to do it. One is on a huge piece of sheet metal that covers the fire. Get it so hot water dances on it, throw the oysters on, and cover it with wet burlap bags. Takes about five to 10 minutes and you will have some awesome oysters! The other way is expanded metal. Lay it over your pit get it hot and dump the oysters on. Give it 10 to 15 minutes and you are good to go. Both those methods add a lot of good wood smoke flavor to the oysters. 

Appetizers. Listen — cucumber sandwiches and dill slices are beautiful but now is a time for a charcuterie board and a heavy one! Summer sausages from the deer you killed, cheese (red rind), good gherkins, pickled herring, and yes even Vienna sausages!

 

Now as a guest:

 

A host gift is a must. However, don’t fret over this too much. A bottle of wine, a fifth of your favorite bourbon, a pie, or a nice knick-knack you picked up in your last visit to Charleston is fine. But don’t come without one.

Attire is simple,yet classic. Men should look neat. Khaki pants, leather belt with buckle (show off that fancy buckle your wife hates!), Bean Boots, oxford cloth shirt, and a Barbour jacket. Top it all off with your favorite ball cap that should honestly be one of the following: your alma mater, your fraternity, your favorite fly shop, and that is about it. No joke hats and nothing dirty. If you ever punched cows for pay, then you can break out that cowboy hat you keep so that you have something to tell stories with.

Women are always going to steal the show. If this is a Charleston or Georgetown County party the women will be dressed to the nines with Hunter boots, wool skirts, sweaters and pearls. Anywhere else it’s nice jeans and sweaters. And it should be those jeans that you know you put on and walk by your husband to make a point or get that smile.

This is a great time to throw an awesome party, and I hope this helps you enjoy just a little of our life down here. 

Outdoors columnist James Pressley can be reached at outdoors@gmail.com.