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Oy…Oy…Oysters!

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Tasty Kitchen Blog: Oysters. Guest post by Jaden Hair of Steamy Kitchen.

 
My younger son, Nathan, who is 5 years old, absolutely loves oysters. Now honestly, I don’t know if he really enjoyed the taste of oysters or if it was the crowd of adults clapping and congratulating my little tot for being brave enough to down the oyster on his very first try a year ago. Brave little boy, he was, and it had nothing to do with me telling him that it tastes just like potato chips.

Most people have a preference for either raw, fried or grilled oysters. The people who love raw oysters will *sometimes* like them grilled, but the people who like grilled or fried oysters don’t enjoy it raw.

And I’m saying this as if I have such authority on the subject oysters, when in reality, I just merely questioned my neighborhood friends, i.e. 3 people.

My favorite is raw, super chilled, and served with a tangy, light mignonette. There’ll absolutely be no cocktail sauce nor horseradish touching my oysters (which serves to merely mask the oysters’ delicate seawater flavors). Sometimes, just really good sea salt and a squeeze of lemon is all I need.

I love playing with the mignonette … errr … vinaigrette for the oysters. I think technically, a mignonette is made of red wine vinegar and shallots. But I love using an Asian rice vinegar and adding some grated fresh ginger with a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar.

 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Oysters. Guest post by Jaden Hair of Steamy Kitchen.

 
For the perfect oyster “mignonette,” I think a mixture of tangy, salty, and slightly sweet works really well. In the above photo, I used tart green apples (finely minced), white wine vinegar, minced cilantro and minced jalapeno, a touch of salt and a touch of sugar.

But enough about raw oysters, let’s talk about fried! When I fry oysters, I love using Zatarain’s Fish Fry seasoning and using my cast iron pot to fry the oysters.

And grilled? Absolutely divine. I made these grilled oysters a few months ago, right after getting back from FoodBuzz Food Blogger Festival in San Francisco. The first night consisted of a festival of street cart food, and one of the vendors was Hog Island Oyster Company. The shucker must have gone through about 1000 oysters that night, poor thing, and I think I stood by his cart for about two hours straight, eating 100 or so myself.

He gave me a recipe for their famous Hog Island Grilled Oysters, and you’ll find the recipe on Elise’s Simply Recipes blog. And, yes the oysters are sitting on a bed of raw rice, only because I ran out of rock salt! The rice worked beautifully.

 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Oysters. Guest post by Jaden Hair of Steamy Kitchen.

 
So I think I’m an anomaly; I love my oysters every which way—raw, fried and grilled—though my favorite is freshly shucked raw oysters that make feel as if I’m standing knee-deep in the crashing waves with my arms wide open and yelling “IIIII—–LOOOOVVVE—-TOOOO—-EAAAAAAT—OY-OY-OYYYYYSTERSSS!!!”

 
How about you? Raw, fried or grilled? (Or NOT?)

 
 
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Jaden Hair is a food writer, television personality, and food photographer based in Tampa Bay, Florida. Find more of her recipes in her blog, Steamy Kitchen, where you can also read more about Jaden’s new book, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook, and the rave reviews it’s received!

 

74 Comments

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pvfrompv on 5.6.2010

Definitely raw, however grilled ain’t bad! Opolo Vineyards in Paso Robles does an incredible job with oysters at the harvest celebration – their sauce/liquor rocks!

Kirsten on 5.6.2010

Pan friend with a dusting of seasoned flour, grilled with cheddar cheese and worcestershire, or raw with a mignonette. And in that order! :)

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jdupree on 5.6.2010

I was born and raised in LA, I love them raw the best! I also love them charbroiled w/ garlic butter…mmm…now i’m hungry!

Lee on 5.6.2010

I love me some oysters! Big, small, fried, grilled, raw! YUM!

Mary B. on 5.6.2010

I love them raw or baked! There is a place in Destin, FL that bakes oysters with a crab meat dressing and cheese – they are divine!

Stacy L. on 5.6.2010

All three please!!! Oh now I want them bad!

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mirinblue on 5.6.2010

Oysters! I’ll take ‘em anyway I can get ‘em! Yum…
As an aside, my son would also eat them and loved them when he was 3 or 4 years old. He also loved (s) snails and any raw fish. So I believe may children actually DO like them. Children can be surprising.

Eileen on 5.6.2010

Raw, yum! I love to hold them in my mouth for just a second before swallowing them whole. I’m not one to pretend to be a lady ;)

Julie Seamons on 5.6.2010

None of the above. Ugh! I have tried and tried. I just cannot stomach oysters. At All!! Kudos to those that can. I know I am missing out.

lil ol me on 5.6.2010

grilled or fried, please. And just a few, though my kiddo might give you a run for your money on that 100…

Shelley on 5.6.2010

Thank you for posting this! A timely appreciation of a great seafood.
I live in Apalachicola (Florida) and we love our oysters anyway we can think of to prepare them, though nothing tops raw. I am lucky enough to live in a place where I can pick up my own oysters from the Bay and eat them in my kayak! On cold cookout nights I also really like to steam them open on a grill.

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firethehousewife on 5.6.2010

Sadly, not. I tried them once when I was living in France because my host dad RAVED about them, but I just didn’t like it. I WANT SO BADLY TO LOVE THEM THOUGH!

CarolinaGirl on 5.6.2010

I am definitely NOT an oyster girl!!! My younger son loves them, the first time he had them to my knowledge was when he was about 10-12 at a friend’s oyster roast and he was downing those things big time on a cracker with some sauce–more power to him!

paddlemama on 5.6.2010

I’m like you – I like them any way I can get them. But the absolute BEST I’ve ever had what last summer at Felix’s in the French Quarter of New Orleans. They were grilled with massive amounts of garlic and they were AWESOME. I dream about those oysters!

Martha on 5.6.2010

I used to eat them lightly grilled. But then the oysters seemed to be getting bigger and I just couldn’t do it anymore. I will, however, wholeheartedly eat an oyster po’boy. That is, as long as the oysters aren’t too big. :-p

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mowsquaz on 5.6.2010

I have tried, but I have to admit that I just don’t like oysters. My father-in-law, however, LOVES them (any which way, but especially raw or fried in a sandwich — or in oyster stuffing at Thanksgiving), so I do make them for him on occasion. I’ll have to try those grilled ones for him sometime. Thanks for the recipe link!

my life in tune on 5.6.2010

Um, not.

Something about eating a whole organism–brains, poop and all–is nausea-inducing. And I have texture neurosis when it comes to food, so I don’t think the slime factor would sit too well with me…

megelin on 5.6.2010

ohhh ewww i am definitely in the “NOT” category :]

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jennifera on 5.6.2010

I’m with you, Jaden! I love them EVERY way. Raw followed by a shot of limoncello is lovely. ;-)

Jenn C. on 5.6.2010

Aaaaaw, man, now I want oysters. And that’s a $100+ trip to my favorite oyster bar.

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Jesse Green on 5.6.2010

My favorite way to eat them is def. raw :) I don’t mind grill either, but I’ve never been a fan of any fried seafood.

Gabrielle Smith on 5.6.2010

Raw! With a splash of tabasco and horseradish. I love the burn…

Elizabeth on 5.6.2010

Steamed/roasted oysters! I love going to oyster roasts and my favorite way to eat them is when they get dumped out by the barrel on a plywood table fresh from the marsh. Definitely the best way to enjoy oysters.

Jessica @ How Sweet on 5.6.2010

I can’t deny that raw are wonderful, however I get sucked in by the oysters rockafeller ALL the time. I love them baked or grilled. I also like the fried ones, but they usually just taste like fried food!