Oysters are great with just a squeeze of fresh lemon. But when you want to make them a little fancier, here are 3 of my favourite oyster recipes: a classic mignonette sauce, Tetsuya’s famous oysters with Japanese Dressing, and a Cucumber Lime Granita. All easy!
As promised when I published our Seafood Platter, the oyster sauces have arrived!!
Oyster camp – in or out?
I feel like oysters are one of those foods that are a bit divisive. You either love them or hate them. Those who hate them think they’re slimy and expensive, and that people only eat them because it makes them feel fancy.
Those who love them adore the briny flavour, the taste of the sea and how life just feels good when you’re slurping oysters with a glass of chilled bubbly!
So, for your next dinner party, forget fussing around with fiddly elaborate hors d’oeuvres that fills everybody up before the mains. Buy some oysters, make a quick sauce, then pass them around for everyone to help themselves.
Today, I’m sharing my 3 favourite oyster sauces – a classic mignonette, Tetsuya’s Japanese Oyster Dressing and a Cucumber Lime Jalapeño Granita.
1. Classic mignonette for oysters
Just as we love a squeeze of tangy lemon on our oysters, this piquant vinegar sauce is the perfect match with creamy oysters. A fine dining classic, you only need red wine vinegar and eschalots (US: shallots). Serve in a bowl and let people help themselves.
2. Tetsuya’s oysters with Japanese Dressing
Based on the oysters served at Tetsuya’s, one of Sydney’s most prestigious Japanese restaurants, this features a ginger-soy vinaigrette, then is topped with salmon roe (optional) and finished with chives. Simple, très trendy modern Asian style oysters!
3. Cucumber jalapeno granita *my pick*
A personal favourite, created especially to match oysters, super easy. The snowy ice with tang from lime, cucumber freshness and a subtle kick of spice from jalapeño is sheer perfection with oysters. Also screams of summer! *Make today, serve tomorrow, next week or next month!*
And there you have it! All 3 recipes are extremely straightforward and the sauce can be made ahead.
Next time you see oysters on my website, I think it’ll have to be a cooked one! Any requests? Kilpatrick? Mornay? Rockefeller? Po’ boys? So many options! – Nagi x
The seafood platter!
These oyster sauces are here because I promised the recipes when I shared my shopping list for what I put on our Seafood Platter (and what we don’t). Oysters are a mandatory player in all seafood related meals we enjoy for celebratory occasions!
Life of Dozer
I am not convinced dogs can eat oysters and even if they could, he is not getting one! But he thinks he did. 😂
Hi Nagi
I have been having using your website for 12 months and love it. My daughter in law gave me your recipe book for Xmas and I absolutely love it too. Made a few already with rave reviews from the fam. Fan for life!
Have just used this post as my on-line Christmas card. Somehow it was my Aussie ‘thing’ to share. Happy Yule Nagi . . . may it all continue cpme next year . . . hugs to all !!!
Hi Nagi! Can you please educate those of us who did not grow up with fresh seafood at home, how to buy and store and handle fresh oysters? 🙂
You can store any kind of seafood in the freezer if it meat is solid, like shrimp, lobster, fish, squid, oyster, and clams without cooked or steamed. But not crab and Mantis shrimp.
To store oysters you can either open the oysters and clean them or leave them as it is and clean them later, and if you decide to clean them and then place them back on the half-shell and cover it up with the other half-shell to make the whole oyster and tie it with a rubber band or kitchen string and put them all in the bag so it’s won’t stick together when you take them out from the freezer.
Fisherman
First of all, buy fresh oysters or clams to make sure 1, They are displayed in the water, not on the ice, 2, making sure that the shell is closed, and if the shell opened even a little gap, just touch them with your finger. If they react to that and close it quickly that means it’s still alive and if not close it’s dead, you don’t know how long it has been dead.
here’s another piece of advice, if run into any kind of crabs that are on sale and you can’t say no to it and you want to buy a lot of lbs. and want to store some for later on. Don’t freeze them while they are still alive, you must steam them before you freeze them. Crab meat is not solid meat like shrimp. If you freeze before steamed you will have nothing to eat from the crab after you take it from your freezer.
Crispy skin calamari.Using cornflour,will that help with the crisp?
Use the batter and cooking method/times in our crispy salt & pepper squid recipe – it’s not yet released but it’s final! Here it is: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/h63duwkueop0611ko7bt2/Salt-and-pepper-squid-early-preview-recipe.pdf?rlkey=6vh4r5o9h7cggfdlaw6rv7cti&dl=0
Oh no! Crispy squid emergency!! I have been waiting for this since you mentioned it Nagi! Will add to my seafood platter with your 12 hour roast lamb instead. Enjoy your christmas and looking forward to crispy squid in the new year, cheers!
EMAILING OT YOU NOW DEBBIE!!! N xx
Thank you so much for your wonderful recipes Nagi. I also like that you admit to not being able to get stuff done pre Xmas. It makes us all feel better. Have a great Xmas break. You deserve it and love to Dozer
You were right first time. All you need is lemon. These dressings are completely unnecessary.
We don’t always need to stick to only the ‘necessary’! Plenty of room in life to try different dishes and tastes.
I agree!Bring on the lemon!Although I go love Kilpatrick for variety.
I made your Chocolate Fudge Birthday cake for my friend’s 70th celebration and doubled the mix.I also made my own honeycomb and decorated the cake. Everyone loved it.You are the best!!Merry Xmas to you, your team and Dozer!!
“Crispy squid Christmas emergency”!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Thank you for everything, and Merry Christmas!!!! ❤️
EMAILING NOW Laura! N x
Merry Christmas Nagi and Dozer! I absolutely love your Dinner cookbook. If you made a Dozer coffee cup I definitely would buy it. Much love.
I am making paella for Christmas. Thanks so much for the idea and lovely recipe.
These sound wonderful! Thankyou for a wonderful year of food your & book .Have a wonderful Christmas with Dozer and your family and with your kitchen family tooxxx
Oysters deserve our respect as they are sacrificing their lives for our pleasure. In my opinion, anything more than a squeeze of lemon is disrespectful.
Thanks for some of the greatest recipes I have cooked over the past 3 years. Other than the oysters, I think you have been spot on.
Every bite we ingest to keep us alive was once alive, animal or vegetable. Perhaos a valid comment in a different place at a time not close to Christmas.
I agree completely…..What does she eat that hasn’t been “sacrificed”
Love the granita recipe – I grow cucumbers, limes & jalapenos, just need to buy sugar – easy!
I can’t eat oysters, our family has an allergy gene, but for any other seafood, yum!!!!!!Thanks, and I hope you and your giant furbaby have a wonderful Xmas and New Year!!! My hubbie uses SOOO many of your recipes, and I get to eat them:)
Happy Christmas to you & Dozer. Thank you for all the delicious recipes & the great inspiration all through the year
(And, of course, the gorgeous photos!)
Hi Nagi,
I love all your offerings and I thank you from the bottom of my heart that all your recipes use everyday pantry items. You’re the best (just made your killer butter chicken – wow!) Anyway – you had a question regarding oyster recipes… could you please offer a Rockefeller? Our favourite is from Tadich Grill in San Francisco. As we don’t live there, it sure would be nice to be able to make one at home, without the flight cost!! Thanks for everything. Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to you and Dozer.
Nagi – you never miss it, do you? How can one have a real Aussie Christmas without as many oysters as your pirse will buy! OK . . . lemon and pepper will doand I have loved Bercy for over 50 years but all of these add to the wonder!! Well, I have made the Tetsuya version for very many years . . . I just love the guy’s palate!!!! Happy days lovely lady . . . Dozer- Come here for a huge hug . . .