Ever since my wife and I went to New Orleans and dined on chargrilled oysters at the Acme Oyster House, I've been striving to recreate that oyster-y goodness at home. Last night, I had two separate bottles of fresh, shelled oysters and made them into Angels on Horseback (without jalapeños) and Devils on Horseback (with jalapeño slices). Photos below.
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| Seasoned, fresh oysters about to be wrapped in bacon. |
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| Same after baking at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes. |
The results were good, but since you can never tell how fresh the oysters are, you eat them with a certain amount of trepidation. My method for testing oyster jars for freshness is to see if the lid is convex. I figure that's a decent guide to whether or not the oysters have started fermenting. If the lid is flat, they're probably OK to eat. Still, it's not foolproof and I've eaten oysters a few times, had mild discomfort afterwards and wondered if they were the cause.
Our problem is that we live in San Diego and oysters have to be imported. How fresh are they? You can't really tell. I think that if I were more confident in the quality of the oysters, I'd keep going through my oyster recipes, but until I feel totally safe, I'm going to call it quits.
I was a bit surprised to hear that you didn't have local oysters, considering that you are right next to the ocean, but after a bit of poking around I see that the California coast is really short of the kind of bays that oysters like.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, I did run across this place just a few hundred miles north of you, in Morro Bay. They say they do overnight deliveries.
Tim, thanks for the tip. I'd seen these guys before, but forgot about them. Key stat: "Oysters are to be used within 3 days when received." I might give them a try. Oysters in the shell run $1 a piece at the store, so 12 for $15 isn't too much of a premium.
ReplyDeleteAren't oysters like the "liver of the ocean"? As in, even more of a "bottom feeder" than shrimp?
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