Savory Oysters

A butter-and-flour sauce built on oyster liquor and brown stock, sharpened with Worcestershire. The proportions are for a thick sauce that carries the oysters rather than a soup.

• The hinge: barely cook the oystersShucked oysters need one to two minutes in hot sauce, just until the edges ruffle. Anything longer and they shrink and turn rubbery, and they leak liquid that thins the sauce.
• A pint of oystersShucked oysters were sold by liquid measure. A pint is roughly 16-24 medium oysters and weighs about a pound with its liquor; today it is sold as a pint or 16 oz tub of shucked oysters in their liquor.
• Oyster liquorThe liquid in the tub or released during shucking. A pint of oysters rarely yields a full cup, so top it up with bottled clam juice or strained fish stock. Strain it through a fine sieve or cloth first, since shell grit settles in it.
• Brown StockCapitalized as a cross-reference, so presumably a separate recipe elsewhere in the book; brown stocks of the period were generally built on browned beef bones and long simmering. A good low-sodium beef stock is the practical substitute, reduced slightly if it tastes thin.
• Onion juiceObtained by grating an onion and pressing or scraping the pulp, for flavor without visible pieces. A few drops is well under 1/4 teaspoon; the juice pressed from half a small grated onion is more than ample.
• Butter and flourFour tablespoons of each to 1 1/2 cups liquid gives a very thick sauce, near a soufflE9 base. Cook the roux two or three minutes before adding liquid so it does not taste of raw flour, and hold the color pale.
• Salt lastOyster liquor, brown stock and Worcestershire are all salty. Season only after the sauce is finished and the oysters have gone in.
• Yield and servingEnough for four as a first course, or two as a main. Serve on toast points, in patty shells, or spooned over rice; the mixture is also thick enough to fill ramekins, crumb the tops and brown briefly under the broiler.