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Pigs in Blankets
Season the desired number of large oysters with salt and pepper. Wrap each in a slice of best bacon and fasten with wooden toothpicks. Fry until bacon is crisp. Serve on toast garnished with parsley.
A simple broiler-era hors d'oeuvre that survives almost unchanged. The whole trick is matching the bacon's cooking time to the oyster's, which is far shorter.
- Cook fast, not longAn oyster is done the moment its edges ruffle and it firms slightly, roughly 2-3 minutes of total heat. Anything beyond that and it tightens into rubber inside the bacon.
- Use thin bacon"Best bacon" here probably indicates a thin-sliced streaky bacon, though the recipe does not say. Thick-cut modern bacon will not crisp before the oyster overcooks; if that is all you have, part-cook the bacon on its own first, then wrap and finish.
- Dry the oystersShucked oysters carry a lot of liquor. Drain them and blot them, or the bacon steams rather than crisps and the toothpick wrapping slides apart.
- Broiler instead of the panThe original fries them. A broiler or a 450F oven on a rack over a sheet pan gives more even crisping and renders the fat away, which is closer to how the dish is served now. Turn once.
- ToothpicksSoak wooden picks in water for ten minutes if broiling, and remove them before serving. One pick through the seam is enough per oyster.
- Quantity and servingFigure 3-4 per person as a first course, 2 per person if part of a larger spread. Small toast points or fried bread rounds hold the fat better than soft sandwich toast.
- Oyster sizeLarge oysters are specified for a reason: small ones disappear inside the bacon and overcook instantly. Choose plump ones of even size so they finish together.