Freshly Shucked Oysters and Sauce Mignonette With a Twist!

French Tart's Note:

A classic with a twist - I like to add a splash or three of Tabasco sauce to my shallot and red wine vinegar Mignonette sauce, for that extra zap! This is easy to make and is even better if you let the oysters marinate in the sauce for ten to fifteen minutes before serving them. I also like my oysters au natural with just a squeeze of lemon, but variety is the spice of life, and this makes an exciting change! The quantities listed below will be sufficient for between 12 large and 24 small oysters.

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 1 hrs
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 2

• 12 large freshoysters or 24 small fresh oysters
• 2 pink shallots , peeled and finely diced
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sherry wine vinegar
• juice of half a lemon
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• Tabasco sauce , to taste
• fresh ground black pepper , to taste

Directions:

1. For the Mignonette sauce: Combine all the ingredients togther in a jam jar or sealed container - shake thoroughly and allow the flavours to mingle for at least 1 hour before serving.
2. Serve (in a little bowl with a small spoon) with freshly shucked oysters.
3. Excess sauce can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
4. How to open the oysters: Hold an oyster firmly with a cloth in one hand.
5. and the hinged end towards you. Insert a knife in the area where the two.
6. shells meet and prise open with a twisting action. Slide the blade along the inside edge of the shell to sever the muscle holding the shells together. Cut the muscle attachment to lower shell. Turn the oyster meat for best presentation.
7. NB: The best way to serve raw oysters is on a platter of crushed ice, or sometimes you see them presented on a bed of seaweed.
8. At a dinner party allow 6 oysters per person as a starter.
9. A live oyster uses its muscle to hold the shells tightly closed. When an oyster weakens, the shell gapes open and if it will not close when tapped, it should be discarded.
10. Oysters will keep for up to one week if stored correctly, deep shell down in a fridge or cool place. Cover with a damp cloth to prevent dehydration. Never store in water.
11. Oysters can be frozen for up to 3 months just as other fish products. The shells will open on thawing BUT CONSUME STRAIGHT AWAY.
12. Champagne is possibly the best drink to serve with oysters, or Bucks fizz if eating oysters for breakfast.
13. Other wines that go well with oysters are light dry and slightly acidic wines like Muscadet.
14. As the wine has to compete with the salty, natural flavour of oysters, a fuller bodied wine distracts from both the taste of wine and the oyster.
15. In Ireland you will always get served oysters with Guinness, and a very dry cold sherry in Spain.
16. Personally I like Sancerre, Vouvray or Chablis with my oysters!

Reviews

[Chef Regina V. Smith]

This is a 5 star Mignonette. The two vinegars, the brown sugar and the hot sauce really are a nice combo. This is a vibrant change from the regular Mignonette. Thanks for this, French Tart.

[Deantini]

This was just fantastic! We really loved the Mignonette sauce - it had just the right amount of tartness and spiciness. Just yummy! We served the oysters in the shell this as a pre dinner apetizer last night for New Years. It was just so good and the 1/2 dozen per person didn't seem like quite enough. Thanks for posting!

[Andi of Longmeadow Farm]

Absolutely amazing as always, FT! These are delicious and I personally could of eaten a dozen oysters, but I left some for Dennis. The sauce is really quite zippy (not hot) and really quite a terrific addition to raw oysters. I didn't have shallots so used green onion freshly picked from the greenhouse, and added a extra kick of Tabasco, but no other changes were made. Oh my this is good, I might need to go and find more oysters, just use the mignonette sauce. Thank you so much, FT! Yummericious! Made for *Everyday is a Holiday* tag game, March 2009.