Fried Oysters: Recipe 1

Remove all bits of shell from oysters, lay them on a clean cloth, and pat them gently to dry them. Shake salt and pepper over them. Beat an egg, and stir into it one tablespoonful cold water or milk. Sprinkle some fine crumbs with salt and pepper. Dip the oysters in the crumbs, then in the beaten egg, and again in the crumbs, covering them over each time. Fry them in deep, hot fat, drain on brown paper, and serve on a hot dish.

Fried Oysters: Recipe 2

Take large oysters from their own liquor, and dry them in a thickly folded napkin. Then heat an ounce each of butter and lard in a thick-bottomed frying-pan. Season the oysters with pepper and salt, and dip each into egg and cracker-crumbs rolled fine, until it will take up no more. Place them in the hot grease and fry to a delicate brown, turning them with a broad-bladed knife. Serve crisp and hot. Some roll oysters in corn-meal or flour, but they are much more crisp with egg and cracker-crumbs.

Small Oyster Pies.

Take a tin plate half the size of an ordinary dinner plate ; butter it, and cover the bottom with a puff paste, as for pies. Lay on it five or six select oysters, or enough to cover the bottom ; butter, and season with a little salt and plenty of pepper ; spread over this an egg batter, and cover with an upper crust of the paste, piercing it with a fork. Bake in a hot oven fifteen to twenty minutes, or until the top is nicely browned. Repeat this process for each pie.

Stewed Oysters.

Drain the liquor from two quarts of oysters, mix it with a teacup-ful of hot water, season with salt and pepper, and boil in a saucepan. After it has come to a boil put in the oysters, and cook not over five minutes. Add two tablespoonfuls of butter, and when this is melted a cupful of boiling milk. Then take from the fire, and serve with oyster or cream crackers.

Broiled Oysters.

Let these be large and plump. Wipe dry, sprinkle with salt and red pepper, and broil on a small gridiron made for this purpose. Butter the gridiron well, and have a clear, hot fire. Broil quickly, and serve hot, with a small bit of butter on each oyster.

Brown sauce for broiled oysters may be prepared as follows : Heat a cup of oyster juice; stir two tablespoonfuls butter in a pan over the fire till it is a delicate brown; add four tablespoonfuls flour, and when well mixed add the oyster juice slowly, and then a cup of hot milk or cream. Season with salt and pepper, and keep over a pan of hot water till needed. A few cloves or a stick of mace may be used to flavor the sauce.

Scalloped Oysters.

Crush several handfuls of crackers, and put a layer in the bottom of a buttered dish, wetting it with a mixture of the oyster juice and milk. Then place a layer of oysters, seasoned with salt and pepper, another layer of moistened cracker dust, and so on till the dish is full, the upper layer being a thick one of crumbs. Stick bits of butter thickly over it, cover the dish, and bake half an hour in the oven. If not brown on top, remove the cover, and set the dish on the upper grating of the oven.

Panned Oysters.

Put the oysters into a saucepan without water, and shake them over a moderate fire until they look plump and their edges are curled. For twenty-five oysters add two tablespoonfuls butter, salt and pepper, stirring the seasoning in well Serve in a hot dish ; if desired, on slices of toast.

Creamed Oysters.

Cook as for panned oysters ; drain in a strainer ; make a cup of white sauce, and stir the oysters into the hot sauce. Serve on toast; or sprinkle with bread crumbs, browned in butter. For the white sauce, see Fish Chowder.

Steamed Oysters.

Drain one quart of select oysters, put in pan and place in steamer over boiling water, cover and steam until oysters are plump with edges ruffled ; place in buttered dish with butter, pepper and salt and serve.

Oyster Fritters.

To a cupful of oyster juice add one cupful milk, three eggs, a little salt, and flour to make a thin batter. Chop the oysters and stir into batter. Place in the pan a few spoonfuls of lard, heat very hot, and drop in the batter by the tablespoonful. Take from the pan as soon as done to a yellow brown and serve very hot. Some put one whole oyster to each fritter; in this case a thicker batter is needed.

Oyster Sauce.

Boil twenty-five oysters in their own juice for one minute, stirring steadily. Drain, put back the liquor on the fire; add one cup milk, rub a table-spoonful of butter and two of flour to a smooth paste, and stir in the hot liquid till it thickens. Chop the oysters small, add them to the sauce, season with salt and pepper, and take from the fire. Serve with poultry and boiled fish.