Fried Oysters

Nothing beats finding some new treasure at Costco. Last week it was oysters, $14 for a pound container of shucked and cleaned oysters. The real surprise was when I opened the container, the things were huge! These were three bite oysters, you would choke if you tried to take a whole one in a single slurp. Time to get frying...

Ingredients:

1/2 pound oysters

1 1/2 cups flour

1 egg

1 1/2 cups fine bread crumbs

vegetable oil

Steps:

1. Put about 1 inch of oil in a dutch oven and put over medium-high heat. Put a clip-on thermometer onto the pot to monitor the temperature, we are shooting for 365 F. (If deep fryers are permitted in your home, they have been banned from mine, feel free to use one. I would recommend using a thermometer to verify the temperature.)

2. While it heats, rinse the oysters really well in cold water, then lay out on a paper towel and pat dry. Lightly salt and pepper them.

3. Put the flour in a small bowl for dredging, beat the egg with 1 TB oil in another small bowl, and put the bread crumbs in a third bowl. Put a small spoon in each dry bowl and a fork in the wet one.

4. Decide how many oysters you can fit in your frying vessel so they have plenty of space. I went with 4 in my dutch oven, I would think 3 is the max if you are using an electric fryer.

5. Bread a batch of oysters. First drop an oyster in the flour and mix around until there are no more moist surfaces. Then pick it up, shake off any excess flour, then drop it in the egg/oil mixture. Gently mix it in so that every surface is moistened. Lift the oyster with the fork, let any excess egg drip off, then drop into the bread crumbs. Mix around again until there are no moist spots, then place on a plate and bread the other oysters in the batch.

6. Gently slip the oysters into the hot oil, making sure they are well-spaced. Agitate the pot or basket so that no hot or cold areas develop in the oil, and also so that the oil is washing over the top of the oysters. If the tops of the oysters are not browning as fast as the sides, you may have to flip them after a minute or so. Cook the oysters until they have turned a deep golden brown, it should only take a couple minutes.

7. Remove the oysters from the oil and drain on paper towels. Make any adjustments necessary to get the oil temperature back where it needs to be, then go back to step 5 to cook another batch until you are done. If you have a lot of batches, keep the finished oysters in a warm oven until you are ready to serve.

My rating: 7/10

Potential rating: 10/10

Notes:  People either like oysters or they don't. This recipe will not change that, you can definitely taste the oysters, though adjusting the temperature will affect this somewhat. Going up to 375F will cause the breading to brown faster, leaving the oyster slightly raw and even more oystery tasting, while 355F will cook it a little more thoroughly for those not into raw oysters. The breading I used on these is pulled from a schnitzel recipe and is just perfect for oysters IMO. Not too thick, crisps up just right, and turns a very nice brown. Seasoning is where this could really become exceptional. I got lazy and used store-bought bread crumbs, but making your own by throwing lightly toasted bread in the food processor is much more flavorful. I also think a strip or two of crispy bacon thrown into the food processor with the bread crumbs would add a great salty smokiness that could really add a lot. Time to go back to Costco for more oysters.