Oysters are bivalve mollusks that live in saltwater habitats. Many people enjoy eating them raw for their ocean flavor. Raw oysters are served in their shells atop plates of ice, often with condiments including fresh lemon or cocktail sauce. To enjoy oysters raw, eat the mollusk straight from the shell, tipping it into mouth or sucking it out of the shell. Oysters should be chewed a few times before swallowing to deliver their fresh, briny flavor. Oysters are an excellent source of zinc, iron, calcium, protein, and other nutrients and are low in calories.
Recipe Servings: 3
+ 1 hour resting
Ingredients
Oysters:
Cucumber Mignonette Sauce:
- 1 cup rice wine vinegar
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1 inch fresh ginger root, peeled and grated
- ½ cucumber, peeled and minced
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
Cocktail Sauce:
- 2 Tbsp prepared horseradish
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ tsp hot sauce
- 1 lemon, juiced
Directions
- Rinse oysters.
- Shuck oysters carefully. (See Notes)
- Nestle oysters in a bed of crushed ice.
- Serve immediately.
- Combine rice wine vinegar, shallots, ginger, cucumber, sugar, and black pepper in a small bowl, and mix with a fork.
- Cover and chill at least 1 hour.
- Serve with raw oysters.
- Combine horseradish, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and lemon juice in a blender until smooth.
- Transfer to a bowl.
- Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
For Oysters:
For Cucumber Mignonette Sauce:
For Cocktail Sauce:
Notes
How to shuck an oyster:
Use a folded kitchen towel to place oysters rounded (belly) side down on. Use edge of towel to hold oyster secure while using knife to open.
Work tip of knife into the hinge of the oyster and twist and pry the knife to find the right leverage to pry open oyster. Don’t push too hard but gently work the knife to find the right leverage and push up and down until the shell pops open. The opening will be small—use the knife to widen the opening.
Wipe knife of any dirt or muck. Reinsert knife blade into hinge end of oyster and slide knife in sweeping motion through the inside of the shell, keeping knife flat against the top of the shell, to sever the muscle that attaches oyster to the shell. The muscle will be about two-thirds of the way through the shell.
When muscle has been severed the top shell will easily pull off. Discard top shell and inspect oyster. It should be clear, have plenty of liquid around it, and have no smell. Use tip of clean knife to remove any bits of shell. Discard any oyster that smells bad.
Lastly, slide knife under the oyster to sever muscle and remove oyster from bottom shell. Push oyster around to be sure it’s fully free from the shell.
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