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Broiled Oysters
Select the largest oysters, examining each one, to see that no particle of shell adheres to it. Dry with a nice linen cloth; then pepper and salt them, and sift over a little finely-powdered cracker. Place them on an oyster gridiron over a quick fire. As soon as plump, dip each one in a cup of melted fresh butter; lay on a hot dish garnished with scraped horseradish and parsley, and serve.--Mrs. S. T.
A short recipe whose success rests almost entirely on dryness and speed. Two details in the original — the linen cloth and the "quick fire" — are the whole technique.
- Dry the oysters properlyShucked oysters carry a great deal of liquor, and wet oysters steam rather than broil. Drain them well and blot on a towel until the surface is matte; cracker crumbs will not adhere otherwise.
- "Quick fire" means hotA quick fire is the hottest part of the coals; work as hot as your grill or broiler will run. Anything cooler and the oysters shrink and toughen before they colour.
- "As soon as plump" is the timingThat is the only doneness cue given, and it is the right one. Oysters plump and their edges ruffle within about two minutes a side; past that they turn rubbery and weep. Ignore any instinct to cook them until firm.
- Oyster gridironA fine-wire broiling rack made specifically to keep small items from dropping through. A perforated grill pan, a fine-mesh grill topper, or a heavy pan under a broiler all serve; a standard grill grate will lose the oysters into the fire.
- Powdered crackerNineteenth-century cracker crumbs generally came from hard, plain soda or water crackers, rolled fine with a pin. Plain crackers or saltines pulsed to a fine powder are the closest match; panko is far too coarse and open here.
- Fresh butter"Fresh" is doing work: it distinguishes sweet butter from salted keeping butter, which could turn rank. Use unsalted, and keep the cup of melted butter warm so the oysters are not chilled as they are dipped.
- Buy the right oystersThe recipe wants the largest, which in Virginia meant big Chesapeake oysters. Ask for select or counts rather than the small ones sold for raw service; small oysters overcook before they take on any colour.
- YieldNo quantity is given. Reckon six to eight large oysters per person as a first course, and broil in a single uncrowded layer, in batches if need be.
Housekeeping in Old Virginia (1879), compiled by Marion Cabell Tyree from contributions by Virginia housewives, devotes pages to oysters because the Chesapeake was then producing them in quantities almost impossible to imagine now — the bay supported one of the largest oyster fisheries in the world through the second half of the nineteenth century, and oysters were cheap, everyday food shipped inland by rail and in barrels. The book gives them in a range of preparations — fried, stewed and broiled among them — and the broiled version is the plainest of the lot: an oyster, salt, pepper, a dusting of cracker, butter. Scraped horseradish and parsley as a garnish is often said to have suited oysters and cold shellfish in the period, and the attribution "Mrs. S. T." is one of several forms the book uses for its contributors, some of whom are named in full.