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Having eaten several raw oysters, I find myself sitting on several large shells. Can I make stock from them? Dry and grind them down to a mineral powder?

Anyone ever do anything with oyster shells besides tossing them?

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 Sitting on them sounds rather uncomfortable. – Henny May 10 2011 at 1:28
You would think, right? But it's pretty pleasant. – Erik Cisler May 10 2011 at 2:24
well then there is your answer ;-) – Henny May 11 2011 at 19:19
I personally hold them to my ear and pretend to hear the ocean. You can also boil the shells in some water(you can also add some kelp/seaweed of choice,bonito flakes which is dried tuna) like I do and drink it – Soul Apr 25 2012 at 7:42

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If you happen to live near saltwater, let them dry and put them back out. Young oysters most readily attach themselves to spent oyster shells, helping to propagate the species. We dump them out near our dock to create a little oyster reef - it creates a habitat for crab, for which we have crab-pots (YUM!).

Also, if you dry them out and crush them, they make a great permeable surface for a driveway, pathway, perimeter around the garden, etc. You can use crushed oyster shells instead of gravel.

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 holy crap, I did not know this. I am going to start helping the ocean. Mussels too? – amina May 10 2011 at 2:31
What a great answer! This is so lovely. – gone2croatan May 10 2011 at 16:47
Alas, mussels don't attach themselves to shells. Instead, they attach themselves to rock (or rope if it's an aquaculture environment). As for using mussel shells for a surface, they are too sharp and fragile - they will do nothing more than cut your feet! – Anjie May 10 2011 at 23:31
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I don't think there is any food value (for humans) in them.

There are pretty aggressive oyster re-population projects going on in Maryland and other areas, and they are perpetually in need of oysters shells to use for new beds. You might find a local fishmonger or restaurant that is participating in the shell recycling program, and donate your shells.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/marylands-plan-to-boost-chesapeake-bay-oysters-will-require-a-lot-of-hanky-panky/2011/04/26/AFJcqXUF_story.html

"The partnership of environmental groups that includes the Nature Conservancy and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation are hard-pressed to find enough shells to seed the spat at the lab, let alone rebuild enormous shell habitats in the rivers."

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Great idea! This really works on the Chesapeake Bay. – Lee May 11 2011 at 17:48
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i cook in them.....and I make broths with them. When I am done I plant with them to replenish my veggie gardens minerals

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 I was going to say burying them in the vegetable garden...crab shells are great too...they make beautiful black soil! – pamipoi May 10 2011 at 1:28
Crab by-product and shells are processed into fertilizer! I got this little tidbit from a Dirty Jobs episode.... – Anjie May 10 2011 at 23:33
For broth, do you use oyster shells alone, or along with something else? How does the broth come out and what do you use it for? I eat a lot of fresh oysters and am intrigued. – Lee May 11 2011 at 17:48
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My friend crushes them and uses them as a supplement in her chicken feed. It's supposed to help harden their shells? IDK, but her eggs are the really really good.

Or, you could make some shell art like on Portlandia.

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I was going to make a comment about shell-art. i've seen some nifty windchimes with shells. :) – Jessica May 10 2011 at 13:50
That was the first thing that came to mind when I saw this question haha. SHELL ART IS OVER! – Forrest May 11 2011 at 17:54
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Pasties. Every man needs pasties. Do the shells provide an adequate surrogate for your own oysters? You do know they're not going to hatch, yes?

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Not that you'd have much use for this, but I have a home from the 1920's near the water and far from a good source of gravel. When knocking out a wall in the crawl space we found oyster shells used as aggregate in the concrete. Weird to look at a thick concrete wall and see nothing but oyster shells mixed in!

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