Darina Allen: Recipes to make the most of the native Irish oyster

"I can confidently say that there’s nothing to beat the flavour of Irish oysters - only the little Olympia oysters from the west coast around Puget Sound come close..."

Sat, 14 Oct, 2023 - 02:00

Darina Allen

Learn how to cook with Darina's top recipes

There is an R in the month… so, hurrah, we’re in oyster season again and will be until the end of April.

I love oysters, but didn’t always.

I’d never even seen one until I came to Ballymaloe in the late 60s and even then, I was very reluctant to taste them.

Everyone around me seemed so excited about these strange-looking molluscs so I decided I’d better pluck up the courage to try them… then the dilemma, should I chew or just swallow?

I didn’t much like the first one or even the second.

The aficionados urged me to keep on trying. ‘You’ve got to eat five or six before you’ll start to relish them’ and how right they were.

Suddenly I loved the delicious briny flavour and slithery texture and now I will gleefully tuck into a dozen when I’m fortunate to have the opportunity.

I went to the Billion Oyster Project fundraiser (billionoysterproject.org) at the Navy Boatyard in Brooklyn last year.

This is a New York City-based not-for-profit initiative dreamed up by Murray Fisher, Pete Malinowski, and friends from Fishers Island to re-populate New York harbour with a billion oysters by 2035.

I tasted over 20 different oysters out of the 40 plus from all around the American coast.

Many were very good, but I can confidently say that there’s nothing to beat the flavour of Irish oysters.

Only the little Olympia oysters from the west coast around Puget Sound come close.

All over the world, there are oyster restoration projects underway for several very good reasons.

Oysters are bivalves, filter feeders that clean the water which encourages marine plant life and allows sea life to recover.

They also grow in clumps, which create a barrier to protect against coastal erosion — win, win all the way.

During the past few decades, the native Irish oyster almost became extinct.

Archaeologists have found oyster middens in Cork Harbour that date back to Neolithic times.

For centuries, oysters were overfished, a cheap source of highly nutritious coastal food, loaded with zinc, calcium, selenium as well as Vitamin A and Vitamin B12.

At one stage, labourers could not be fed oysters too frequently, similar to wild salmon, when it was cheap and plentiful before overfishing decimated the stocks.

Rossmore Oysters in Cork Harbour developed a methodology for breeding oysters in saltwater beds on the edge of the estuary.

The stocks are gradually recovering, so there is growing optimism that the native Irish oyster may be saved from virtual extinction.

The flat native Irish oysters take four years to reach maturity and for my taste are best enjoyed au naturel with maybe a drop of lemon juice.

The more accessible gigas oysters, in their beautiful curvaceous shells, mature faster in 18 months to 2 years.

They too are delicious unadorned but also take well to tangy toppings and are delicious cooked.

Who remembers with nostalgia, Declan Ryan’s oysters with cucumber and beurre blanc from the Arbutus Lodge menu in the 1980s?

Ballymaloe House still do oysters in champagne sauce occasionally (see my Irish Examiner column, February 11, 2023), another exquisite oyster classic.

I also loved the smoked oysters Joe Savage and The Smokin Soul Grill team shared at the Grub Circus during Waterford’s Altogether Now Festival.

They had barbecue gear, but one could smoke some in a tin box over a gas jet in the kitchen.

Cooked or smoked oysters are a delicious introduction if you don’t relish the idea of eating them unadorned.

Whatever you do, seek out the native Irish oyster and give thanks it’s been saved from extinction.

How to Open an Oyster

You will need an oyster knife.

It’s wise to protect your hand with a folded tea towel when opening oysters.

Wrap the tea towel round your hand, then lay the deep shell on the tea towel with the wide end pointing inwards.

Grip the oyster firmly in your protected hand while you insert the tip of the knife into the hinge, and twist to lever the two shells apart; you’ll need to exert quite a lot of pressure, so it’s foolhardy not to protect your hand well.

Then, slide the blade of the knife under the top shell to detach the oyster from the shell.

Discard the top shell, then loosen the oyster from the deep shell, flip over to reveal the plump side, and don’t lose the precious briny juice.

Dervilla O'Flynn's Native Oysters Three Ways

Dervilla O’Flynn, Head Chef at Ballymaloe House kindly shared her recipe for three sauces with me. We have access to beautiful oysters all year round in Ireland. The Native oysters are now available, we are using Rossmore Oyster Farm in Cork and Kelly’s i

Servings

Course

Main

Ingredients

For cucumber water:
½ cucumber, not peeled
1 teaspoon rosé vinegar
¼-½ juice of 1 lime
Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For tomato water:
500g very ripe tomatoes
7 basil leaves
½ tsp caster sugar
½ level tsp Maldon sea salt
pinch of cracked black pepper
For Rosé Mignonette:
6 tbsp good quality rosé vinegar
1 banana shallot, finely diced
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Method

For cucumber water:
Blend all the ingredients together with a blender. Strain through fine muslin for a clean bright green water and chill.
You can finely dice a little bit more cucumber and add it to the water if you want the texture of cucumber as well.
We sometimes freeze the water and scratch with a fork for a cucumber granita which is gorgeous served on an oyster too.
For tomato water:
Cut the tomatoes into coarse pieces and place in a large bowl. Tear up the basil leaves and add in with the sugar, salt and pepper. Use a handheld blender to pulse chop the ingredients to a rough and coarse purée. Do not over blend as you will end up with a cloudy water that will spoil the appearance of the dish. Place the mixture in a large square of muslin, tie securely and hang over a bowl to allow the water to drip from the mixture. This can be done overnight if time allows.
When ready to serve, taste the tomato water and adjust the seasoning accordingly.
For Rosé Mignonette:
Put all three ingredients in a small saucepan.
Turn on the lowest heat and stand beside it while it gently warms up. As soon as it starts to get warm, turn it off and let it cool completely.
Keep in the fridge until needed. It will keep for a few weeks.
To serve in all cases:
Nap each opened oyster with a teaspoon of cucumber water or tomato water - or only half a teaspoon of the Rosé Mignonette.

Oysters with Namjim and Crispy Onions

recipe by:Darina Allen

An addictive combination. We use the Gigas oysters for this dish.

Servings

Preparation Time

20 mins

Cooking Time

10 mins

Total Time

30 mins

Course

Main

Ingredients

For the oysters:
4 shallots or small onions, sliced
namjim (see recipe)
extra virgin olive oil
24 Gigas oysters
fresh seaweed, if available
sprigs of fresh coriander
For the namjim:
2 garlic cloves, peeled
4 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
sea salt
1 green chilli, deseeded and chopped
2 shallots, finely chopped
3 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp palm sugar
2 tbsp fish sauce (nam pla)

Method

For the oysters:
Peel and slice the shallots or onions thinly.
Spread out on kitchen paper to dry.
Meanwhile, make the namjim as per the instructions and keep in a glass jam jar.
Heat about 2.5cm of oil in a frying pan, then fry the onions until crisp and golden.
Drain on kitchen paper.
For the namjim:
Place the garlic, coriander and a pinch of sea salt in a pestle and mortar and pound until well crushed.
Add the chopped chilli and continue to pound.
Add the chopped shallots, lime juice, palm sugar and fish sauce and mix.
Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary.
To serve:
Lay a few sprigs of seaweed on each plate, if available.
Open the oysters and nestle 3 or 4 on top of the seaweed.
Spoon a generous half teaspoon of namjim on top of each oyster and top with some crispy onions and a sprig of fresh coriander. Divine!

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