10 Premium Oysters Recipe

Make sauce

In a small bowl combine the red wine vinegar, finely minced shallot, cracked black pepper and sea salt. Stir and let sit 10–15 minutes to soften the shallot and meld flavors. Taste and adjust salt/pepper. If you prefer a slightly rounder finish, whisk in 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil just before serving.

If using a pre-made Québec buckwheat honey balsamic, measure 1 tablespoon into a small bowl. If you have separate buckwheat honey and aged balsamic, whisk together 2 teaspoons honey and 1 tablespoon aged balsamic until combined. Keep chilled.

Place prepared horseradish in a small bowl. Add 1 teaspoon Tabasco (taste and adjust if you want more heat) and stir. Add a tiny pinch of sea salt if needed. Transfer to a small ramekin for service.

Clean and open

Rinse oysters under cold running water and scrub to remove grit. Place a folded kitchen towel on your work surface and hold one oyster cupped-side down in the towel with the hinge toward you. Insert the oyster knife into the hinge and twist gently until it pops. Slide the knife along the top shell to sever the muscle and remove the top shell. Run the knife under the oyster to free the bottom muscle, keeping the liquor (briny liquid) in the shell. Repeat for all 10 oysters. Discard any oysters that smell strongly off or have open shells that don’t close when tapped.

Chill and arrange

Spread crushed ice on the serving platter to create a stable bed. Nestle the shucked oysters (on the half shell) into the ice so they sit level and retain their liquor.

Cut the lemons into wedges and arrange on the platter. Place small bowls of red wine mignonette, horseradish mixture, and honey-balsamic on the platter. Drizzle the Sicilian olive oil lightly (about 1 teaspoon) over 2–3 oysters if you want to feature that flavor, or serve the oil in a small dish for guests to drizzle themselves.

To serve, provide each diner a lemon wedge, a taste of mignonette, a touch of horseradish (or a drop of Tabasco), and the honey-balsamic to try sparingly — a very small dab of the honey-balsamic balances the brine nicely. Recommend tasting raw oyster with a single accent at first (lemon or mignonette), then experiment with combinations such as honey-balsamic + olive oil or horseradish + Tabasco.