No. 1073

Oysters with Parmesan Fried in Oil

Huitres au Parmesan Frites a l'Huile

Take medium sized oysters that have not been poached; drain and dry them in a cloth; then roll them in grated parmesan cheese. Beat up some eggs in a vessel; add the same quantity of cream, stir well, and strain through a strainer, dip the oysters in this, roll them in cracker dust, and smooth them nicely, plunge them into very hot oil, and fry them to a nice golden color, drain, slat, wipe and dress them on folded napkins.

SCALLOPS, ST. JACQUES SHELLS (Petoncles, Coquilles St. Jacques ou Coquilles des Pelerins).

Testaceous bivalvular mollusks, having a semi-circular shell grooved on the sides forming rays on each value toward the edges. They are eaten, although of a tough nature.

← No. 1072 Oysters with Fine Herbs Oysters No. 1074 Scallops a la Brestoise →

For the Modern Kitchen

A short deep-frying recipe from Ranhofer's Delmonico's kitchen, written for cooks who already knew how to run a fry kettle. The whole thing hinges on the oysters being dry before the cheese goes on.

Dry the oysters properlyShucked oysters carry a surprising amount of liquor, and grated parmesan will slide off a wet one. Drain them in a sieve, then blot between cloth or paper towels until the surface is tacky rather than slick.
"Not poached"Ranhofer appears to be distinguishing these from other oyster recipes that begin by firming the oysters in their own liquor. Here they go into the fat raw, so they cook through in the time it takes the crumb to color.
Cracker dustFinely rolled plain soda or water crackers, sifted. Modern equivalents are unsalted saltines or plain crackers crushed to a coarse flour; panko is a different texture and will not "smooth nicely" the way the recipe asks.
The egg and cream dipEqual volumes of beaten egg and cream, strained so the coating goes on evenly. The recipe gives no amounts; roughly two eggs to half a cup of cream would cover a couple of dozen oysters.
Fry temperature"very hot oil" is not defined anywhere in the book; around 375F is the usual modern reading for deep frying. Below that the crumb absorbs fat; much hotter and the coating colors before the center is set.
TimeBetween one and two minutes, until golden. Oysters overcook fast, and a fried oyster held in the fat past two minutes turns tight and rubbery inside its shell of crumb.
"Slat" is saltA typesetting slip in the original. Salt them the moment they come out of the fat, while the surface is still oily enough to hold it, then blot. Bear in mind the parmesan has already salted them from within.
Folded napkinsThe period way of serving anything fried: a linen napkin folded on the platter absorbs oil and keeps the crust crisp. A wire rack does the same job, and lemon wedges are a reasonable modern addition.
YieldThe recipe gives no quantities; six oysters each as a first course is a reasonable modern guess. Fry in small batches so the oil temperature does not drop.

A Little History

This comes from Charles Ranhofer's The Epicurean (1894), the enormous record of his years as chef at Delmonico's in New York, where oysters ran through the menu in dozens of guises. New York harbor and the beds off Long Island and Staten Island supplied the city in great quantity, and fried oysters were sold on the street as well as in restaurants. The parmesan laid directly against the oyster under the crumb, and the frying in oil rather than lard, both lean toward the French and Italian side of the kitchen, though Ranhofer says nothing about why. The paragraph on scallops that follows is not part of the recipe but the start of the next section; its verdict that they are eaten "although of a tough nature" at least hints at how little regard the scallop had at the time.