Friday, January 4, 2013

Oyster-A-Thon 2012

Recently I’ve posted a couple of times about oysters (11/21 & 11/28) and the decision my buddy Joe and I made to eat more of them.  He’d repaired my computer and came over to return it and I promised him oysters and margaritas in return.  When I went to buy them, they were $36 for the four dozen I’d planned to get or I could buy a box of 100 for $55 – no brainer for an oyster lover as they will keep about a week (55 cents each vs. 75 cents each – they were a dime on the half shell first time I had them at a FL oyster bar.)

So on Friday, we had char-grilled oysters, raw oysters, and oysters Rockefeller (a Bev favorite) and used about 65 of them.

Then on New Year’s Eve, Joe and his wife Carol came over for a traditional Southern good luck meal of black eyed peas and collard greens, but we started the event with some more oysters mid-afternoon.  While Joe and I prefer ours raw, Bev and Carol only eat them cooked and for Carol they must be fried.  We found the following recipe from Emeril and since we has the masa, we gave it a try.

Ingredients:
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon Essence, plus 1 tablespoon
16 freshly shucked oysters, about 1 pint, drained
1/2 cup masa harina
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups vegetable oil, for frying

Directions:
1. In a bowl, combine the buttermilk with 1 tablespoon of the Essence. Add the oysters and marinate for 20 minutes.
2. Combine the masa harina and flour with the remaining Essence in a shallow dish.
3.In a deep-fryer or a medium, heavy pot with high sides, heat the oil to 360 degrees F.
4.Dredge the oysters in the flour mixture and shake the pieces in a strainer to remove any excess. Carefully add to the hot oil in batches, and cook, turning occasionally, until golden on all sides, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the oysters with a slotted spoon, drain on paper towels, and serve immediately.

We fried up a couple dozen and served them with three sauces: Seafood Remoulade - from Cathy at Wives With Knives, Tarter Sauce and Cocktail Sauce both from Ina Garten.

We all liked this coating for the oysters and all three of the sauces were delicious and will be our go-to versions.

After the fried ones there were about a dozen left for Joe and I to eat raw and the box of 100 was gone.

I'm now responding to your comments and hoping you will stop back by - photos best if enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One Year Ago:

Two Years Ago: 

Larry

12/31/12 meal date

33 comments:

  1. Oh wow, you were in oyster heaven for sure. I would eat them any way you served them.. they are all great ways to enjoy them... although I'll have to side with Bev, cause Rockefeller is my favorite!

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    1. I definitely see another box full in my near future.

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  2. What a feast! I like them raw and Rockefeller the best. But I'll eat them fried too. Guess I'm easy to please when it comes to oysters no matter which direction you take.
    Sam

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    1. Thanks Sam - I wouldn't touch them until I was in my 30's, but since I decided I liked them, I've yet to meet one I didn't enjoy. Large pan fried ones from a restaurant in South Bend, WA may be the best cooked ones I've eaten - they wouldn't share their recipe.

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  3. That is a whole lot of shucking!! I am sure you are an expert by now. Love them raw best..but a terrific oyster stew can't be beat.

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    1. It was Susan, but Joe and I took turns - trust me, we would finish dead last in a shucking contest.

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  4. I am going to have to hide this post from Jackie... she tells me all the time about how much money she saved on shoes using the exact same logic.

    Sounds like a couple of great evenings

    Dave

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  5. Looks like you saved a lot of clam$ on buying 100 oysters! Rockefeller for me too. We ended up with black beans for New Year as my bro forgot the black-eyed peas. We thought about canellini beans and a sharpee;-)

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    1. Since I don't believe in the luck of the beans, I'd say you are as safe with black beans as we are, but I like the sharpie idea.

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  6. What a great oyster feast! Love em' anyway, but especially fried. Happy New Year!

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  7. I love oysters --but even though I tried them raw, I still prefer them fried. I had some fresh ones when we were at the beach last month.. YUM....

    Have a great weekend.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  8. Rockefeller for me. We had them steamed for New Years. Also had pork, collard greens, black eyed peas and corn bread. Love Robin Sue's canellini beans with a sharpee (LOL). Happy New Year Larry and Bev.

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  9. I'm with Bev, give me Oysters Rockefeller! I love them. Even the fried ones look good. What a great deal on the oysters! Cathy's tartar sauce recipe is also a favorite at our house.

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    1. We have another oyster-thon planned next Friday with Rockefellers playing a major role.

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  10. Cold air, raw, cooked and fried oysters and libations. Life is good.

    Happy New Year Larry and Bev,

    Velva

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  11. I'm not sure how I like my oysters, I've had so few. But would be willing to try them all. I swear, I'm moving to your neck of the woods so I can hang out with the Doolittle crowd. You eat better than anyone I've ever known. I've been meaning to tell you, that Benton's bacon made the best Black-eyed peas and collard greens I've ever made for New Year's.

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    1. Glad the bacon continues to be a winner for you. I'd love having you and Bob as neighbors, but you don't see all of the not so great food we eat - I had 6 saltines for lunch the other day.

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    2. Did those saltines have oysters on them?????? I think you're busted on that one. :)

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    3. LOL - Nope, just plain crackers, but they would have had I had some oysters - we're getting another box this coming Friday.

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  12. You are reminding me of the Timucuan tribe of North Florida, Larry! They ate so many oysters that to this day, you can find their middens or oyster mounds of their leftover shells. One where my dad volunteered as a park ranger is 25 or so feet high and covers acres.

    Also, I'm glad you shared with Joe...otherwise you would be being "shellfish" to keep them to yourself :) (ouch...that was bad)

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    1. Groan :-). We have a small pile started in the woods but we may not make 25 feet, but I'm going to give it my best effort.

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  13. that does sound like a good breading - not too heavy... we like a simple light cornmeal dusting, if you have to fry them that is.... have a great weekend

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    1. Me too Drick. We saw some recipes that double dipped them - like I believe some restaurants do - and you end up with oyster flavored breading.

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  14. Of course you had to buy the bargain package! And look at how much fun you had as a result! All of your oyster dishes look wonderful.

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    1. Thanks Marjie - I was sure none of them would go to waste.

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  15. I'm happy to read that you like my recipe for seafood remoulade. I'm addicted to the stuff and will be slathering it on razor clam po' boys today. And thanks for the link too, Larry.

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  16. My husband would have loved all your oysters. Would you believe we have a professional oyster opener? When we lived in Key Largo, we used to have parties that featured oysters.

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  17. This looks like an amazing oyster feast! Yummm

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