Fried Oysters

Ingredients

• Twenty-five large oysters
• one pound of clarified fat
• beat now the two eggs
• one dessert spoonful of chopped parsley
• one and one-half ounces of flour
• one gill of cream
• one-half saltspoonful of grated nutmeg
• one-half saltspoonful of pepper
• a piece of onion half the size of a nutmeg
• a piece of salt the size of a pea

Method

1. 1

   Drain the oysters thoroughly.

2. 2

   Mix flour, milk, pepper, and salt.

3. 3

   Dip oysters in the mixture, then roll in cracker-dust.

4. 4

   Let stand for 30 minutes.

5. 5

   Heat clarified fat, add a peeled potato.

6. 6

   Beat eggs, dip oysters, roll in bread crumbs, and broil for 5 minutes.

7. 7

   Serve with butter and lemon juice.

Nutrition per serving

As published

This recipe was extracted from The art of cooking (1880) by Matilda Lees Dods, page 10. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

FRIED OYSTERS, 2 1 half an hour in order that the juices may drain otit and harden the cracker dust encasing them. Heat meantime in a stew-pan one pound of clarified fat, and when the blue smoke arises therefrom, throw in a peeled potato to keep it from burning. Upon a plate beat now the two eggs, dip the oysters one by one into them, then roll them in the bread crumbs, which has been made ready upon the kitchen paper, and with which has been put the nut- meg, and drop them lightly into the hot clarified fat, let- ting them remain therein for three minutes. Before serv- ing put them for a moment upon a clean sheet of kitchen paper that it may absorb the extraneous fat. Notes — It is important to avoid touching the oysters with the heated hands as it makes them both tough and heavy. Clarified fat and lard boils at about five hundred degrees, which is more than double the heat of boiling water. At three hundred and seventy-five degrees the blue smoke arises from these heated substances which is the cooking point, and boiling fat or lard will bum to a cinder instantly anything that is put into it. The peeled' potato prevents burning as it furnishes an object for the fat to act upon and so keeps it from growing hotter ; a piece of Hard bread will answer the same purpose. A large quantity of fat is used in this recipe, but its extravagance is tempered by the fact that the same fat may be used over and over again until the heating property is exhausted, The reason for allowing the oysters to stand for thirty minutes after being rolled in the cracker-dust is that unless so permitted to harden, the egg w^ith which the oyster is subsequently treated would not adhere but merely draw the cracker-dust off, making it thus necessary to pack these substances on with the hands and a heavy, soggy dish be the consequence. Fried oysters must be quickly cooked and as quickly served. Recipe for clarifying fat on page — . 22 OYSTERS. Oy^BTU H-la-Or^me. — Materials and quantities as follows ; Twenty-five large oysters, one dessert spoonful of chopped parsley, one heaped tablespoonful of bread- crumbs, three and one-half ounces of butter, one and one- ' half ounces of flour, a piece of onion half the size of a nutmeg, one gill of cream, one-half saltspoonful of grated nutmeg, one-half saltspoonful of pepper, a piece of salt the size of a pea. The oysters should first be boiled in their own liquor for five minutes, after which strained, cut into rough pieces, and put upon a plate. Season them then with the pepper, salt and nutmeg. Melt the butter now in a fresh saucepan, adding thereto the flour and the cream^ and boil all together for two minutes. Take then the sauce- pan from the fire, put into it the oysters and the parsley and onion, chopped finely, as well. This mixture must now be put nicely into large, deep oyster shells, the bread crumbs sprinkled over each, and put into a quick oven until browned over the top. Note. — ^As the oysters used do not always furnish the proper sliells for this preparation, it is weU to select from time to time, the shells from oysters used in other ways, and scrubbing them well, make a reserve of deep shells for this purpose. Broiled Oysters.— There will be required for this: twenty-five large oysters, two tablespoonfuls of flour, four tablespoonfuls of milk, four tablespoonfuls of cracker-dust, two eggs, four heaped tablespoonfuls of bread crumbs, two ounces of butter, and the juice of half a lemon, one- half a saltspoonful of salt, and an equal amount of pepper. Drain thoroughly the liquor from the oysters, mix upon a plate the flour, milk, pepper and salt. OYSTER CROQUETTES. 21 Dip the oysters into this mixture, one by one, and, putting the cracker-dust upon a sheet of kitchen paper, drop the oysters into the dust separately, and roll them from side to side by lifting the paper alternately at op- posite comers. Return then to the plate, using a fork in the lifting, and let them stand for thirty minutes, that the dust may harden with the juice. Beat the eggs now until very light, and dip the oysters, one by one therein, then into the bread crumbs, and having lightly greased the broiler, put them into it, and broil for five minutes. In serving, put the butter upon them in small lumps, and squeeze over them the lemon juice. Note, — Before beginning the preparing of oysters in this manner, it would be well to read the notes on fried oysters, page 21. Oyster Croquettes. — Materials to be used in the following proportions: twenty-five large oysters, one des- sert spoonful of chopped parsley, three and one-half ounces of butter, one and one-half ounces of flour

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.