It was in the dark of night at the end of a cul de sac way off the Polpis road that cash was exchanged and a bushel of 5th bend oysters were handed over out of an ice filled commercial cooler from the back of a pick-up truck.
I was hired to help with the food for my friend’s twin sisters 50th birthday party & in celebration of a successful summer run of Air B&B rentals at their home in ‘Sconset on Nantucket.
My friend is into performance & casting. I was cast as oyster shucker & food prep person. The menu was easy, various lobster salads, oysters, Sayle’s clam chowder, various typical party beverages & two bakery supplied birthday cakes, 1 carrot cake the other a vanilla layer cake.
While deep into the process of cleaning the oyster shells of the thin layer of silt still on them it became known to me that my friend’s mom’s 92 year old newly wed husband, not being a New Englander may be willing to try cooked oysters. He had no intention of trying them, never mind enjoying them raw. This got my wheels turning. In no time at all I prepared a compound butter of finely minced garlic & chives, oregano & parsley and from the huge bag of beautiful fresh sage leaves I plucked a few dozen from the stems and prepared them as a fizzled leaf as garnish for the top – once the oysters were roasted off.
New Street Oysters
Ingredients:
1 stick of butter – room temperature
2-3 Ts of garlic – chives, oregano & parsley – minced
2 dozen or more shucked oysters
Kosher salt
24 sage leaves
2 Ts butter
What to do
I had a stick of butter sitting out to warm since I got up in the morning. I minced the garlic & herbs.
Blend the butter, garlic and herbs in a Cuisinart or similar style blender or by hand with a wooden spoon. Transfer blended butter to a bowl to get the butter back to a firm state.
Washed & shucked 2 dozen oysters – refrigerate
Melt 2 Ts of butter in a pan and heat til it bubbles. Add a few good sized sage leaves at a time until they frizzle on both sides. Remove w/tongs or a fork. Dry on paper towel
20 minutes before service preheat the oven to 500.
Remove the shucked oysters from the -frige. Add about a teaspoon of the chilled compound butter to each oyster.
Arrange the oysters on a salt covered baking tray.
Get the tray in the oven. It should be no more than 5 minutes before the edges of the oysters curl. Remove them from the oven. If you have a Pernod, a drop of that would be great on each oyster. I did not do that for this service but will for any new New Street oysters I make in the future.
I had 4 plates of the roasted oysters placed on tables around the yard.
We set up a table where I did shuck oysters and a had a good flow of interest. I also prepared a traditional mignonette sauce & lemon wedges. Fifth Bend oysters I must say are Dlectable. The oyster holds its shape beautifully. They maintain the cold and salty liquor not too salty, very clear, you also get a quick mineral shot on the back end.
I prepared lobster salad 3 ways and thinned out clam chowder base from Sayle’s with their clam broth. Killer. The crock pot of this was refilled a number of times before running out. We cooked off 14 lobsters for the party & had 6 the following night which we grilled for immediate friends and family who were lucky enough to enjoy the island a few more days. Grilled lobster is by far the most sublime way to enjoy lobster. I’ll share the lobster salad recipes under separate cover
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