Welcome to 3AW. Skip directly to: Search Box, Section Navigation, Content.

3AW - Fairfax Radio Network

Sunday February 12, 2012

What we're talking about

Bob Hart in Oysters Heaven

Posted by: 3AW Food | 19 August, 2010 - 2:24 PM

Image

OYSTERS, at this time of the year, are about as good as oysters can be. Which means, of course, that they are magnificent.

Especially good are the fat and delectable Sydney rocks to be found in good fishmongers. These should either be bought closed, or opened to order.

Australian oysters are so good that we should eat them at every opportunity. They also happen to be something of a health food - not that I worry about things like that.

I like them from the shell with very little garnish at all, or with just red wine vinegar with finely diced shallots. Yum.

But my other favourite ways of eating them are nearly as simple. Try an oyster sandwich: Thinly butter two slices of very good wholemeal or grain bread - my favourite is Dench's grain bread, which is perfect for this approach.

Lift each of a dozen rock oysters from their shells and position them on one slice of the bread. You should find room for the entire dozen. As you do this, be sure to drizzle any juices in the shells over the oysters so that they soak into the bread.

Finally, sprinkle a little balsamic vinegar over the oysters - do it a drop at a time, and never use too much. Add a grind of pepper and top with the second slice. Cut into halves with a very sharp knife and eat - ideally with a cold beer or a crisp, white wine.

The other approach is to make the oysters into po' boys - glorious New Orleans sandwiches which involve stuffing sections of split, fresh baguettes with crumbed and deep fried oysters.

To do this, cut a baguette into three equal lengths and split. Remove a little of the soft inside of each section to make room for the filling. Thinly spread the cut faces with mayo and layer the bottoms with finely sliced iceberg lettuce, just like we use in old-fashioned prawn cocktails.

Now, heat your deep fryer or a pot of vegetable oil to around 185C. Dip each oyster into a bowl of bottled mayo (such as Best Foods) slightly thinned with milk and coat with panko (Japanese) breadcrumbs. Drop into the oil and cook until crisp and golden. Lift them out, pile them into the baguette and eat.

Share

3AW Food - Eating Melbourne

Spain food 3AW is Food: Melburnians love to eat so it's fortunate we live in the culinary capital of Australia. On this dedicated food page you will find the latest recipes by Bob Hart as well as Tony Leonard's Pub of the Week reviews. La Luna head chef Adrian Richardson also serves up a dish from his own cook book and food reviewer Ela Carte visits one of Melbourne's hottest eateries weekly.

Blog comments Your Say

Post a comment * Mandatory fields