Sauce Oysters

[Anna N]

Can anyone tell me what sauce oysters are? They are called for as an ingredient in an old English recipe for Lancashire Hotpot  from Victorian times.
 

I'm not asking about oyster sauce.  I am not asking about sauce for oysters. Both of which Google is happy to give me. 
Thanks. 

[Dave the Cook]

A wild guess, based on reading of Mrs. Beeton's receipt for -- sorry, oyster sauce. Her oyster sauce is nothing like the Asian version, but instead seems to be oysters in a white sauce, meant to accompany fish or simply prepared chicken. So I'm wondering if sauce oysters are oysters suitable for making a sauce with -- not pretty enough for other presentations, but acceptable under a blanket of bechamel. Maybe?

[Dejah]

 Would they just be oysters that are too small or not of the best quality to be featured as a main dish on their own?

 

Edited January 30, 2023 by Dejah (log)

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, Dave the Cook said:

A wild guess, based on reading of Mrs. Beeton's receipt for -- sorry, oyster sauce. Her oyster sauce is nothing like the Asian version, but instead seems to be oysters in a white sauce, meant to accompany fish or simply prepared chicken. So I'm wondering if sauce oysters are oysters suitable for making a sauce with -- not pretty enough for other presentations, but acceptable under a blanket of bechamel. Maybe?

 I wondered that, too.

[Alex]

3 hours ago, Anna N said:

Can anyone tell me what sauce oysters are? They are called for as an ingredient in an old English recipe for Lancashire Hotpot  from Victorian times.
 

I'm not asking about oyster sauce.  I am not asking about sauce for oysters. Both of which Google is happy to give me. 
Thanks. 

 

Those are oysters that give you back talk when you try to open them. Oh, wait -- those are saucy oysters. Never mind. Carry on.

[Joe Blowe]

My guess, based on Googling "sauce oysters" "beeton", seems to suggest it was a size or grade of oyster.

 

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:Mrs_Beeton's_Book_of_Household_Management.djvu/414

 

That page shows recipes that include oysters and sauce oysters...

 

P.S. I just have to mention here that after all these years eating raw oysters, I finally won the vibriosis lottery last month! Not fun 🤢

[Katie Meadow]

I would agree that sauce oysters must be oysters that you wouldn't want to eat otherwise, big ones most likely, like the biggest sized quahogs used for chowder. I still don't understand why you would want oysters in a stewed lamb and lamb kidney dish though. But in my dotage my imagination isn't what it used to be, nor are my tastebuds as inclusive.

[liuzhou]

7 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

oysters that you wouldn't want to eat otherwise, big ones most likely, like the biggest sized quahogs used for chowder.

 

In the last few months, there has been a craze here for huge oysters, to the extent that I can't get regular ones any more. The shops are too busy striving to sell the largest samples they can source.

 

Image from Taobao advertisement

 

I really don't understand it. I find that the medium sized are tastier and more appealing. Perhaps something to so with me eating them raw, where as the locals are sure they will drop dead instantly if they eat anything raw other than cucumber. They generally grill them with garlic.

 

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-04-13/Live-A-peek-at-China-s-largest-oyster-farm-ZqxhHp9jkQ/index.html

Edited January 30, 2023 by liuzhou (log)

[Tropicalsenior]

11 hours ago, Joe Blowe said:

vibriosis lottery

Holy cow! Just Googled it but had to stop reading when I got to the limb amputation part. Now I know why I don't eat raw oysters.

[Anna N]

11 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

I would agree that sauce oysters must be oysters that you wouldn't want to eat otherwise, big ones most likely, like the biggest sized quahogs used for chowder. I still don't understand why you would want oysters in a stewed lamb and lamb kidney dish though. But in my dotage my imagination isn't what it used to be, nor are my tastebuds as inclusive.

If you care to Google you will find a number of recipes that include oysters in beef stews and beef pies. 

[Katie Meadow]

20 minutes ago, Anna N said:

If you care to Google you will find a number of recipes that include oysters in beef stews and beef pies. 

Yes, I can see that. It doesn't appeal to me, though. I rarely eat beef and I like my oysters small and delicate, raw on the half shell. I've never really liked grilled oysters or oyster chowder or oyster po'boys or hangtown fry. For me the brine is half the pleasure. But I do understand how one might be inclined to throw a large stray oyster into a pot of stew rather than waste it. And I assume you might develop a taste for it if it was common in your neck of the woods.