Serving Suggestions for Bluff Oysters

Natural Bluff Oysters

Best served completely natural, still in the shell with their sea water juices

Or to this you can add...

A squeeze of lemon, a splash of a good quality vinegar such as chardonnay vinegar, sherry vinegar or a red wine vinegar. The French like to add some finely chopped shallot to this also, and I think it does add something delicious to the combination, remember to chop the shallots nice and fine. Some fans love to grind black or white pepper over a natural oyster as well.

Shooters

Shooters are very popular and one of the most popular ways we serve them at Vinnies is in a shooter glass topped with a little mix of 2 tablespoons of vodka, 1 egg white and 100ml lemon juice all furiously whisked together by hand or with a stick blender till foamy then spooned over the oyster.

Cooked

Cooked oysters are the first choice of the crew onboard Toiler, the 75-foot Bluff boat I went out on for opening season. They like theirs just lightly coated in flour then quickly panfried in oil. 'Use vegetable' they told me (canola, sunflower, grapeseed) and finish with a little salt and pepper at the end.

Try also crumbing with bread crumbs or using your favourite batter recipe to deep-fry some oysters, as well.

Kilpatrick

Of course there is the Kilpatrick which is a delicious classic and there are many variations.

If you have the shells of the oyster then this is a really good way to serve up hot oysters simply cooked under the grill.  Warm in a pan 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoons butter, a dash of Tobasco Sauce (optional) - warm till combined then spoon over the oysters, sprinkle over 100 g of diced cooked crispy bacon then grill for 1 minute under a hot grill.