Grilled Oysters and Biscuits

Submitted by ellie_

"I came across this recipe while looking for interesting sandwich ideas and thought this sounded wonderful! Recipe source: Bon Appetit (March 1986)"

 

• Ready In: 45mins
• Ingredients: 18
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• For the Biscuits

• 1 cup flour (may need more)
• 1 tablespoon dried dill
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 1⁄2 tablespoons vegetable shortening (Crisco)
• 1⁄2 cup buttermilk

• For the relish

• 2 slices bacon
• 5 tablespoons water
• 3⁄4 lb tomatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 red bell peppers, seeded and sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon parsley, minced
• salt
• pepper

• For the oysters

• 16 oysters
• vegetable oil
• lemon juice

directions

1. To make biscuits: preheat oven to 450-degrees F.
2. Grease baking sheets.
3. In a large bowl sift together first 5 ingredients (flour - baking soda). Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in buttermilk until dough comes together.
4. Turn dough out onto floured board and knead for about 10 times, adding more flour if dough becomes sticky.
5. Roll dough out to a thickness of 3/16 inch and cut 16 rounds using a 2-inch biscuit cutter.
6. Transfer to prepared sheets and bake for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks.
7. To make relish: In a skillet over medium heat fry bacon until crisp; remove and drain on paper towels. Pour off all but 3 tablespoons of grease.
8. Stir water into skillet and then add tomatoes, bell peppers and garlic, simmering for 15 - 20 minutes or until vegetables are soft and mixture thickens, stirring occasionally. Stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper. Crumble in bacon. Set aside.
9. Preheat broiler.
10. Arrange oysters on broiler pan, brushing with oil and lemon juice.
11. Broil for 3-5 minutes or until edges begin to curl, turning once. BE CAREFUL - DO NOT OVERCOOK!
12. To assemble sandwiches: split biscuits. Spread both cut sides with relish. Top one half with oyster and cover with second half.

Reviews

[Ppaperdoll]

I just made this for newest 'Zaar tag and I quite liked it. The biscuit dough only made 8 biscuits (hence the 4 stars rather than 5)for me, but I always seem to have that problem with biscuits and scones, so it may well just be me - oh, and I did have to add another 1/4 cup flour to make the dough workable. It was my first time preparing oysters, and the first time introducing my son to them. This is a good recipe for that, because the slippery texture of the oysters is less obvious next to the biscuits and relish. I liked the taste of everything, but next time I might saute the garlic a little as it had a slightly raw taste to it. If you're an oyster purist, you might want to serve this alongside other, simpler recipes, as the oyster taste gets a little bit hidden by the bacon-y relish. I guess it just depends on what you're going for. Think 'oyster burgers', and you're pretty much there. I will definitely try this again, maybe as part of a seafood buffet. Thanks so much ellie for sharing this very unusual and worthwhile recipe with us!