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.

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

One Year Ago:

Two Years Ago: 

Larry

12/31/12 meal date