Oysters with shallot vinegar

Name: Oysters with shallot vinegar
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: seaweed and/or crushed ice, to serve; 4 shallots, peeled and very finely diced; 100 ml (3½ fl oz) good quality red wine vinegar; 24 oysters

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

British Food

By Mark Hix

Published 2005

About

Opening or ‘shucking’ oysters can be tricky. If you haven’t tackled it before, I suggest you buy an oyster knife with a guard to protect your hand. The season officially starts in September and lasts through the following months with an ‘r’. However, October is generally held to be the best time to start eating them.

Ingredients

24 oysters
seaweed and/or crushed ice, to serve

Europe
United Kingdom
Fish course
Pescatarian
Gluten-free
September
October

Method

First make the shallot vinegar. Mix the shallots and red wine vinegar together in a bowl and set aside to infuse for 1 hour.
Now prise open the oysters. Lay an oyster in a folded tea towel on a surface with the flat shell uppermost and the pointed hinge facing towards you. Holding the oyster down with the cloth, force the tip of the oyster knife into the hinge