Pickled Oysters
Pickled Oysters
Pickling was a common way of preserving oysters before the era of refrigeration. We've been pickling oysters in our farm store for at least 30 years. Here's our recipe, adapted for 2 pints of yearling oysters. Keep refrigerated and eat within 6 weeks or so - if you let them sit too long, they'll get very pickly tasting. Serve with Ritz crackers.
Ingredients:
For the Oysters:
- 2 pints shucked yearling oysters
- 2 cups water
- 1/4 cup pickling salt
For the Brine:
- 1 cup white wine vinegar (you can also substitute any mild vinegar: rice wine vinegar and champagne vinegar are both great options)
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon pickling spice
- 1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon pickling salt
For Packaging:
- 1/2 white or yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 1/4 lemon, thinly sliced
- Clean & sterilized glass jars, with lids
Add the shucked oysters, 2 cups water, and 1/4 cup pickling salt to a medium sized saucepan. The water should cover the oysters (add more if needed). Turn to medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Boil until the gills ruffle and the oysters firm up (this should take about a minute once the water comes to a boil). Drain into a colander or sieve (discarding the cooking liquid) and set the colander/sieve over a bowl.
In a separate pan, boil the vinegar, water, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, pickling spice, mustard seeds, garlic powder and 1 tablespoon pickled salt for the brine. Once it boils, whisk until the sugar is dissolved, then remove the brine from heat.
Pour the hot brine over the oysters, catching it in the bowl below. (This step is to disperse the mustard seeds and pickling spices through the oysters - you'll need the brine again in a moment.)
Layer the oysters in glass jars with the sliced onions and lemon, then fill the jars with the remaining brine. It should cover the oysters. (If you have extra brine, trying using it for a quick vegetable pickle -- thinly sliced cucumber and/or the remaining 1/2 of the onion would be lovely.)
Transfer the jars, uncovered, to the refrigerator to cool. Once cool, cover and let sit overnight for flavors to develop before serving (a few days is even better).
Note: Before packaging the oysters, wash your glass jars thoroughly in hot soapy water, rinse, and sterilize them in a boiling water bath 10 minutes. By this we mean - take a big saucepan with about 3" lip, put the jars in the sauce pan upside down, fill with an inch or so of water, and boil. The jars will suck up water as they boil, so you need to occasionally tip a jar out to prevent the pan from running dry. (You can also submerge them fully in boiling water.)
Keep refrigerated for up to 6 weeks.