Fish of the Month - Oysters
Oysters
Love them or hate them, few people are indifferent to eating oysters. A good quality fresh oyster has a unique taste - salty, tangy, yet delicate with mineral overtones. Although famed for being an aphrodisiac, this theory is unproven, although the natural minerals contained in oysters - zinc, calcium, copper, iodine, magnesium - would give anyone a boost.
A luxury today, in Victorian times oysters were a food of the poor but with overfishing and pollution, oyster beds in the Uk were quickly exhausted and took many years to recover.
In the UK, we cultivate 2 types of oyster - Natives and Pacific or rock oysters. Natives tend to be pized more highly than the Pacific, which are smaller, milder and have a frillier shell.
Pacific oysters can generally be obtained all year round and many are imported from France, whereas Natives tend to be available only in the winter months.
Opening Fresh Oysters
Fresh oysters can be kept in the fridge covered in a wet tea towel for 2 - 3 days. When you come to use them, discard any which have opened at all. Oyster meat can also be frozen for later use.
Opening fresh oysters is fairly straightforward but it does take practice. To open an oyster, hold it deeper shell down in a hand protected with a work glove or tea towel. Insert an oyster knife (or flat screwdriver) between the two halves of the shell and gradually prise apart, working your way around to the hinge and saving as much liquor as possible.
Serve simply with a squeeze of lemon, black pepper and a dash of tabasco.
Oysters Kilpatrick
(Serves 4)
Many people like to try oysters for the first time in a cooked dish. This simple and traditional way of preparing them is a great introduction to appreciating them.
3 streaky bacon rashers, finely chopped
2 tblsp fresh breadcrumbs
1 tblsp Worcestershire sauce
4 tblsp double cream
12 oysters, opened
lemon wedges to serve
Heat a frying pan and add the bacon. Fry gently in its own fat until browned, then add the breadcrumbs and brown them briefly.
Mix the Worcestershire sauce with the cream and divide it between the oysters, season well and then top each with some of the bacon and breadcrumb mixture. Grill until brown and crisp and serve with lemon wedges.
Click here to enjoy recipes of other sustainably caught fish from the South East of England: