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Delicacy of the Wild West Lives on for Those So Bold

Fritz Rubins, a judge at the International Comstock Mountain Oyster Fry in Virginia City, Nev., where the main ingredient is testicles of gelded lambs and calves. More Photos >

A Feast of ‘Oysters’

VIRGINIA CITY, Nev. — The judges gathered around the pool table at the Union Brewery Saloon, their palates attuned despite thick nicotine haze. They were here to assess the taste, texture, appearance and creative flair of a not-for-the-faint-of-heart culinary tradition known as the mountain oyster — the Wild West on a plate.

Of all the country’s gastronomic competitions, from “Top Chef” to pies at the county fair, perhaps none compare to the challenge facing the harried chefs assembled here in a parking lot for the 18th annual International Comstock Mountain Oyster Fry. Classically dipped in cornmeal and then fried, or artfully concealed in scrambled eggs, bordelaise sauce or sushi,
these oysters were not of the Chesapeake or bluepoint variety but, rather