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Oyster Cocktail
Select fine oysters of uniform size. Have them thoroughly chilled, having first taken care that they are free from bits of shell. Pour over them a dressing made of 1 tablespoonful each tomato catsup, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and grated horseradish (or horseradish vinegar). Add a few drops of Tabasco sauce, a little salt, a dash of cayenne. Let the oysters stand in this mixture until very cold and serve in small, shallow glasses, or get fancy shells from a caterer to serve in.
Another way is to chop the oysters slightly, in which case they need not be as large or of uniform size. Mix with the dressing and serve in cocktail glasses, or fancy baskets of grapefruit shells, tomato cups, or any other way that fancy dictates.
A pre-dinner oyster cocktail of the sort that opened formal American menus from the 1890s onward. The dressing quantities are given per batch with no oyster count, so scale by taste.
- Yield and proportionsThe recipe fixes the dressing (a tablespoon each of catsup, lemon juice, Worcestershire and horseradish, plus seasonings) but names no quantity of oysters, so any yield is a guess: this amount will coat roughly a dozen, and doubling it is safer than stretching one batch thin.
- Do not let them stand longStanding time -- The recipe says to let the oysters stand in the dressing until very cold. Be aware that lemon juice will begin to firm and cloud raw oyster flesh the longer it sits; if you would rather keep them translucent, chill oysters and dressing separately and combine shortly before serving.
- Sourcing raw oystersBuy from a supplier who can show a harvest tag, keep them at refrigerator temperature, and shuck them yourself the same day. Raw shellfish carries a real Vibrio risk; people who are pregnant, immunocompromised, or have liver disease should not eat them uncooked.
- Tomato catsupPeriod catsup was thinner, sharper and more spiced than modern ketchup, which is markedly sweeter. Cut the sweetness with a little extra lemon juice, or use a plain passata-based chili sauce.
- Horseradish vinegarA once-common pantry item: grated horseradish steeped in vinegar and strained. Substitute prepared horseradish in vinegar, drained of most of its liquid, or freshly grated root plus a teaspoon of white wine vinegar.
- Keep the liquorSave a spoonful or two of the oyster liquor released in shucking and stir it into the dressing. It supplies the salinity the recipe assumes and lets you use less added salt.
- Serving vesselsChilled small glasses set in crushed ice do everything the caterer's shells did. Grapefruit and tomato cups work but need to be hollowed and drained well ahead so they are thoroughly cold.
- The chopped versionChopping smaller oysters is genuinely the better option for a mixed grade of shellfish, but chopped flesh takes up acid faster still. Dress those at the table.