Tried my hand at cooking oysters

[Brewman_Jax]

first time at handling oysters. They were on special so I got two. I opened the first one and rinsed them off. They looked like :puke:

The first one went into pan-fried oysters. (not bad :9) The second one I'll try with spinach and make oyster-spinach bake.

[wryter2000]

1. They do look awful

Imagine the first person who looked at an oyster and thought, "Hey, I think I'll eat that."

They have the most amazing flavor, though, but you have to get them fresh.

[wildeyed]

2. I adore oysters.

Raw, cooked, whatever, I'll eat it. I am a bit worried about raw oysters, though. Seems like a friend of my mom's ended up with hepatitis, and they think he got it from raw oysters.

[mike_c]

3. wait a minute-- are you talking about oysters in the shell...?

Since you said you "got two," I'm presuming you mean two bottles of shucked oysters rather than just two oysters. If that's the case, DON'T RINSE THEM OFF. The oyster liquor they're packed in adds flavor to your dish, holds on breading, etc. Drain them for breading, but rinsing should not be necessary.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

4. I've never rinsed live ones either.

Are you saying that live ones should be rinsed?

[mike_c]

5. me? no-- live ones should be scrubbed before shucking...

...but the oysters themselves should NOT be rinsed-- the liquor is precious!

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

6. Whew. For a second there I thought you were crazy.

:evilgrin:

[Brewman_Jax]

7. Got 2 half-pint containers

and the packed oyster liquor should be saved? Didn't know, the label says to rinse them. Will know for future use.

[mike_c]

9. not so much when you're frying them...

...unless you're going to make a sauce. But very often you'll want to use that liquor in recipes to deepen the flavor.

[TygrBright]

8. I offer this for what it's worth...

...since I'm allergic to the little buggers.

Granpere's Oyster Stew for Christmas:

1 lb. of oysters with liquor
3 cups of heavy cream
1/2 lb. butter
juice of 1 lemon
salt and LOTS of pepper

Combine all ingredients (liquor too, yes...) in a heavy kettle or stockpot and simmer slowly for about an hour, maybe two, stirring occasionally. Serve with meat pie, good wine, and crusty bread and butter. Call ambulance and schedule angioplasty.

helpfully,
Bright

[Brewman_Jax]

10. The spinach oyster bake recipe

1 lb. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
2 eggs
1/2 cup shredded pizza-style cheese
2 T butter
1 clove garlic
1/2 medium chopped onion (opt.)
1/2 t black pepper
1/2 t creole seasoning
3 cups bread crumbs (I used half bread crumbs, half dressing mix chopped to crumbs)
1/2 pint oysters
(adjust any/all amounts and ingredients as needed)

Pre-heat oven to 400.

Mix spinach, eggs, butter, garlic, onion, pepper, and seasoning in mixing bowl first, then add the bread crumbs. Butter/lightly oil bottom of shallow baking dish, cover bottom with spinach mix, oysters on top, then cover with spinach mix. Bake 15-20 mins until oysters are well cooked.

Enjoy. :9