It is fashionable to serve these as one of the preliminaries to a dinner party ; some-
times in small plates, sometimes on the half-shell. They are seasoned by each guest ac-
cording to his own taste.
A pretty arrangement for serving raw oysters is to serve them in a block of ice.
Select a ten-pound block, melt with a hot flat-iron a symmetrical-shaped cavity in the top
to hold the oysters ; chip also from the sides, at the base, so that the ice-block may stand
in a large dish on the napkin. When the oysters are well salted and peppered, place them
in the ice, and let them remain in some place where the ice will not melt until the time of
serving. The salt will help to make the oysters very cold. The ice may be decorated
with leaves or smilax vines, and a row of lemon quarters or halves may be placed around
the dish at the base of the ice. It has an especially pretty effect served on the table by
gaslight. Clams may be served in the same manner.
CREAM OYSTERS.
One pint cream, a little more than a pint of oysters, one tablespoon of flour, salt and
pepper to taste✪ Cream Oysters; let the cream come to a boil. Mix the flour with a little cold milk and
stir into the boiling cream. Let the oysters come to a boil in their own liquor; then skim
carefully. Drain off all the liquor and turn the oysters into the cream.
92
OYSTERS. 93
OYSTERS COOKED AT TABLE.
Use a chafing-dish, or a metal dish placed over a small alcohol lamp, at the table;
have the oysters carefully freed from all bits of shell ; put into the dish for a pint of
oysters two heaping tablespoons of butter, a dust of cayenne✪ Oysters Cooked at Table and the oysters; no salt is to
be added unless the butter is very fresh; stir the oysters until their edges begin to curl,
and then put out the lamp and serve them.
FRIED OYSTERS AND ONIONS.
Have ready over the fire a frying-kettle half full of fat, heating, and a large frying-pan
containing two tablespoons of butter and a dust of cayenne ; peel and slice a pint of
white onions, and when the fat is hot drop in a few of the onions at the time, and fry them
like Saratoga potatoes, taking them out of the fat with a skimmer and putting them in a
colander to drain ; meantime carefully remove all bits of shell from a quart of oysters✪ Fried Oysters and Onions,
and put them into the frying-pan with butter, taking care that the butter is brown ; make
some toast, and lay it on a hot platter ; put the fried onions around the toast ; when the
edges of the oysters curl pour them on the toast, and serve the dish at once.
BATTER FOR CLAMS AND OYSTERS.
One cup milk, one egg, one teaspoon cream of tartar, half teaspoon soda, a little salt,
and flour to make as stiff as for fritters✪ Batter for Clams and Oysters.
OYSTER CROQUETTES.
Scald and chop fine the hard part of oysters after taking the other part and liquor for
a soup ; add an equal weight of mashed potatoes ; to one pound of this add a lump of
butter the size of an egg, a teaspoon of salt, half a teaspoon of pepper, and quarter of a
-teacup of cream✪ Oyster Croquettes. Make in small cakes, dip in egg and then in bread-crumbs, and fry in
plenty of melted lard.
FRIED OYSTERS.
Page 82 · 7 recipe records on this page
Presented as published in 1891. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
It is fashionable to serve these as one of the preliminaries to a dinner party ; sometimes in small plates, sometimes on the half-shell. They are seasoned by each guest according to his own taste.
A pretty arrangement for serving raw oysters is to serve them in a block of ice. Select a ten-pound block, melt with a hot flat-iron a symmetrical-shaped cavity in the top to hold the oysters ; chip also from the sides, at the base, so that the ice-block may stand in a large dish on the napkin. When the oysters are well salted and peppered, place them in the ice, and let them remain in some place where the ice will not melt until the time of serving. The salt will help to make the oysters very cold. The ice may be decorated with leaves or smilax vines, and a row of lemon quarters or halves may be placed around the dish at the base of the ice. It has an especially pretty effect served on the table by gaslight. Clams may be served in the same manner.
CREAM OYSTERS.
One pint cream, a little more than a pint of oysters, one tablespoon of flour, salt and pepper to taste; let the cream come to a boil. Mix the flour with a little cold milk and stir into the boiling cream. Let the oysters come to a boil in their own liquor; then skim carefully. Drain off all the liquor and turn the oysters into the cream.
OYSTERS. 93
OYSTERS COOKED AT TABLE.
Use a chafing-dish, or a metal dish placed over a small alcohol lamp, at the table; have the oysters carefully freed from all bits of shell ; put into the dish for a pint of oysters two heaping tablespoons of butter, a dust of cayenne and the oysters; no salt is to be added unless the butter is very fresh; stir the oysters until their edges begin to curl, and then put out the lamp and serve them.
FRIED OYSTERS AND ONIONS.
Have ready over the fire a frying-kettle half full of fat, heating, and a large frying-pan containing two tablespoons of butter and a dust of cayenne ; peel and slice a pint of white onions, and when the fat is hot drop in a few of the onions at the time, and fry them like Saratoga potatoes, taking them out of the fat with a skimmer and putting them in a colander to drain ; meantime carefully remove all bits of shell from a quart of oysters, and put them into the frying-pan with butter, taking care that the butter is brown ; make some toast, and lay it on a hot platter ; put the fried onions around the toast ; when the edges of the oysters curl pour them on the toast, and serve the dish at once.
BATTER FOR CLAMS AND OYSTERS.
One cup milk, one egg, one teaspoon cream of tartar, half teaspoon soda, a little salt, and flour to make as stiff as for fritters.
OYSTER CROQUETTES.
Scald and chop fine the hard part of oysters after taking the other part and liquor for a soup ; add an equal weight of mashed potatoes ; to one pound of this add a lump of butter the size of an egg, a teaspoon of salt, half a teaspoon of pepper, and quarter of a -teacup of cream. Make in small cakes, dip in egg and then in bread-crumbs, and fry in plenty of melted lard.
FRIED OYSTERS.
Records on this page
Cream OystersOysters Cooked at TableOysters a la Poulette or FricasseeFried Oysters and OnionsFried OystersBatter for Clams and OystersOyster Croquettes