Pan-Fried
Oysters
from Tina's
restaurant in Dundee
Heat 1/2 inch clarified butter (see below) in a
sauté pan until hot. Can test with a sprinkle of
flour.
Flour oysters in a pan to coat them all over.
When the butter is ready, gently lay each oyster
down and let them brown to golden on the first side.
Turn gently and brown the other side. Usually this
is several minutes on each side.
Drain them on a cooling rack and serve with sorrel
mayonnaise.
Sorrel Mayonnaise
Put 1 egg, 1 tsp.
dijon mustard, and 8 leaves or so of sorrel. Blend
on medium speed for 3 minutes, until it is a uniform
green color. Add the oil in a sloe consistent drip
or in several slugs at a time, until it is thick.
Stop and stir in juice of 1/2 a lemon, and several
pinches of salt.
Clarified
Butter
Unsalted butter, cut into cubes.
1. Heat the unsalted
butter in a heavy-duty saucepan over very low heat,
until it's melted. Let simmer gently until the foam
rises to the top of the melted butter. The butter
may splatter a bit, so be careful.
2. Once the butter stops spluttering, and no more
foam seems to be rising to the surface, remove from
heat and skim off the foam with a spoon. (lt can be
saved and added to soups, bread doughs, polenta,
pilaf, or a bowl of warm oatmeal.)
Don't worry about getting every last bit; you can
remove the rest when straining it.
3. Line a mesh strainer with a few layers of
cheesecloth or gauze (in France, I use
étamine,
which is cotton muslin) and set the strainer over a
heatproof container.
4. Carefully pour the warm butter through the
cheesecloth-lined strainer into the container,
leaving behind any solids from the bottom of the
pan.
Storage: Clarified butter will keep for 3 to
6 months in the refrigerator, Some say you can leave
it at room temperature if the conditions are
optimal, but I keep mine under refrigeration. It can
also be frozen for a similar length of time.
Note: lf you continue to cook the butter in step #2,
it'll turn a nutty-brown color and take on a
pleasant aroma, which the French call beurre
noisette, because of the nut-like smell and taste.
You can use it right away as is, with or without the
foam, and it's wonderful drizzled over steamed
vegetables.
Recipe from Tina's
restaurant in Dundee |
