Salty, slurpy and quick to slide down your throat, the oyster is not only a favorite Lowcountry dish, it is a social institution. Every January, thousands of enthusiastic shuckers converge upon Boone Hall Plantation, where tractor trailers full of the shelled morsels tally up to the “World’s Largest Oyster Roast.” From raw and pure to cooked and gussied up, local restaurants serve every fashion of oysters. One of our favorite spots to slurp and savor? The Ordinary, an esteemed seafood eatery and the second restaurant from James Beard Foundation Best Chef: Southeast Award-Winner Mike Lata, who opened upscale Southern bistro FIG in 2001. Scroll on to score Lata’s top tips for perfecting an oyster roast.