Crispy, crunchy, fried oysters are a guilty pleasure of mine which I splurge on only occasionally, usually when we go out to eat. But when I do, I always enjoy these briny bivalves, which taste like the sea.
Today I was in oyster bliss as I prepared this tasty batch of the Best Southern Crispy Fried Oysters, with their delectable cornmeal coating. I also ate half of them even though it was only 10 o’clock in the morning. Yes, such is the life of a food blogger, but who am I to knock it!
Now, I confess I am not wild about eating raw oysters and have to have so many crackers and so much cocktail sauce that it just doesn’t seem worthwhile. But I’ll take a fried oyster any day!
I am, however, a little of a fried oyster snob and prefer a crisp cornmeal coating. Yes, I know folks coat their fried oysters with lots of different things such as crushed crackers, breadcrumbs, and even tempura batter. But to me, oysters and cornmeal are the way to go.
You also might be wondering why I call them the Best Southern Crispy Fried Oysters? Well, that’s easy! They are the best fried oysters I have ever had. It’s a Southern recipe because I soak them in buttermilk before dredging them in cornmeal which makes they crispy, and I fry the oysters in peanut oil.
I already know what you are probably thinking. Sharon, all of this sounds great, but I don’t like to fry anything in my house; and yes, I agree there are lots of reasons for this. The smell, the grease splatter, the mess, etc.! In fact, I’m right there with you and only do so rarely. However, what if I told you there was a way to minimize the smell, the grease splatter, and the mess and this 3-step (dunk, dredge and fry) fried oyster recipe is really, really easy? Are you with me now?
Tips:
Using a large stock pot or dutch oven with high sides instead of a cast iron pan will keep the oil from splattering all over your stove. And, if you have a screen grease splatter guard to cover your pot with it works even better.
The seafood and oil smell can be minimized by boiling several cups of vinegar and water for about 10 minutes.
Best Southern Crispy Fried Oysters are delicious served as a main dish or as an appetizer.
If you love seafood like I do, you might also like these quick and easy recipes: Oysters Rockefeller, Quick and Easy Buffalo Shrimp, and Baked Parmesan Grouper. Click here if you would like to see all of my seafood recipes.
How to make the Best Southern Crispy Fried Oysters!
Place a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the oil.
While the oil heats, pour the oysters into a strainer and let them drain.
Pour buttermilk in a medium-size bowl and add the drained oysters.
Place the cornmeal, flour, creole seasoning and salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
Take the oysters one at a time from the buttermilk and dredge in the cornmeal mixture. Toss gently and make sure that the oyster is coated all over.
Place the coated oysters on a metal cooling rack until all of them have been coated.
Use a candy or deep-fry thermometer to test the oil temperature and when it has reached 375 degrees, carefully add the oysters, one at a time. It works best to only cook 6-8 at a time depending on the size of your pan. (Keep the heat at 375 degrees by increasing or decreasing the heat.)
Let the oysters fry for about 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally or until they are golden brown and the edges are curled.
Use a slotted spoon and remove the oysters from the oil. Place on a paper towel to drain.
Repeat until the rest of the oysters are cooked and serve immediately with tartar sauce, cocktail sauce or remoulade.
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Best Southern Crispy Fried Oysters
Ingredients
- 1 pint fresh shucked oysters depending on their size there should be around 20 in a pint
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1-1/4 cup fine yellow cornmeal
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp Creole seasoning I use Zatarains
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 quart peanut oil
Instructions
- Place a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the oil.
- While the oil heats, pour the oysters into a strainer and let them drain.
- Pour buttermilk in a medium-size bowl and add the drained oysters.
- Place the cornmeal, flour, creole seasoning and salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
- Take the oysters one at a time and dredge in the cornmeal mixture. Toss gently and make sure that the oyster is coated all over.
- Place the coated oysters on a metal cooling rack until all of them have been coated.
- Use a candy or deep-fry thermometer to test the oil temperature and when it has reached 375 degrees, carefully add the oysters, one at a time. It works best to only cook 6-8 at a time depending on the size of your pan. (Keep the heat at 375 degrees by increasing or decreasing the heat.)
- Let the oysters fry for about 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally or until they are golden brown and the edges are curled.
- Use a slotted spoon and remove the oysters from the oil. Place on a paper towel to drain.
- Repeat until the rest of the oysters are cooked and serve immediately with tartar sauce, cocktail sauce or remoulade.
This coating was just perfect for perfect oysters! Yum yum. However, the one correction I would suggest is . . . never, I mean NEVER, drain ANY fried food on a paper towel. Use a wire basket with a paper towel-lined tray underneath. Drains and doesn’t hold the grease on the food. Try it – you’ll like it!
This is the best oyster recipe I have tried! Follow the very simple recipe and you will not be disappointed.
We did this today and it was perfect. We had a little different ratio but did the easy math and they came out perfect. Thanks to the “supply chain issues” we couldn’t find yellow corn meal (seriously in Charlotte NC and several stores and no yellow corn meal). So, we used white corn meal and it still worked out great. Thanks.
Let’s Go Brandon!!
Made these last night and they were absolutely perfect, light and crisp on the outside lucious and soft oysters on the inside. These will be a favorite in our household now. Used them in tacos, but they would be also perfect as an appetizer or meal. Just YUM!
Difficult to regulate heat. I got the oil to 375, but when I dropped the oysters in the temp went right to 400 and first batch burned. Then oil dropped quickly and other batches cooked fine at 300. Any tips?
Hi Syd,
I’m sorry you had problems regulating the oil heat. I wish I had a magic answer to solve your issues; however, the burners on every stove are different, and there are also differences in electric, gas, induction, and glass top burners. I have both glass top and induction, and since the glass top burners are very slow to respond, I sometimes have to completely remove my pan to another burner to slow things down. On the other hand, the induction burners change temperatures very quickly when adjusted up or down. The only tip I can give is to know your stove, continue using a thermometer, and note how an adjustment to your burner affects the temperature. The other thought I had was maybe the heat was on too high when you added your first batch of oysters. If anything, the oil temperature should have gone down, not up! Maybe next time, try keeping the oil at a consistent temperature by turning the heat up or down for a few minutes before adding any food. I do hope you enjoyed the oysters, and good luck!
Sharon
Made them for Christmas Eve! Perfect!! I used Ole Bay seasoning. I’m from the Mississippi Gulf Coast and the recipe compares very favorably!
Really great, followed recipe exactly, except used fry pan so i could set temp at 375. Peanut oil came in 1.5 pint container, i just used that. Had to search a little for creole seasoning, but I found some. Cajun seasoning was everywhere, but I held out for creole. Was absolutely great. Dont overcook, go with small batches.
Can you freeze these and bake them later?
No, I’m sorry, but you can not freeze fried oysters. It will change the texture of the oysters and the coating will be soggy.
Thanks for the recipe. Being Christmas I got a craving for oysters. My dad made the best oyster stew (milk based broth) on Christmas morning. I prefer good fried ones. I did modify yours. Instead of flour I used use 1 cup of plain panko bread crumbs and increased the yellow cornmeal. I only had Old Bay seafood seasoning and Canola oil for frying. OMG, they turned out awesome, about the best I’ve ever had.