Fried Oysters

(Southern Recipe)

Above picture is fried oysters with shrimp etouffee.

It is November and the oysters season has just opened in Texas. Harvesting oysters is closed from April 1^st through November 1^st every year here in Texas. So it’s been a while since we had fresh oysters from the Bay. However, oysters are available all year in restaurants and sometimes at the grocery stores but they are not local Texas oysters but probably from Louisiana, Florida, or even from the Pacific. But my husband and I prefer the milder taste of the Galveston Bay oysters especially those harvested in Matagorda.

One morning we went and bought a quart of shucked oysters from our favorite fishmonger. We ate half of them as soon as we got home. Both my husband and I prefer to eat raw oysters over fried. He usually makes his own cocktail sauce to dip them in while I prefer the Filipino dip I grew up to soak them in. It is just a concoction of vinegar, sliced shallots and ginger root seasoned with salt and dashes of Tabasco sauce. And if I have some Filipino Labuyo peppers, I’d crush a couple in it instead of Tabasco sauce and that will make you take notice.

I saved the other half of a quart of oysters for another day and when I was ready to serve it again I thought I’d fry them for a change and hoped that he would eat them and not say that I wasted the pricey dinner. The price of oysters have gone up quite a bit just like everything else.

I made it like fried catfish in cornmeal, which is his favorite. He does not like catfish that is fried in batter but a lot of restaurants that offer it is fried that way that always disappoints him. They also fry their oysters dipped in batter. I thought I would try to make it in cornmeal, Southern style.

To my surprise, when he sat down for dinner and tried one of the fried oysters, he never stopped picking one after another until all are gone. He did not even eat anything else on the table. I wished I cooked more than I did, but I wasn’t sure if he would like it.

You need 1 pint (2 cups) of shucked oysters.

Drain the oysters in a colander or a sieve. Prepare a buttermilk marinade. Add 2 TBSP lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup of milk in a bowl. Stir lightly and you will notice the milk gets a little thick. Add a pinch of salt in the buttermilk and stir until dissolved. You can use real buttermilk instead if you have it.

Do not wash the oysters but add them in the buttermilk bowl and let them sit for a few minutes.

In another shallow dish or a plastic bag, combine:

1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. Cajun seasoning such as Slap Ya Mama or Old Bay Seasoning (East Coast)
1 tsp. Ranch dry seasoning (optional)

Drain the oysters again then roll them on the cornmeal mixture one at a time then lay them on a rack until all are coated. You can also use the plastic bag to drop the oysters in one at a time as you shake the bag to coat them evenly.

Heat oil in a deep fryer or pan about 2 to 3 inches deep until the thermometer reads 350°F to 375°F. Drop in the oysters one at a time and fry until golden brown. It will only take about 2 minutes per batch. Do not put too many at once so you can maintain a hot oil.

The temperature of the oil in the pan is important. If it is too hot, the breading may burn but if it is too cold, the oysters will absorb too much oil. Also, be aware that the oysters may burst and explode splattering the hot oil on you or all over the kitchen. To prevent them from exploding, pierce them with a fork as you put them in the buttermilk or the cornmeal.

Remove the fried oysters with a spider strainer or a slotted spoon from the pan then put them on a rack to drain until all are fried.