Shucked Oysters with Champagne Dressing
NOTE: Purists
serve shucked oysters as is or with a squirt of lemon juice and a
sprinkling of pepper. We also like oysters with a simple champagne
dressing. Avoid dressings that contain oil (it makes the oysters
greasy) or that are overly acidic or harsh. We liked champagne
vinegar best but also recommend white wine or rice vinegar. In any
case, use a high-quality vinegar. The right oyster knife is essential
for opening oysters quickly and safely. (For more
information, see Buying an Oyster Knife.)
Serves four to six.
1/2 cup good quality champagne vinegar
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced shallot
Crushed ice
2 dozen fresh oysters
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Combine vinegar, pepper, and shallot in small bowl and let sit a few minutes to let flavors mingle.
2. Meanwhile, arrange crushed ice on large platter. Shuck oysters (see figures 10 through 13), being careful to keep oyster liquor in shells. Discard top shells. Carefully Nestlé oysters into ice. Serve with champagne dressing on the side.
BUYING AN OYSTER KNIFE
If you want to open more than one oyster every 10 minutes and end up with the shell, your temper, and your hands intact, it's important to have the right oyster knife. To find the best oyster knife, we had experienced and novice shuckers test several knives as well as a simple church-key can opener, which some experts claim is the best tool for the job.
Our two favorites were the Oxo (see figure 9) and the Dexter Russell S121. Both knives have blades with a slightly angled, pointed tip that makes it surprisingly easy to make that first penetration into the hinge between the top and bottom shells (see figure 10). The handles on these knives are also nicely contoured and textured for a secure, comfortable grip. Lastly, both knives have a long blade that makes it easy to detach the oyster meat once the shell has been pried open.
When an oyster knife is nowhere to be found, the pointed end of a church-key can opener will eventually open some oysters, but not without some heartache. (Church keys are common openers about the size of a stick of gum, often with a bottle opener on one end and a V-shaped can opener on the other.) We opened some oysters this way (it took two or three times as long), but others never yielded to this crude substitute for a real oyster knife.