oysters
tips
and
ideas
It really pisses me off that more restaurants don’t open their own oysters. I mean, think about it, we have some of the best oysters in the world, grown in some of the cleanest waters in the world, and all in close proximity to our city restaurants.
So, why do so many restaurants buy opened oysters and leave them languishing in the fridge for days before they are sold. Worse yet, when they are almost off, they delegate them to cooked oysters, especially Kilpatrick.
To be fair there are some restaurants in this city that sell so many oysters they get a daily delivery of just shucked oysters, what is not sold on the day of opening is moved on the following day in cooked oyster dishes. A very acceptable practice, but sadly quite a rare one and unfortunately most commercial oyster shuckers wash their oysters in tap water! Naughty!
Kilpatrick
oysters
Chefs mainly hate Kilpatrick oysters and the general public love them. I love them too but the very great difference is that when we make Kilpatrick the oysters have been opened at the very most for 24 hours not several days.
Eating oysters in a restaurant is similar to eating fish in a restaurant, there has to be a bond of trust between restaurant and diner; fresh is meant to be fresh….click here for our recipe.
lime
wasabi
flying fish
roe
In 98 when we first served oysters natural with a slither of a lime segment and Tobiko wasabi flying fish roe it was a revolution in an oyster taste and one that we have never tired off. The tiny palate pricking spicy wasabi flavoured roe, the fresh cut lime and oyster is a sublime combination and one that we often serve. We sometimes add a tiny dab of wasabi mayonnaise…also delicious.
Our favourite remains natural with finely chopped shallots and fresh strained lemon juice or quality red wine vinegar laced with plenty of pepper.the plain
oyster
french
style
Anyone who has been to Paris is the French oyster season falls in love with this. Pretty much shucked in front of the diner. They are served with othing more that finely chopped shallots in red wine vinegar, a lemon wedge, bread, butter and of course Champagne.
ramona miller
mARCO PIERRE WHITE
The RAMONA MILLER MARCO PIERRE WHITE was a Mistress Augustin’e signature dish. A nod to Pierre White’s ‘Oysters Tagliatelli’ but with a more Australian twist introducing Asian and Chinese flavours including Sichuan pepper.
RECIPE ONLY AVAILABLE BY REQUEST COPYRIGHT © ANN OLIVER
keeping
all 10
fingers
There is a lot of argument about which oyster knife is best but I prefer the long bladed Dexter–Rusell and keep it super sharp. A mesh glove is about $150 but gives the best safety factor.
Most professional oyster shuckers ridicule us as soft for using the mesh glove and instead use a thick cotton glove. However, they have skills the rest of us rarely gain and a nasty gash in my left hand was sufficient to convince me that shucking oysters without some sort of protection is an accident waiting to happen.
A small block of wood with a hollowed out side or a thick piece of sponge, with hold the oyster level and stop it from losing its liquor by being held at an angle whilst shucking.
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love oysters
want more
OYSTER
recipes and
ideas?
There’s plenty more in our recipe index click here
PICTURE RIGHT ONE OF OUR FAVOURITES ‘OYSTERS NATURAL WITH SHALLOT IN BALSAMIC, RUBY GRAPEFRUIT SLITHER, CANDIED RUUBY GRAPEFRUIT RIND CLICK HERE
Ann Oliver 27 March 2023
