Baked Oysters and Ham

[Busboy]

I recall reading somewhere about a classic recipe combining baked oysters and good old Virginia country ham -- surely this is a classic Chesapeake Bay-area combination -- and, while I'm sure I could riff something up, I'd appreciate listening if anyone actually knows a real recipe. Or, anyone who wants to take a blind but tasty stab at soemthing.

I'm thinking spinach, cream and breadcrumbs, fwiw.

[Hector]

ooww.. baking oysters.. what a culinary crime!

[Daniel]

I just ran into a recipe with duck,oysters and ham.. The Gift of Southern Cooking by Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock I think it was.

Edited November 22, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[Daniel]

Also... I make oyster stuffing sometimes.. What I do is, take oyster crackers.. Crush them.. Make a layer of crushed crackers.. Then layer oysters that have been scissored in half..Then butter.. Repeat.. Then pour heavy cream over the whole thing and bake.. Its awesome.. I would serve that stuffed inside a crown roast.. Or would make a great side dish to anything..

Edited November 22, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[Busboy]

ooww.. baking oysters.. what a culinary crime! 

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Deliver me from the purists!

[mikeycook]

I am not familiar with the Chesapeake version, but there is a Jasper White recipe for Oysters broiled with Pancetta and Leeks and I am sure you could substitute the pancetta with the country ham (cut into dice). The basic idea is to sautee the Pancetta and Leeks together until the Pancetta is crispy and the leeks are soft. That is spooned over shucked oysters. On top of that, put a mix of bread crumbs and parmesean (preferably parm-reg) cheese. Then put them under the broiler until the top is nicely browned. Good with a squeeze of lemon.

[handmc]

The classic reciepe is (deep) fried oysters and fried or baked Va ham.

I like your idea. Oysters, Ham, spinach, maybe in a bachamel with a little nutmeg, some cheese, maybe parm topped with buttered cracker crumbs and baked till brown.. mmmm I might just try that myself.

Let me know what you cook.

I have made braciole stuffed with oysters and spinach, bread crumbs and cheese. It was awesome, but Oy was it rich. You eat one and your done. Tastes good though.

braciole

[Busboy]

The classic reciepe is (deep) fried oysters and fried or baked Va ham.

I like your idea. Oysters, Ham, spinach, maybe in a bachamel with a little nutmeg, some cheese, maybe parm topped with buttered cracker crumbs and baked till brown.. mmmm I might just try that myself.

Let me know what you cook.

I have made braciole stuffed with oysters and spinach, bread crumbs and cheese. It was awesome, but Oy was it rich. You eat one and your done. Tastes good though.

braciole

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Are you allowed to use a word as Kosher as "oy" when talking about combining meat, shellfish and cheese? On the other hand, is it required?

[Daniel]

Hey,

It turns out I am completely out of my mind and never read any recipe that involved duck,ham,and oysters before..

[Dave the Cook]

Prudhomme has a recipe for tasso and oysters in Louisiana Kitchen. No spinach -- just cream and a buttload of green onions, served over pasta. Will that do?

[Busboy]

All good suggestions, thanks everyone. I'll probably try two or three different recipes based on suggestions here and whatever pops into my head. Just got back from Whole Foods with three dozen PEI's and two dozen cherrystones (kind of an "oyster helper" at 39 cents a pop, vs. $1.19 for the Sunnyside's and $1.49 for the Northumberlands).

Any opinions on whether the oysters will hold better actually on ice than in the fridge?

Also, it seemed as though it had been a while since the oysters were harvested, based on the date on the shipping order. The fishmonger said that they stay alive after harvest and that freshness was unaffected, but I'm a little skeptical. On the other hand, the shellfish I've gotten at WF has always tasted fresh, so maybe I'm just paranoid.

I was unloading the bags from the car this morning and reminded myself of the Thanksgiving where I'd found some Belons at one of the local fish markets -- something that has never happened since. I was staying at a friend's house and another friend had showed up to help cook for the 12 or 15 people expected and we decided that, since there were only a dozen Belons, there weren't enough to go around for all the guests, so we should eat them ourselves. And, even though it was only 10AM, we should have a little Sancerre with the oysters. Well, once you open that first bottle, you get a corkscrew rhythm going real fast, so cooking became a pretty jolly affair. As I recall, everything went well, and dinner was served at the traditional hour of about an hour after we said it would be served. After that, things get a little blurry, especially troubling as I was seated next to an acquaintence who is unquestionably the most intellectually intimidating human I know. I apparently served admirably during the cleanup phase as well. Nonetheless, I intend to hold off on the oysters -- a dozen of which are reserved for shooters -- until at least noon tomorrow.

[handmc]

Its been a while but the max I believe the food code put out by FDA allows is sale no more than 14 days after harvest. If you are concerned the Food Safety Information Service webpage, FSIS.gov, should have the time limit on it or will get you to the page that does.

If they are more than a week out I wouldn't eat them raw baking would be okay.

Your right btw I shouldn't have used OY when discussing trafe.

[Busboy]

Hi all --

We made three different oyster recipes and my wife did her classic country-club Clams Casino to stretch the shellfish budget. The best effort was based on mikeycook's suggestion, we slow cooked the leeks until they were almost carmelized, their sweetness and the salty-crunchy chopped ham worked together brilliantly and didn't overwhelm the bivalve. A variation on this recipe Oysters with Bacon and Cognac Butter, was quite good as well. The third effort, with spinach, bechamel and so on was fine but lacked zing. We also turned a dozen oysters into oyster shooters -- not actually cooking, but a good way to get the party rolling.

All shellfish were wolfed down, thanks for all your ideas.