NATIONAL OYSTERS ROCKEFELLER DAY - January 10

National Day Calendar ^ | January 10, 2024 | Staff

[Red Badger]

I will never eat raw oysters. I tried one once many years ago. Nothing special.

Every year there is at least one report of someone getting seriously ill or dying from eating raw oysters.

It’s like Russian Roulette for your stomach.

Boiled, fried, steamed, stewed, baked, anyway but RAW!...................

[dennisw]

Raw oysters are slurpy fun to eat, but really don’t have much taste. This is why you need to top them off with hot sauce, horseradish etc.

I never got sick from them. I have eaten clams that were affected by red tide. Did not bother me.

[Liz]

Renowned master chef, Jacques Pepin says:
“Opening oysters can be tricky, dangerous, and a lot of work.”

So he has devised an ingenious method to open oysters.

He places them in a 400-degree oven until they start to open ........ but are still raw.

At this point, you can easily slide a paring knife inside and cut the
adductor muscle to open the oysters completely and slide them out.

This can be done ahead, even the day before you need them.

[Liz]

Oysters Mosca
A delectable Italian flavored dish from a famous New Orleans restaurant.

ING—2 dozen oysters, drained
1/2 cup green onions, sliced
2 TBSP butter
½ tsp basil
¼ cup olive oil plus 1 TBSP
1 TBSP chopped garlic
2 TBSP chopped parsley
¼ tsp black pepper
½ tsp oregano
1/8 tsp cayenne
¼-1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
¼ cup of grated parmesan cheese

Instructions—Sauté onions, garlic and parsley in butter and 1/4 cup olive oil on medium.
Add herbs and spices and rest seasonings. Add drained oysters and mix well.

Place in b/dish. Top w/ combined breadcrumbs and Parm. Make sure oysters are well covered. Use more if needed sprinkled on liberally. Drizzle w/ tbl olive oil. Bake 425 deg 20-30 min til browned and bubbling. Let stand about 5 min before serving.

[Liz]

How chefs shuck oysters:

Hold an oyster in a towel, to protect your hand, with the rounded side down. Lean the wider end of the oyster against the table for support. Push an oyster knife under the hinge at the narrow end of the shell. (Don’t jam the knife in, or you risk damaging the oyster.)

You will hear a “pop”; twist the knife to loosen the shell. Keeping the knife directly under the top shell, run the blade along the right side to cut through the muscle.

This will release the top shell, which can then be removed. Slide the knife under the meat to detach the second muscle holding the oyster in place.

Hold the oyster and its juices in a small bowl. Repeat with the remaining oysters.

Final-—Trim away the muscle and the outer ruffled edge of each oyster and place the trimmings in a saucepan. Reserve the whole trimmed oysters and strain the oyster juice into a separate bowl. You should have about ½ cup juice from 16 oysters.