Oyster Night

I just had a wonderful week spent with my favorite person in the world. He came for the whole week of Thanksgiving and we cooked until we dropped. 

One of the highlights of the week was Oyster Night. Mom brought over a sack of oysters and we sat around the table with dear sister and Mom opening oysters for the very first time. Several people warned us that is was really hard to do. But we managed quite nicely. Not a single oyster went unopened. It was such a great experience. It was a freezing cold wet day, so it turned out handling and cleaning the oysters was harder than opening them. It was so so COLD!!!! The oysters were so delicious and very salty. Can't wait to do this again. 

We made a few condiments for the raw oysters. The first was Mom's Cocktail Sauce. It is a classic at our house. We make it every time we have seafood. It is great on boiled crawfish, boiled shrimp, fried shrimp and of course oysters. The second condiment was my third attempt at Deckhand Sauce from Deckhand's Oyster Bar (Round Rock, TX). I have been trying so hard to replicate this sauce. This is the closest I have come so far. It is not exactly the same but close enough since I don't live any where close to the restaurant. It was spicy and complemented the oysters so well. Mom said she preferred it to the cocktail sauce. She really liked the cilantro in the sauce. We also made Donald Link's Garlic-Chile Butter so we could try grilling some of the oysters. It is delicious too. We all thought that a tablespoon of butter on each oyster was too much, so I put less. Now I know why, the butter burns off or spills during the grilling. So in this case more is better. Everything turned out amazing. I would definitely plan Oyster Night the same exact way next time. Great food and even better company!

Mom's Cocktail Sauce

Ingredients

1 bottle chili sauce
2 Tbsp. horseradish
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Tabasco sauce
1/2 tsp kosher salt

Directions

Pour chili sauce in a medium bowl. Stir in horseradish, lemon juice, Tabasco and salt. Mix well and taste, add ingredients to taste. Serve with boiled and fried seafood.

Deckhand Inspired Oyster Sauce

Ingredients

2 anchovy fillets, mashed
3 cloves garlic, finely grated
Juice of 2 limes
2 Tbsp. Sriracha sauce
1 tsp. kosher salt
Handful of cilantro, minced
2 Tbsp. water

Directions

In a medium bowl mash anchovies into a paste. Grate garlic clove on a microplane grater into the anchovies. Mash together until combined. Add lime juice, Sriracha, salt, cilantro and water. Mix well and pour into a squeeze bottle. Note the tip of the squeeze bottle may need to be trimmed so that cilantro will pass through the tip. Squeeze over oysters on the half shell.

Grilled Oysters with Garlic-Chile Butter
Source: Real Cajun by Donald Link
Serves 4 to 6

Compound Butter:
2 sticks butter
3 garlic cloves
2 anchovy fillets
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp Sriracha sauce
2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp kosher salt

16 oysters, in the shell
Lemon wedges, for garnish

Directions

Cut butter into 1-inch cubes and allow it to soften to room temperature.

Mince the garlic, anchovy, and lemon zest (or mash in a mortar and pestle), and then fold in the butter, lemon juice, garlic chili sauce, red pepper flakes, cayenne, and salt. Roll the butter into a log, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until needed.

Open the oysters as you would for on the half shell, discarding the top shells. Place a 1-tablespoon slice of the compound butter on each oyster and place on a hot grill until until the juices begin to bubble and the oyster curls up around the edges, 6 to 10 minutes. (It's good to melt a few tablespoons of the butter to put om the oysters after they are grilled, in case some spills out of the shells.)

Serve immediately, with wedges of fresh lemon, if desired.

Linking to:
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
Jam Hands: Recipe Sharing Monday
This Gal Cooks: Marvelous Mondays
Stone Cottage Adventures: Tuesdays with a Twist
Anyonita Nibbles: Tasty Tuesdays
Memories by the Mile: Tuesday Trivia-Illinois and Link Party
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday

Seafood Gumbo with Whole Crabs

This is the second Seafood Gumbo the family has shared this year. The sister requested it for her birthday dinner. So Mom and Dad prepared one. We also had one this year on Christmas Eve. Yes, I have been sitting on this post and pictures since then. Shame on me! But better late than never, right?

Now let me be honest with you. I have never liked messing with whole crabs in my Gumbo. They are so messy! But... they do add a whole lot of flavor. So I just lift them out of the bowl and put them aside on a plate. Then I enjoy my Gumbo and pick the crabs later. When I was young my Mom would use lump crab and peeled crab claws. That is really more my style. Less of a mess. But I do admit the gumbo has more seafood flavor when you use the whole crabs. So you can decide what is right for you. But I assure you, if you like seafood this is the gumbo for you. With this recipe you get the most seafood flavor possible; using whole crabs and making the shrimp stock. I do plan to make the next pot the short cut way. I will use store bought peeled and deveined shrimp, lump crab meat, peeled crab claws and just plain water no stock. I know my Mom has done it this way in the past. I remember it being good too. I will be sure to share that pot with you too.

Seafood Gumbo with Whole Crabs
Serves 14 plus

Ingredients

1 cup oil         

1 cup flour

1 small can tomato paste

2 large onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

6 stalks celery, chopped

5 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined(shells reserved)
12 to 15 whole crabs, cleaned

2 pints oysters

1 bunch green onion, sliced

1/2 bunch parsley, chopped

Salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes and Cajun seasoning to taste

Directions

Peel and devein the shrimp, placing shrimp in one bowl and shells in a 3 quart pot. Chop the onion, celery, and bell peppers and set aside. Add just enough water to cover the shrimp shells. Bring to a boil and lower to a simmer and cover.

Heat flour and oil on medium-low heat until milk chocolate or dark caramel color. Add tomato paste and stir until well mixed. Add bell pepper, celery, and onion cook until softened. Add crabs cook until liquid forms. Season the shrimp with a little salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes and Cajun seasoning; add to gumbo and cook until they start to turn pink. 

Turn shrimp shells off and strain the liquid into the pot. Stir well. Add additional water until the constancy of a full bodied soup broth not a stew. Bring to a boil and check seasoning; season with additional salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes and Cajun seasoning to taste.

30 minutes before serving strain oysters, reserving liquid.  Add liquid to Gumbo and oysters one by one to make sure oysters are free of pieces of shell.  Add green onions, and parsley. Check seasoning again and adjust to taste. Serve in a large bowl over rice. Be sure to put a plate under the bowl for those crabs!

Linking to:
Love Bakes Good Cakes: All My Bloggy Friends
Memories by the Mile: Tuesday Trivia - LOUISIANA and Link Party
Rediscovering Lost Arts from Our Mothers: Tried and True Recipes
Carole's Chatter: Food on Fridays - Crayfish, Lobster & Crab

Oyster Dressing

This is a traditional cajun side served at my Mom's side of the family's Thanksgiving. I guess it could be called Rice Dressing or Dirty Rice. It was served at every Norco, LA holiday meal. It has to be my favortie dish. I don't think it would be Thanksgiving without it.

Oyster Dressing

Ingredients

1 lb ground pork

1 lb ground beef

1 large onion, chopped

1/2 large bell pepper, chopped

3 stalks of celery, chopped

1 cup chicken livers, cleaned and chopped

2 cups rice, uncooked

8 oz oysters, chopped

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1/2 bunch parsley, finely chopped

salt

black pepper

red pepper flakes

Tony Chachere’s creole seasoning

Directions

Prepare rice according to package directions.

Brown pork and beef. Add onion, bell pepper and celery. When vegetables are soft season to taste. Add chicken livers. When livers are cooked add oysters, green onions and parsley. When oysters are cooked turn off heat and stir in rice. Check seasoning again. Serve.

Variations:

Omit Oysters and add 8 oz fresh mushrooms , sliced when you add the other vegetables.

Omit livers. Dressing will not be as rich or “dirty”.

Linking to:
Memories by the Mile: Tuesday Trivia - LOUISIANA and Link Party
Carole's Chatter: Food on Friday's
The Tumbleweed Contessa: Thanksgiving Saturday Linky Party

Chicken and Andouille Gumbo

Mom just had foot surgery, so my sister and I went over to make a gumbo for our parents. Our family gumbo is a compromise. Dad's family made a lighter roux. Mom's family made a darker roux. Ours is in between. Today we made a Chicken and Andouille Gumbo. The andouille capital of the world is in LaPlace, LA. It lies between the two towns where my Mom and Dad were raised. To this day we still bring andouille home from Jacob's in LaPlace(WARNING Link has music) when we travel to south Louisiana. Andouille is a highly smoked sausage that we just have not found here in north Louisiana. My Mom's recipe is a little different from my grandmothers' recipes. She uses chicken breast where my grandmothers used a whole hen. I remember growing up being served a bowl of gumbo with chicken on the bone with the skin still attached on ocassion. My sister and I really did not know what to do with that. Grant it using a whole bird does add a lot of flavor. Often my grandfather would sift through the finished gumbo and de-bone it then serve it. My mother's recipe eliminates that task and is still delicious. Today I used boneless, skinless chicken breast and thighs.

Shown with File



Chicken and Andouille Gumbo
Makes 16 servings, about 8 quarts

1 - 1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 - 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 large onion, chopped fine

1 green bell pepper, chopped fine

9 stalks celery, chopped fine

3 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped into 2" pieces 

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs, chopped into 2" pieces

2 lb andouille, sliced

10 cups water
salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes and Cajun seasoning to taste

1 bunch of parsley, chopped

1 bunch green onions, sliced

2 pints oysters (optional)

 

Heat flour and oil on medium heat stirring constantly until milk chocolate or dark caramel color.  

Roux

Veggies in the Roux

Add bell pepper, celery, and onion cook stirring often until softened and liquid starts to form.

Season chicken with salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes. Add seasoned chicken cook until chicken is cooked.  Add andouille. Cook until liquid forms.



Seasoned Chicken

Andouille



Chicken and Andouille
in Roux

Water, Parsley and
Green Onions added

Add hot water until desired thickness is achieved. Simmer and season to taste.  



30 minutes before serving strain oysters, reserving liquid.  Add liquid to Gumbo and oysters one by one to make sure oysters are free of pieces of shell.  Add parsley and green onions.

    

Serve over rice.