Pepper (Clean oysters parboil)

A brown-roux oyster stew or ragout meant to be spooned into a pastry case. The original gives method but no quantities, so the proportions below are the standard ones for this kind of sauce.

• No quantities givenThe text as printed gives method only. For a pint of shucked oysters, work with about 3 tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons flour, and roughly 1 1/2 cups combined oyster liquor and stock (chicken, veal, or fish).
• Parboil means seconds, not minutesOysters are done the moment their edges ruffle and they plump, about 30 to 60 seconds in their own liquor. Anything longer and they tighten into rubber. Lift them out, reserve every drop of the liquor, and return them to the finished sauce off the heat only long enough to warm through.
• The brown roux is the hinge"Stir until well browned" means cooking butter and flour over medium-low heat until the mixture smells nutty and turns the colour of peanut shell, five to eight minutes. A browned roux thickens noticeably less than a pale one, so do not stretch the liquid.
• Add liquid gradually and hotStrain the oyster liquor through a fine sieve or cloth first; it carries grit and shell fragments. Pour it into the roux in stages, whisking smooth between additions, then simmer a few minutes to cook out any raw flour taste.
• SeasoningsThe text specifies none. Comparable oyster sauces are commonly seasoned with salt, black or cayenne pepper, and sometimes lemon juice or a dash of Worcestershire at the end. Salt last: oyster liquor and stock are both salty already.
• Timbale cases and vol-au-ventsTimbale cases were thin batter shells fried on an iron mould, now largely gone. Frozen puff pastry shells, baked and hollowed, do the same job, as does buttered toast cut into neat rectangles.
• YieldA pint of oysters made this way serves four as a first course, or two over toast as a supper dish. Assemble at the last minute; the sauce holds, the oysters do not.