Best Southern Crispy Fried Oysters

Oysters develop their shape, texture, and flavor from the waters they are grown in. Oysters harvested in the nutrient-rich waters along the Gulf Coast of Florida or Louisanna will have a slightly different taste from those harvested along the east coast of Maryland or North Carolina.

All varieties, whether wild or farmed, will have a silky, meaty texture and a salty-sweet creaminess. 

Add in a cornmeal crust, and a fried oyster tastes like sea spray from a crashing wave mixed with an explosion of briny, buttery freshness and delightful crunchiness.

Depending on where you live, most seafood markets sell fresh oysters, both in the shell and shucked. In our area, many oyster farmers also sell their farmed oysters directly at farmers’ markets and other venues.

If you are in the North Florida area, you can buy freshly harvested oysters at Southern Seafood Market or directly from my friend, Oyster Mom, who has an oyster farm in Oyster Bay, south of Tallahassee.

Unless you are an expert at shucking them, I recommend that you buy them already shucked.

Most larger grocery stores with seafood sections, such as Publix, also sell them. Generally, fresh oysters are packaged and sold by the pint.

Freshly shucked oysters should be stored in the coldest part of your refrigerator. They will keep for up to five days from the date you purchase them.

Oysters still in the shell or live oysters will keep for up to two weeks in the coldest part of your refrigerator. However, they are best eaten within seven days after they have been harvested. If an oyster is open, it should not be eaten.

In years past, oysters were only harvested and considered safe to eat in the colder months or months with an “r” in them.

Nowadays, with modern refrigeration and the cultivation of farm-raised oysters, they are considered safe to eat and available for purchase twelve months of the year. Wild oysters are generally harvested in the cooler fall months.

The Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea virginica) is the most common oyster found and harvested in salty brackish water along the Gulf coast and up the Atlantic coastline all the way up to Canada.

The majority of oysters consumed in the US are harvested in oyster farms and beds in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and along the east coast of the southern states.

The size of Eastern oysters depends on their age and where they live. In Florida’s warm waters, oysters mature in about two years. In the colder waters of the north, they can take longer to mature. They can be anywhere from two to five inches long.

In addition, there are Pacific varieties, which can be found along the West Coast of the US, and they tend to be larger.

Generally, most raw oysters are sold shucked and packaged in pint-size containers. Pints average from sixteen to twenty raw oysters depending on their size.

The number of servings from a pint of oysters depends on who will be eating them and their appetite.  In most cases, a pint will feed two adults when you serve them as a dinner entrée.

As an appetizer, a pint will usually feed three adults.

Many cooks do not rinse them when making dishes like Oysters Rockefeller or oyster stew because the salty brine or liquor that surrounds the oyster in the shell is packed with flavor.

However, because they may contain bits of shell or other debris after shucking, you might want to rinse them before making this recipe.

To keep the breading from falling off of the oysters when they are fried, after breading them, put the coated oysters on a metal cooling rack until they all have been coated. Then, let them sit for a few minutes before frying them.

The minimum safe internal temperature of a fried oyster is 145° F, as measured by an instant-read meat thermometer.

Although fried oysters, when served as an entrée, pair well with most side dishes, they are most often served with either cheese grits or french fries, cole slaw, and hush puppies. I have also served them with my southern potato salad, baked mac and cheese, smoked baked beans, air fryer twice-baked potatoes, and Hasselback potatoes. 

They are also delicious served instead of shrimp on a New Orleans-style po’boy sandwich or in a caesar salad, and they are an essential component on a fried seafood platter with fried catfish or fried grouper, fried crab claws, and fried shrimp. 

Fried oysters are typically served with either homemade or purchased tarter sauce, remoulade sauce, ketchup, or a seafood cocktail sauce. I have also seen them served with barbecue sauce, melted butter with lemon, and even buffalo sauce. 

Fried oysters are best eaten while they are still hot, right after they have been fried. If you do have leftovers, you can store them covered in the refrigerator for up to three days. I do not recommend freezing them.

They can be reheated on a wire rack in a 350° F oven for about five minutes or in an air fryer set at 400° F for about three minutes.