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Baked Oysters
2 ozs. (2 heaping tablespoonfuls) butter 2 ozs. (2 heaping tablespoonfuls) flour I/2 pint (I cup) milk I/2 pint (I cup) cream I heaping tablespoonful grated cheese A little melted butter Some fine bread crumbs 1 tablespoonful white wine Salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg to taste Scald the oysters in their liquor, and put them aside to cool; then divide each oyster into four pieces.
Melt the butter, stir in the flour, then add gradually the milk and cream; stir until thickened, and add the seasonings, wine, and cheese. Butter sufficient octagon ramequins, put in a layer of the oysters, fill up with the sauce, pour a little melted butter over each, sprinkle some bread crumbs on the top, and bake in a moderate oven for ten minutes. 2 slices cod I garlic clove
A béchamel-bound oyster gratin baked in individual dishes. The ingredient list omits the oysters themselves, and the last line ("2 slices cod, 1 garlic clove") is the head of the following recipe, caught by the typesetter.
- Quantity of oystersThe list gives none. About a pint of shucked oysters with their liquor suits this quantity of sauce; the number of ramekins it fills will depend on their size.
- Scald means scaldBring the oysters in their liquor just to the point where the edges ruffle, a minute or two, then lift them out. Oysters held at a simmer tighten into rubber, and they get a second cooking in the oven.
- Save the liquorThe recipe discards it by implication. Strain it and use a few spoonfuls in place of some of the milk; it carries most of the flavour.
- Moderate ovenRoughly 350-375F. Ten minutes at that heat heats the filling through and no more, which is the intent. If you want colour on the crumbs, finish briefly under the broiler rather than extending the bake.
- Butter and flour by weight2 oz each is about 4 level tablespoons of butter and a scant half cup of flour. "Heaping tablespoonful" is imprecise; weigh if you can. This makes a fairly stiff sauce, which is correct here since the oysters release liquid in the dish.
- Octagon ramequinsSmall individual fireproof earthenware dishes, the sort this book is built around. Any 5 to 6 oz ramekin works; the recipe gives no yield.
- Cheese"Grated cheese" in a period English sauce commonly means Parmesan or a dry aged Cheddar. Either works better here than a young melting cheese, which will string.
- Salt lastOyster liquor and hard cheese are both salty. Season the sauce after the cheese has gone in.
- ServingServe at once; reheated, the oysters toughen.
Baked oysters in a cream sauce belong to a period when oysters were far cheaper and more everyday than they later became, and cookbooks could call for a pint of them without comment. This particular treatment — scald, sauce, crumb, brown — is the standard gratin formula, and its appearance in a book devoted to casserole dishes reflects the enthusiasm for fireproof earthenware, which let a dish go from oven to table.