Can you cook Oysters like Mussels ?

[majordad]

Just wondering, it's so slow opening them, can you cook them as you do mussels, boil them in wine etc and will they pop open just like mussels ? Has anyone tried it ?

[calibrax]

This tell you how to open them with a microwave

http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_7704258_open-oysters-oys...

[pacman1]

Saw Rick Stein cook 'em once.

[Wadeski]

plenty of oyster recipes, however, you have to open them by hand first for most of them

[majordad]

IIRC it was mussels Rick Stein cooked in the fire. My question still remails can you just bung em in a pot with wine and parsley and onions.

[pacman1]

majordad said:

IIRC it was mussels Rick Stein cooked in the fire. My question still remails can you just bung em in a pot with wine and parsley and onions.

He did oysters as well, found by a mate under a dock bridge, hence the reason why they were cooked, not exactly clean water. He also had his mushroom man scouring the woods for an accompaniment, iirc.

[Pete Franklin]

They should open a bit when cooked- not fully open like mussels though. not tried cooking them in hot liquid before but have put them directly on a bbq when we didnt have the correct implements to open them with. it worked quite well. they seem to take longer to open than mussels- i guess because they have a thicker shell.

[otolith]

pacman1 said:

He did oysters as well, found by a mate under a dock bridge, hence the reason why they were cooked, not exactly clean water. He also had his mushroom man scouring the woods for an accompaniment, iirc.

Was that Rick Stein - or was it River Cottage?

[jmorgan]

otolith said:

Was that Rick Stein - or was it River Cottage?

River Cottage.

[shakotan]

Mussels don't need to be open when they've finished cooking.

[CommanderJameson]

shakotan said:

Mussels don't need to be open when they've finished cooking.

Indeed. After all, how else would you know which ones to chuck away lest you come down with a dose of high-speed gastric transit?

[Mobile Chicane]

Oysters have gritty, crumbly shells (or at least the rock/pacific type do). I suspect this is the reason they aren't cooked in their shells like mussels.

[captainzep]

Oysters are quite pricey these days, but in Victorian times they were very cheap. They were sometimes used to fill out other recipes, hence the classic Beef and Oyster pie. Its just their rising cost which has traditionally kept them out of day-to-day cooking.

I wouldn't bother trying to do a version of moules mariniere for the reasons others have stated. Battered oysters with chips are nice.

But for me, decent oysters, (as a Whitstable dweller) have to be served on ice and knocked back raw -with maybe a teaspoon of shallot vinegar or a thin slice of fried chorizo. Once you've got the taste, no other way will do.

[jmorgan]

If you want raw oysters, wait till you have a good cold then sniff and swallow.

[captainzep]

jmorgan said:

If you want raw oysters, wait till you have a good cold then sniff and swallow.

Not chilled enough. Ideally, the infected respiratory tract muscus needs to be spat out and chilled in the fridge, with a drop of Thai fish sauce and a pinch of sea salt.

Then placed on a crumbly piece of roofing tile and knocked back in one fluid movement.

[Pete Franklin]

duplicate post

[Gretchen]

captainzep said:

Oysters are quite pricey these days, but in Victorian times they were very cheap. They were sometimes used to fill out other recipes, hence the classic Beef and Oyster pie. Its just their rising cost which has traditionally kept them out of day-to-day cooking.

I wouldn't bother trying to do a version of moules mariniere for the reasons others have stated. Battered oysters with chips are nice.

But for me, decent oysters, (as a Whitstable dweller) have to be served on ice and knocked back raw -with maybe a teaspoon of shallot vinegar or a thin slice of fried chorizo. Once you've got the taste, no other way will do.

I love Oysters.

Friday's Oysters were from Waitrose...



But last Monday (08.07) Johnny drove me to Whitstable for my Oysters on the beach, in the rain, with local beer in a plastic cup. Absolute perfection

[OzzyR1]

Billingsgate is great for oysters (and all other types of fish and seafood) if you are near London and can be arsed to get up at silly o'clock on a Saturday morning.

Haven't bought oysters from there for a while but last year I picked these up:








Note 20p placed in box for size comparison.


25 oysters: £10


Prices at Billingsgate are usually 25-40% of what you might pay at a shop.

[captainzep]

Gretchen said:

But last Monday (08.07) Johnny drove me to Whitstable for my Oysters on the beach, in the rain, with local beer in a plastic cup. Absolute perfection

Oh Gretchen... what a lovely image, looks like the East Quay, (I think they call it the Lobster Shack/Brewery Bar now...) glad you enjoyed the food, sorry about the weather -on behalf of the town.

-First you cheer me up with your foraging-based crumble images, then the oysters...

Have you frequented 'The Sportsman' at Seasalter yet?

You need to pop along for the tasting menu. We're off on Tuesday. Best food ever.

http://www.thesportsmanseasalter.co.uk/menus.shtml