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How to eat oysters correctly?

You should know that oysters can be consumed in several ways. The main and most unfamiliar to a person far from French cuisine is practiced only in the case when this seafood is the main dish, supplemented only with sauce. It is this ritual that raises a huge number of questions. If only meat is used from oysters, combined with other ingredients, then it is consumed cold through the use of dessert utensils, and hot - through tableware.

The main emphasis should be on how to eat oysters according to the rules of French etiquette. In their pure form, oysters are served in restaurants with their shells closed, arranged in a circle on a platter, with lemon slices often placed between them. To keep the product fresh, a thin layer of crushed ice is poured underneath it. In addition to the oysters, there is a bottle of white wine, which can be replaced with champagne. Moreover, taking into account the fact that this seafood in itself is exotic, all attention is given to it, and the accompanying alcoholic drink is selected so that it only highlights the taste of the oysters, and does not interrupt it. Therefore, you should not order expensive wine with a long aging period: a classic dry white is enough.

The oyster is removed from the tray with your left hand; if you are right-handed, the sharp end of its shell is turned towards you, after which you need to take the knife served with the dish in your right hand. They should open the shell by inserting the blade flat and turning it clockwise 90 degrees. When opening the valves, it is important to maintain the horizontal position of the oyster, since there is a certain amount of sea water inside, which provides the mollusk with a slight spice. After this action, a thin film located in the very core will be visible inside. It must be removed with the same knife, carefully cutting it in a circle, and removed to the edge of your plate (not a common tray!).

Now the knife is put aside, its place in the hand is taken by a slice of lemon, the juice of which must be squeezed into the doors themselves, getting onto the mollusk. Lemon juice is sometimes replaced with vinegar in which the shallot rings were soaked. The last step is to draw out the contents of the oyster through the lips folded into a tube, which should be done very quietly. It is worth practicing this action at home, since it is at this point that the main difficulties begin. Therefore, in most restaurants, oysters are served immediately with the doors open, from which the meat is removed with a special oyster fork that has 2 long prongs.

How to eat oysters: videos and recommendations

Depending on how many people the oysters are intended for, their number on the tray varies from 6 to 24 pieces, but always in multiples of 6. In addition, the larger they are, the fewer there will be. The menu of most restaurants often includes 3 oysters in their pure form, and larger (up to 00) or small (up to 5) oysters are used as ingredients for other dishes. This should also be taken into account if you are going to implement any recipe containing oysters among its ingredients. Small types (4-5) are suitable for sandwiches and other cold appetizers, and for casseroles, soups, etc. 00 oysters are purchased.

The period in which this marine inhabitant was caught is also important. In France, eating oysters is practiced from September to April, since they actively reproduce from May to August. At this time, the shellfish become fattier, which not every gourmet will like. In addition, fishing for oysters in late spring and summer is prohibited by law, which was originally intended to protect these marine inhabitants from declining numbers.

It should also be noted that among oysters there are also species that are not suitable for consumption. Therefore, when purchasing frozen seafood in a store, pay attention to the data from the supplier or manufacturer. Portuguese and Adriatic oysters, as well as rock types, can be served at the table. Moreover, they can all have a different type of shell - concave or flat. You can also clarify the question of the salinity of the water in which the oysters lived. If the indicator exceeded 30‰ (ppm), the meat of such seafood is a bit harsh, so it has to be soaked in sauce for a long time and subsequently heat-treated. The standard value of water salinity, at which the optimal growth rate of shellfish and the taste of their meat is observed, is 25‰.

Top 3 popular sauces for oysters

Oysters are extremely nutritious. Their meat contains vitamin C and B vitamins.

In the USA, Japan and some European countries, this product is grown artificially. The French annually harvest more than 1 billion oysters, and in the waters of the Black and Japanese Seas near Russian territory there are considerable reserves of shellfish.

The most popular sauces for oysters are the following:

Soy sauce based.

Ingredients: soy sauce, olive oil, lemon juice.

Proportion: 1:1:1.

Based on white wine vinegar.

Ingredients: wine vinegar, olive oil, red onion, salt.

Proportions: 1:1:1, salt to taste.

Based on lemon juice.

Ingredients: olive oil, lemon juice, chopped ginger root, crushed red pepper, salt.

Proportions: 1:1 – olive oil and lemon juice, 0.5:0.5 – ginger and pepper, salt to taste.

Let's take a look at some recipes for sauces that go better than others with oysters, giving them a special flavor in more detail. This information will help you make oyster sauce at home without having to worry too much about it. After all, everything is much simpler than it might seem.

How to cook oysters at home?

It was mentioned earlier that you can enjoy the masterpieces of French cuisine even at home, and you don’t have to have the skills and talents of a chef. In particular, when it comes to cooking oysters, there are almost no difficulties with them. The menu of most restaurants offers live sea creatures for consumption, which means they do not require heat treatment before consumption.

You usually buy already frozen copies at home, which you just need to defrost, make a sauce for them, and you can serve the product to the table. However, baking oysters, as well as frying and steaming them, is also practiced. This turns a light snack into a full-fledged second hot dish, which is much easier to eat.

After removing the seafood from the bag, it is washed and passed along the outside of its flaps with a soft brush. Then excess moisture must be removed with a towel or napkin using gentle touches. After this, the oysters are laid out on a dish with fine ice sprinkled on it to fix them in a horizontal position by creating depressions in the surface. And they prepare a sauce separately, or add lemon slices.

The classic recipe for sauce for fresh oysters is as follows: soak 1 tbsp in wine vinegar (100 ml). red onion or shallot, which should be carefully chopped. Pour in 2 tbsp. sherry vinegar and add a pinch of sugar and white pepper. All these components are thoroughly mixed, the container is covered with glass or a lid and set aside in a cool place for 1-1.5 hours.

Using the same vinegar, you can prepare a more exotic sauce for oysters by combining 100 ml of lime juice and wine vinegar and pouring 2 tsp into the mixture. soy sauce and 50 ml white wine. At your request, you can add your favorite seasonings: a pinch of nutmeg, basil or cardamom and pepper. This sauce is infused for 30-40 minutes.

A complete hot dish of oysters, which is easy to prepare at home, will take about 1-1.5 hours to create.

Compound:

Oysters (without shells) – 2 tbsp.
Onions – 1 pc.
Bell pepper – 2 pcs.
Celery root – 0.5 pcs.
Hard cheese – 300 g
Garlic
Parsley – 1 bunch
loaf
Spices - to taste

Preparation:

The pulp removed from the shells must be washed and spread on a paper towel to remove excess moisture. At the same time, the liquid that was in the oysters is poured into a glass: it will be needed later.
While the shellfish are drying, you should take care of the vegetables with which they will be baked. Heat butter in a thick frying pan, in which you need to fry chopped onions, pieces of yellow bell pepper and celery root for 1-2 minutes.
After 3-4 minutes, when the vegetables become soft and darken, add a chopped clove of garlic and add a pinch of red pepper. The mixture is given another 2-3 minutes so that the garlic also goes through the softening stage.
Now you need to pour 100 ml of warm boiled water into the frying pan, wait for the vegetable mixture to boil, reduce the burner power and throw the chopped bunch of parsley into the frying pan. Under a covered lid and over low heat, the vegetables should simmer for another 5-7 minutes.
At this time, 300 g of hard cheese is passed through a grater, half of the white loaf is broken into cubes and thrown into the frying pan. Sea water is poured there and oysters are laid.
The dish is sprinkled with cheese on top, and the pan is put into an oven preheated to 150 degrees. At this temperature, the oysters are baked for 45 minutes, after which the indicator increases to 200 degrees, and the dish is given another 15 minutes to form a cheese crust.

After a little home training, handling oysters correctly in a restaurant will not be difficult for you, even if they are served closed. And it is quite possible that such an exotic product will become your favorite, and soon, cooked at home, it will taste no worse than in an expensive French restaurant.

How to cook oysters

Instructions

Most varieties of oysters are edible, and many types can be eaten raw. The general rule is that small-sized shellfish are consumed raw, while larger varieties are used in various dishes. Oysters can be steamed, pan-fried or grilled - it all depends on your desire.

To steam oysters, you must rinse them under cold running water to remove any dirt. Look for open or cracked shells - this indicates that the shellfish are no longer alive and should not be consumed.

Pour about 5 cm of water into a saucepan, heat to a boil and add half a glass of beer or a glass of wine to it for flavor. Place a metal sieve or colander on top of the pan and arrange the oysters in a single row.

Steam the oysters for approximately 5-10 minutes over medium heat. When the clams are ready, the shells will open on their own.

Another popular way to cook oysters is on the grill. You can fry them either in one half of the shell or completely peeled, at your discretion.

To shuck an oyster from the shell, you must open it with a knife, holding it firmly with a protective glove or wrapping your hand in a towel. Once the tip of the knife fits between the two halves of the shell, make a rotating motion, similar to how you turn the ignition key in a car. After this, remove one half of the shell and use a knife to cut off the leg of the oyster.

If you choose to grill oysters on the half shell, you can use different combinations of ingredients as seasonings and sauces. The most popular combinations are butter and garlic, butter and soy sauce, a mixture of butter, shallots, fresh parsley, cheese and pepper, and so on.

Place the clams on the grill over medium heat, close the lid and grill for 5-10 minutes. Remove them from the grill in such a way as not to spill any juices that have formed during cooking.

A third, less common way to cook oysters is to fry them in a pan. To do this, the shellfish must be completely cleaned of their shells.

Mix flour, salt and black pepper. Lightly beat 2 eggs in a separate bowl. Dip the shucked oysters into the egg mixture and then into the flour with salt and pepper.

Heat a frying pan with plenty of vegetable oil and place the clams in the hot oil in a single row. Fry over high heat for about two minutes, or until golden brown.