CookEat Recipe
Fried Oysters with Tomato Sauce
Crisp breaded oysters with lemon and parsley, accompanied by warm tomato sauce.
Method
Steps
Step 1
For the tomato sauce, dice the four ounces lean raw ham, slice two carrots and two onions, and chop one leek, two parsley branches, one celery branch, one green pepper and one garlic clove. Melt two ounces butter in a large saucepan. Add the ham and these vegetables with two cloves, one teaspoon whole peppercorns, half a bay-leaf sprig, half a thyme sprig, one tablespoon salt and one light tablespoon icing sugar. Cook over brisk heat for about twelve minutes, stirring, until lightly browned.
Step 2
Stir the four tablespoons flour into the sauce pan and cook for five minutes. Add the two quarts fresh ripe red tomatoes cut into quarters and one quart cold water. Mix, cover and simmer very gently for one and a half hours, stirring occasionally. The diced ham must be thoroughly cooked; check that its centre reaches 70°C for two minutes.
Step 3
Press the sauce through a sieve and then strain through clean food-safe cheesecloth. Measure the actual finished sauce portion needed below and keep it hot for immediate use. Divide the unused sauce into small shallow containers, cool rapidly and refrigerate at 40°F or colder within two hours; freeze for longer storage.
Step 4
Use twenty-four large freshly shucked oysters from a certified supplier. Keep refrigerated at 40°F or colder until needed. Drain well and check for shell fragments. Prepare separate dishes of flour, beaten whole egg and fresh breadcrumbs, using only enough to coat the oysters.
Step 5
Lightly roll each oyster in flour, dip in beaten egg, then lightly coat with fresh breadcrumbs. Prepare a fresh bath of refined canola oil suitable for 375°F in a deep fryer or deep stable pan, following its safe fill instructions. Heat to 375°F with a frying thermometer.
Step 6
Lower the breaded oysters carefully into the oil in uncrowded batches. Fry for about five minutes, maintaining 375°F and checking that each batch spends at least three minutes at that temperature. Continue until the oysters are fully cooked and the egg-and-flour coating is golden and cooked through to at least 160°F. Lift out with a skimmer and drain on clean absorbent paper or cloth. Discard coating ingredients that have touched the raw oysters.
Step 7
Sprinkle the separate one teaspoon salt evenly over all the fried oysters and arrange on a warm dish. Decorate with six lemon quarter wedges and a little washed parsley. Serve promptly with one actual gill of the finished hot tomato sauce in a separate bowl.
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