Raw Oysters with Mignonette Sauce

For many years, I was afraid of raw oysters. They seemed slimy, scary, and just not appetizing.

Then I did my first trip to New Orleans, and my mind started to change. It was the wood-fired oysters at Cochon that opened my eyes. These weren’t scary at all, but rather plump and delicious. They were cooked, of course, but that initial positive experience had me ready to try raw ones.

So I went to Luke the next night and tried raw oysters. They were… okay. I didn’t get the obsession some of my friends had, but likewise, I recognized that raw oysters weren’t necessarily bad or scary, especially with bright and tangy sauces alongside.

Skip forward a few more years until my first trip to Martha’s Vineyard. I was eager to try oysters here because everyone, absolutely everyone, told me that if I tried oysters fresh from the sea and still wasn’t in love, then I’d know for sure. And wouldn’t you know it – they were right. For the first time in my life, I understood why raw oysters are such a delicacy. Clean, briny, refreshing, delicate, this was the oyster experience people had been telling me about. Everywhere I went, I had Katama Bay oysters and I couldn’t get enough. I was officially oyster obsessed. From that point on, if there was a fresh oyster to be had, I was ready to try. And I’ve never looked back. These days, I stick to oysters when I trust the source and it’s the right season. Let me explain…

There’s a saying amongst oyster eaters – Oysters should only be eaten in months containing the letter “R.” This means September through April, skipping May through August. While it’s not really accurate – there can be good oysters found in the summer months – it’s not a bad rule to follow. In the summer, oysters are in the reproduction portion of their life cycle, so they definitely won’t be at their tastiest. And let’s not forget that oysters are highly perishable. Unless you live near the ocean, those oysters have probably made a road trip to get to your table. Cross-country transport during hot summer months is definitely not a good idea. And talk to anyone who’s ever had an experience with a bad oyster, and you’ll see why some people stick to the colder months exclusively.

But by all means, in colder months, when you can get local, fresh oysters, DO IT! And while restaurants are the easiest way to sample, there’s no reason not to have an oyster party at home. Just make sure you know the basics.

When buying oysters, avoid ones that are open or don’t close right away after you lightly tap them on a surface. That means the oysters are dead. Make sure live oysters smell like the sea (or whatever body of water they were harvested from). If you are looking for a place to buy oysters, depending on where you live you have options. Here in Orlando, I have a few trustworthy sources that I like to buy from, but I’m also not against mail order. There are a handful of companies that will send fresh oysters to your door within 24 hours of pulling them from the sea. That’s probably faster than lots of restaurants get them, so if you are game, it’s a real option.

Next, store oysters for as brief as possible, on ice, in the fridge. You want to keep those babies cold until they are shucked (by the way, learn how to properly shuck an oyster and make sure you use a protective glove or kit, I’ve seen folks get injured improperly shucking.) One thing to be careful about though – don’t let them sit in a pool of ice cold water. Oysters are meant to live in salt water, and submersion in tap water, no matter how cold it is, will kill them.

When it’s time to serve, just shuck, separate the oyster from its shell (making sure not to spill too much of the oyster liquor) and serve on a tray of ice. Personally, I prefer my oysters plain, with a squirt of lemon, or simple mignonette sauce (a little white wine is lovely too,) but hot sauce, cocktail sauce and horseradish are often favored accompaniments. Try any and all and see what you like.

And please, don’t buy mignonette sauce. It’s so easy to make – minced shallots and vinegar with a little salt (and pepper if you like.) The only trick to mignonette is to taste it to get the balance right and to use decent vinegar. Sherry, red wine, white wine, or champagne vinegar, all of those work, just avoid standard old distilled white vinegar. Make sure you give the shallots enough time to pickle in that vinegar (at least an hour before serving) and if you feel like your mignonette has a bit of a harsh edge, feel free to add a tiny smidge of sugar to round it out.