Is it true oysters are an aphrodisiac? Cold and salty, good fresh oysters taste like the ocean. Just slurping them down is sensual experience all by itself. The sauces elevate the flavors. Eat them with just hot sauce and lemon, mignonette, or cocktail sauce; just don’t drown them in it so you can still taste the oyster and it’s liquor. Serve them with champagne or sparkling wine and you can’t go wrong.
If you’ve never had them before and may be squeamish just don’t stare at them forever or think about it too hard. There is a reason so many people love them. And they’re higher in zinc than any other food. They are also rich in iron, selenium, and vitamins B12 and D. Some of these nutrients have antioxidant properties and help promote overall health. How can you go wrong? Depressed? Eat oysters. Maybe start with an oyster shooter at a restaurant?
Two of my fondest memories of raw oysters are Uncle Earl’s Oyster House Bar in Baton Rouge because they were 12 cents a piece back in the day and Acme Oyster House in New Orleans because those guys have the most muscular hands and they could shuck those oysters faster than I could eat them. I think sitting at the oyster bar there was my all-time oyster eating record at three dozen. Adam Richman beat the 15 oyster dozen challenge there in his Man versus Food television show. That’s 180 oysters where you have to eat at least seven dozen an hour. Can you imagine?
EQUIPMENT: oyster knife
Raw Oysters on the Half Shell with Cucumber Mignonette or Cocktail Sauce
Cuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Average2
servings30
minutesIngredients
- Mignonette sauce
1/2 cup good red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon finely minced shallot
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup minced cucumber, peeled, seeds removed
- Cocktail sauce
1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
1/2 cup ketchup or Heinz Chili Sauce
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- Oysters
24 oysters, as local as you can get
favorite hot sauce
1 lemon, quartered
Directions
- Mignonette sauce
- Whisk first three ingredients in a small non reactive bowl.
- Taste and correct seasonings. Add a pinch of sugar if desired.
- Add cucumber.
- Cocktail sauce
- Mix together all ingredients.
- Squeeze in a bit of lemon.
- Oysters
- This is not the time to try and save money. Get good quality oysters and keep them very cold on ice until you shuck them. Do not keep them underwater or they will drown from lack of oxygen.
- If you are a beginner wear some kind of glove, like the kind they sell with mandoline slicers. I used a cut proof fishing glove until I got good at it.
- First rinse them well.
- Use a kitchen towel to grasp one firmly with the hinge exposed while holding firmly on a slat surface. Hold the oyster with the flatter side up. Without pointing the oyster knife in the direction of your soft flesh, stick the tip of the oyster knife into the hinge and rock it back and forth to get it in there a bit so you will have leverage. Twist firmly to open. This takes practice because they will clamp down harder if you take too long. I recommend watching some YouTube videos if you haven’t done it before. Repeat for every oyster. You will probably be proud of yourself by the time you are done.
- A good oyster will have liquor inside. Try to keep this in the shell with the oyster. Use your oyster knife to carefully slide it between the oyster and the shell to detach it so you can easily pick up the shell and slurp the oyster into your mouth.
- Place them on a dish that will support them without tipping and spilling the liquor. Use shredded lettuce, ice, salt, or foil. Serve with the sauces and lemon wedges.
