Recipe for oysters
Oysters are a true luxury food – but very few dare to prepare them themselves. That’s a shame! All you need are fresh oysters and a good oyster knife to open them.
Oysters are shellfish with a robust, leaf-like structure. Behind the shell lies a delightful bite of fresh seafood, tasting mineral, pristine, and naturally salty. There are many different types of oysters, but here we typically enjoy two kinds. The invasive Pacific oyster (Crassostrea Gigas), which has a deep shell, and the European oyster (Ostrea Edulis), which has a flatter shell. In Denmark, we know the European oyster as the Limfjord oyster, which thrives in cool water temperatures, growing more slowly and thus developing a deeper and more full-bodied flavor. Oysters can be eaten year-round, but they are best in winter, making them particularly suitable for the New Year’s menu.
Oysters can be eaten raw with just a touch of lemon and finely chopped shallots – but if you’re not into the fresh sea taste, they can also be gently cooked. Oyster meat is very delicate, so the cooking method needs to be chosen carefully. They can be gratinated, poached, or grilled. The key is to give the fresh oyster a quick heat shock or to cook it at a very low temperature.
Always check your oysters:
If the shell is damaged, discard it. If the shell is open and does not close when you gently tap it, it is dead and should be discarded. Fresh oysters should smell of fresh sea when you open them – not of fish and harbor. When heated, the shell of the oyster should open.
Below you’ll find a detailed guide on how to open an oyster, along with a couple of flavorings that pair well with oysters.
Enjoy!
Oysters
Ingredients
- 4 pcs. Oyster Fresh
Instructions
How to Open an Oyster
- The deep end should face downward when opening an oyster. This is the bowl in which you will serve the oyster.
- Hold your oyster in a clean dish towel to protect the hand holding the shell.
- Insert the knife at the "hinge" at the bottom and press downward until you feel the adductor muscle release. Now run the knife all the way around between the two shells. Be careful not to damage the shell.
- Cut the oyster free from the top shell where the muscle is attached. Scrape it down into the lower shell, which is the deep shell. Ensure there is still some liquid around the oyster muscle; it is part of the flavor.
- Clean the oyster of loose shell fragments.
- Continue in this manner with all 4 oysters.
- Once you have opened, cleaned, and prepared your oysters, you can either eat them as they are or add some flavor as follows:- Lemon juice, finely chopped shallots, and crushed black pepper – optionally with some fresh tarragon.- Dill oil, fine cubes of cucumber, and mustard cress.- Balsamic vinegar, fine apple cubes, and crushed black pepper.