Fried Blue Point Oysters

 My first encounter with fried oysters came when my sister Kathy arrived for a visit from Homer, Alaska bringing a bushel of freshly harvested Kachemak Bay, Alaska oysters. We ate oysters in every way we could think of, and when it came to frying some I fell in love!  Her favorite way to fry them is using potato flour for the coating (she has to eat gluten-free) and they were great – but I wanted something more along the lines of traditonal fried clam coating. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be -  but being persistent I figured out a few key points and can now produce exactly what I was after.  A crispy but not too heavy coating, tender and juicy inside. Just what I love about deep fried oysters! Served with a semi-homemade tartar sauce and fresh lemon.

 These  were Blue Point  oysters from Maryland, medium sized and sweet . The nice people at the fish store shucked them for me, and that was a huge time saver. I just couldn’t resist buying a few to shuck myself and eat raw!

All that’s needed besides the shucked oysters is a good clam fry mix and milk. I used some clam fry mix from a local fish store, Bob’s Lobster, that they use for the fried seafood on their menu. They buy it in bulk, but also sell small containers of the mix which is predominately corn flour, white wheat flour, non-fat milk powder, leavening and  spices. 

Method for coating oysters:

• Dredge the oysters in the clam fry mix
• Put the dredged oysters in whole milk
• Put the oysters back into the clam fry mix, coating thouroughly and shake off any excess.

Method for frying  oysters:

• Frying oysters is not like frying other seafood, such as clams.  They have a very high water content that will cause your hot oil to bubble up and splatter more than other foods, so use a very deep pan and fry only a few at a time.
• Heat the oil to 350 degrees. I have found that a higher temperature will cook the coating too quickly.
• Submerge the oysters in the oil. Because they cook very quickly be prepared to remove from the pot with a slotted spoon after only a couple of minutes.  When they are golden brown and starting to sputter, they are done.
• Drain on a paper bag or paper towels and sprinkle with kosher salt. 

Quick and Easy Tartar Sauce recipe:

 There are many ways to make a good homemade tartar sauce – mix mayonnaise with chopped pickles, capers, onions and any kind of variation you’d like, such as mustard, lemon juice or even horseradish. My favorite is to simply use a sweet pickle relish  with the mayonnaise. Claussen makes a sweet relish that tastes very similar to the piccalili my mother and grandmother used to make -  a combination of cucumbers, onions, red bell pepper, sugar, vinegar and pickling spices. Great on hot dogs, but also makes a fantastic tartar sauce. Just mix in proportions you like.

Besides the tartar sauce, fresh lemon squeezed over the fried oysters is all you need.