Stewed Oysters

Drain the oysters in a cullender, put the juice over the fire in a porcelain-lined kettle, with a little salt, let it simmer until the scum rises, then strain the juice through a clean cloth, return it to the kettle, and for a hundred oysters, add three blades of mace, half a saltspoon of black pepper, a dozen whole allspice, and a pint of rich new milk; bring to a boil, then stir in the oysters with six ounces of butter rubbed to a paste with a heaping tablespoonful of flour, simmer five or six minutes, or until the beard of the oyster separates into leaves, and serve.

Broiled Oysters

For broiling, you must have fine large oysters; drain them in a cullender, and spread them between two clean soft towels, let them lie for ten or fifteen minutes; butter the bars of the broiler to prevent the oysters from sticking; lay the oysters close together, as many as you can get on the broiler, and put them over a bright fire. When they commence to brown, turn the other side of the gridiron down, have ready a deep tin dish or pan, very hot, with a quarter of a pound of butter, and as much black pepper and salt as will season the oysters to your taste; turn them into it, stir them well through the butter, and serve on a hot dish. If you have more oysters than your broiler will hold keep the first covered closely and set the pan in the oven, whilst you proceed with the rest. Oysters can only be broiled on the double wire gridirons which come for the purpose.

Panned Oysters

Drain the juice from a hundred oysters, and lay them between the folds of a soft clean cloth or towel until they are dry; melt in a frying-pan a quarter of a pound of butter. When quite hot, put in the oysters, add pepper and salt, and stir them over a good fire until they show their leaves, then pour in a hot dish, cover and serve.

Fried Oysters

For frying, as for broiling, you require fine large oysters; drain them, and dry them between soft towels; for one hundred oysters, put in a large bowl or basin the yolks of six eggs beaten slightly; put the oysters all in at once, and stir them round until every oyster is coated with egg; then take each one out separately, and roll in very fine bread crumbs or cracker dust, which has been seasoned with pepper and salt; melt in a frying-pan equal quantities of butter and lard, suficient to cover the oysters completely. When boiling hot, lay in the oysters, and fry a light brown as quickly as possible. Oysters are hard and tough when cooked too long. Serve as dry as possible on a hot dish. Wipe the oysters perfectly dry before putting them in the eggs.

Oyster Patties

Roll out puff paste a quarter of an inch thick, cut it into squares, cover eight or ten patty-pans, put on each a piece of bread as large round as a walnut, and an inch in thickness; roll out another layer of paste of the same thickness, cut it as above, wet the edge of the bottom crust, lay on the top, trim them round the edge, notch them with the back of the knife half an inch apart, and bake them in a hot oven fifteen minutes. When they are done, cut a round piece out of the top crust, leaving the edge entire; take out the bread and fill the insides with oysters prepared as follows: Drain all the juice from them, chop a dozen of them quite fine, and put them with the whole oysters into a stew-pan, and for fifty oysters, add two-thirds of a pint of rich milk, a little white pepper and salt, a blade of mace, and two ounces of butter, with a half teaspoon of corn starch mixed into a paste in it; stir all together, and add the yolks of two and the white of one egg beaten a little. When thoroughly mixed, set over the fire and simmer two or three minutes, until the beard of the oysters separates; then take them off and fill the patties and serve.

If your patty-pans are small, cut the oysters each in two or three pieces before you add them to the chopped oysters; stir them all the time they are over the fire.

Roasted Oysters

Wash them very clean, and lay them in their shells on the top of the stove or range with a hot fire under them. When the shells open, they are done; take them out with a sharp knife, and toss them in a chafing-dish, with pepper, salt and plenty of butter; cover closely and give a boil up on the table; or if you do not use a chafing-dish, open them in a tin dish with butter, pepper and salt in it, and give a heat up on the top of the range, put them in a covered dish and serve.

Pickled Oysters

Drain the oysters in a cullender, put the juice over the fire in a porcelain-lined kettle, and for one hundred oysters, add four blades of mace, a dozen whole cloves, a teaspoonful of whole allspice, salt and white pepper to your taste, and as much vinegar as you have juice; throw the oysters into a large pan of very cold water, stir about for a minute, drain again in the cullender. When done dripping, pour them into the kettle, and simmer until they show their leaves; pour out, and if you wish to keep them several days, put them in glass air-tight jars.

Another Way

Drain the oysters, and put the juice over the fire in a porcelain-lined kettle with a few blades of mace, white pepper and salt. When the liquor boils, put in as many oysters as will cook nicely. When they show their leaves, take them out with a perforated skimmer, and throw them in a pan of ice water; put in more oysters to cook, and proceed as before, until all are done. Take the oysters out of the ice water in one minute after you put them in, drain them, and put them in a tureen or large covered dish, strain the juice through a fine muslin cloth over the oysters, add vinegar to your taste, a little more salt, a sprinkle of cayenne pepper, and a slice or two of lemon. The lemon is to be added when the oysters are perfectly cold.