Yesterday's Lunch Fried Oysters, Crappie, Bontemps' Eggplant, & Mushrooms

[Rojo]

Bachelor lunch yesterday. I had a few projects that needed attention and while my wife was eating out for lunch I pulled out some oysters from the freezer to cook with the other groceries. Crappie from Ross Barnett, Eggplant off Bon Temps' bedding plants he gave me, and Button Mushrooms I keep. The eggplant I decided to cut into spears after Ketchn posted that pickle spear the other day. I have to say cut into spears the eggplant was outstanding. Crunchy outside while creamy inside. I like the throw my oysters right into the fish fry from their liquor, let them sit in the fish fry for a few minutes, add them all at one time into the hot oil and fry just a little over done so they stay crunchy thru the entire meal. Soft fried oysters really need eating fairly quickly or the coating wicks the juice out softening the coating and making it mushy. A little over cooked eliminates this. With some Franks Red Hot dropped on the Crappie & Oysters I just about cleaned the entire pile of food in one whack. Nap time after that meal.



I was full as a Tick afterwards.

[SuperDave336]

I bet you were full. Some good eats, especially with Franks Red Hot!!! Put it on everything

[BuckeyeCrappie]

Oh my! I am happy to see the fungi! What a great meal.

[SuperDave336]

Oh my! I am happy to see the fungi! What a great meal.

Seriously, you need counseling Buckeye

[Rojo]

I'm a Mushroom eating Machine..................to add I even climb trees in Honey Island Swamp to harvest Oyster Mushrooms as big as Dinner Plates when it's foggy and around 70 degrees. They fry up tasting like Beef Fillet.

[BuckeyeCrappie]

Seriously, you need counseling Buckeye

I counsel myself every day. Funny thing, counseling has determined I’m normal…..

[BON TEMPS]

You put away some good groceries there.

[Snubby]

That all looks great and perfectly fried! That egg plant intrigues me, bet that is good. We have a small mom and pop soul food restaurant near me, they do their fried pickles in spears as well as whole okra. Their fried catfish is as about as good as you can get.

I love raw oysters on the half shell during the cold months, little horseradish and a dab of hot sauce on a cracker. I really don't care for fried oysters, I have had some better than others. My question is, is there a way to lessen (for a lack of a better word) the dirty flavor to them when frying or is it just an acquired taste? Didn't know if a special cleaning and batter processed helped, and I'm sure the fresher the oyster the better. I know you said yours were thawed from frozen so sure were harvested earlier this year.

[Rojo]

For sure a acquired taste for some, that is how it was with me. I started with raw oysters first. I've got to say the more fried oysters I eat the more I want to eat. So I buy my oysters already shucked for $20 a very full quart right off the shucking line so not pasteurized. I use Ball brand freezer jelly jars, they are actually plastic with a silicone o-ring seal in the lid. I freeze the oysters 12-15 if they are big and 16-18 if smaller in their own liquor in those containers. They will keep for years if kept at zero degrees.

To summarize, fresh shucked, frozen in their own liquor, kept at Zero degrees, in a gasketed plastic container = very long term storage. Frying them a little hard is better than soft, mushy frying unless you're eating them right out of the grease. A fried oyster has a unique taste all it's own. Pasteurized fried oysters taste freezer burned to me.

[BuckeyeCrappie]

I used to buy Oysters like this when I lived in NC. Now I’m stuck with pasteurized. I also bought unshucked by the giant onion sack full for $20, hauled em to the car wash to spray the shells off while in the bad before steaming or grilling. Good ole days…