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Fried Oysters
I EGG, WELL BEATEN 1/4 TEASPOON SALT I DASH CAYENNE OR TABASCO 2 TABLESPOONS OLIVE OIL I TABLESPOON LEMON JUICE SIFTED CRACKER CRUMBS FAT FOR FRYING Lay oysters in a towel to dry. Beat eggs with seasonings and oil; add lemon juice and beat. Dip oysters into mixture until well coated, then dip in crumbs until well covered. Drop 5 or 6 at a time into hot fat 2 inches deep. Brown on both sides, drain on paper, and serve with wedges of lemon.
A straightforward egg-and-crumb fry that depends almost entirely on dry oysters and hot fat. The recipe assumes a shucked pint from the fish market and an outdoor fire or camp stove.
- Dry the oysters properlyThis is the hinge. Shucked oysters carry a great deal of liquor, and any moisture left on the surface will make the egg coating slide off in the fat. Drain them, then roll them loosely in a clean towel and leave them a few minutes before coating.
- QuantityThe oysters themselves are not given a measure in the list. One beaten egg with two tablespoons of oil will coat something on the order of a pint of shucked oysters, though counts per pint vary a good deal with size; that is a modest first course for about four.
- Fat temperatureThe recipe says only "hot fat 2 inches deep." In practice that means somewhere around 375F: much below and the crumbs absorb grease, much above and they scorch before the oyster heats through. Frying only 5 or 6 at a time, as directed, is what keeps the temperature from dropping.
- Cooking timeOysters need about a minute and a half to two minutes total, until the crumbs are golden and the edges just ruffle. Longer and they shrink and toughen; the coating browning is the only timer you need.
- Sifted cracker crumbsCracker crumbs of this sort were generally made by crushing plain crackers, soda crackers among them, and passing them through a sieve so the coating would be even. Saltines pulsed fine work the same way, with the recipe's added salt adjusted to taste; panko is coarser and gives a different, spikier crust.
- Cayenne or TabascoA "dash" here is about 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne or three or four drops of hot sauce, seasoning the egg wash rather than the oyster.
- Draining"Drain on paper" would have meant whatever absorbent paper was to hand, brown paper or newspaper among them. Use a rack set over a sheet pan instead, which keeps the underside from steaming soft while the rest of the batch fries.
- Buy them coldUse shucked oysters from a refrigerated case, keep them on ice until the moment you dry them, and fry them the day you buy them. Fried oysters do not hold; serve them straight from the pan with the lemon.