How to shuck an oyster, as explained by a chef

Shucking an oyster is one of those things that sound complicated, yet in practice is surprisingly easy.

At least, this is what we realised when we sat down with Pomona's executive chef, Wolfe Conyngham, who showed us exactly how to do it.

In the video above, Conyngham picks an oyster and demonstrates how to shuck it - i.e take of the shell and get it ready to eat.

1. Place your knife in the pointy base of the oyster

2. Twist the knife a little until the shell 'pops'

3. Slice the knife lengthways along the inside of the shell to detach the muscle and the top of the shell comes off

4. Make sure there is no shell fragments in the remaining half of the oyster

5. You then need to unhook the bottom muscle of the oyster so it can slide off the shell, you can do this by sliding the knife just under the muscle to detach it from the shell

6. Choose your preferred condiment to have the oyster with and enjoy

During the demonstration, Conyngham revealed how to tell when it's a 'bad' oyster. He explained: "You can tell it's bad as there is no liquid in it, it's very dry and is just a bit sick."

So there you have it, happy eating!

Wolfe Conyngham is the executive chef at Pomona's in Notting Hill, visit there website pomonas.co.uk/​