RECIPES | Emily's Oysters

oyster recipes

classic mignonette sauce

ingredients:

preparation:

combine diced shallot in serving bowl with vinegar and fresh ground black pepper to taste. mix and serve immediately with freshly shucked raw oysters.
note*: don't dress all oysters at once - allow folks to drizzle their own oysters!

grilled oysters with magic sauce

ingredients:

preparation:

melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. once melted, stir in shallot, lemon juice and pepper. let flavors meld over very low heat.
preheat grill to medium (or oven to 400).
once warm, place oysters directly onto grill grate, balanced so that the cupped shell is on the bottom to keep oyster liquor from leaking out. if using an oven, nestle the oysters in a baking dish in loosely crumpled foil.
cook oysters just until you see their shells start to open, 4-8 minutes or so. the longer you leave them, the chewier they will get.
remove oysters with tongs and nestle into foil on your serving dish, again to keep from spilling liquor from shells. allow to cool until you can handle them.
remove top shell using a knife to separate the muscle from the shell if still attached. drizzle each oyster with a teaspoon or so of your butter sauce, and garnish with a pinch of fresh herbs. serve immediately!

sauteed oysters over pasta

ingredients:

preparation:

start salted water for pasta.
place butter in a skillet over low heat. once melted, stir in garlic and cook gently. add lemon juice and pepper. let flavors meld over very low heat for a minute, then add greens let soften in the mixture.
shuck oysters, reserving the meats AND the liquor in a bowl.
turn heat up under sauce a little. add oysters and liquor to butter mixture, and simmer for just a couple minutes, until you see the oysters start to firm up ever so slightly. immediately remove from heat at this point, and stir in fresh herbs.
drain pasta and toss with oysters and sauce. serve immediately!

baked oysters with goat cheese

ingredients:

preparation:

preheat oven to 450.
melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. add the garlic, lemon juice and black pepper to the melted butter and continue to cook a couple minutes.
add the goat cheese and stir into butter mixture until well incorporated. final cheese mixture should be on the thicker side – add more cheese if it feels runny.

shuck the oysters, pouring off most of the liquid in the shell. nestle the oysters in your baking pan or dish using rock salt or loosely crumpled tinfoil to keep them upright.
top the oysters with a pinch - somewhere between a teaspoon and a tablespoon, depending on the size of the oyster - of the chopped spinach. add a roughly teaspoon-sized dollop of the cheese mixture on top of the spinach. *** it’s important not to go too heavy with the cheese here, or you’ll lose the flavor of the oyster in the end! only cover the oyster about 2/3 with cheese.
give the oysters a sprinkling of breadcrumbs, then bake for 10-12 minutes. you should see and hear a gentle sizzle and browning. the oysters will curl a little around the edges and become firmer when they are done.
remove oysters from the oven, give them a minute to cool, then garnish fresh parsley and serve immediately.

oyster stew

ingredients:

preparation:

over medium heat, melt butter and saute shallot, potato, celery and fennel for 5 minutes
add garlic, thyme and bayleaf and cook 2 more minutes
add flour and cook, stirring, for 1 more minute
add broth and turn heat up to medium high until soup starts to boil, then lower heat and cook on a simmer until potatoes just start to soften (don't let them get mushy!)
shuck the oysters over a bowl and strainer, being sure to capture and reserve as much of their liquor as you can. be extra careful to pick out any shell fragments or grit that breaks off while shucking before adding the oysters to the bowl with their liquor.
once the potatoes are cooked, add the milk, heavy cream and oysters with their liquor.
continue to cook on low (be very careful not to boil) until the oysters have firmed up and cooked through, 4-5 minutes or so.
add the cayenne pepper, and then season additionally with salt and black pepper to taste.
- NOTE: be sure to taste the stew before adding salt!! the oysters and their liquor will contribute a lot of saltiness on their own. i did not feel that any extra salt was needed.
garnish each bowl with fresh parsley and fennel fronds and serve immediately, preferably with some nice warm crusty bread.

oyster ceviche

ingredients:

preparation:

shuck oysters into a mesh strainer, let all liquid drain out
place shucked oysters into combined citrus juices to marinade, let sit for five minutes.
once marinated, add all other ingredients to bowl and mix to combine.
add fresh ground black pepper to taste, and serve immediately with tortilla chips.