Author Notes
As the number of mignonette submissions indicate, many of us love our oysters cold with minimal tampering. I'm also fussy about the provenance of my oysters because all taste different. I have a bias against Gulf oysters because they can be fatal. I think they are best farmed in a briny sea water that remains cold all year round. Last fall I drove up to Hercules, CA for a reunion of old college friends. En route I stopped in Santa Barbara at a shop which specializes in olive oils but also stocks interesting vinegars. I picked up a nice pear vinegar to bring north. The first morning did not begin well. I got press ganged and frog marched to Alcatraz. But after that we went to the Ferry Building in San Francisco and picked up 4 dozen oysters of two west coast types. Back at the ranch I whipped up this mignonette. —pierino
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Ingredients
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1 cup
pear vinegar
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1 teaspoon
ground black pepper
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1 teaspoon
ground white pepper
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2 tablespoons
shallot, choppped
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1 tablespoon
prepared horseradish, or still better, grated raw
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Crushed ice for presentation
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12-24
Oysters
Directions
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In a glass bowl combine the mignonette ingredients and whisk together. With a clean spoon taste the vinegar mixture. You will probably want to carefully calibrate the horseradish flavor and be sure it is well blended, unless you want a friend to do the horseradish eye pop (which always happens). Refrigerate for as long as you can in a glass vessel. Preferrably overnight.
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Shuck the oysters. Depending on where you buy them they might need to be scrubbed. Arrange on a tray of crushed ice.
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Bring out the mignonette and quickly whisk again. Guests may now spoon as much or as little over their ersters as they consume them. There will always be an oyster wimp in the group.
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Note: I would love to take this recipe to Brittany and try it with belons.
Standup commis flâneur, and food historian. Pierino's background is in Italian and Spanish cooking but of late he's focused on frozen desserts. He is now finishing his cookbook, MALAVIDA! Can it get worse? Yes, it can. Visit the Malavida Brass Knuckle cooking page at Facebook and your posts are welcome there.
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