With just a few simple ingredients, my step-by-step fried oyster recipe, plus proven tips and tricks, you too can be a superstar in the kitchen and make salty, silky, slightly sweet fried oysters encased in a classic, crispy, perfectly seasoned cornmeal crust.
Large stock pot, Dutch oven, or cast iron skillet with high sides
A screen grease splatter guard is optional but will minimize the oil splatter
Kitchen metal spider, or large slotted spoon
Deep fry or candy thermometer
wire cooling rack
Ingredients
1pintfreshly shucked raw oysters
2cupsbuttermilk
1¼cupfine yellow cornmeal
¾cupall-purpose flour
1tablespoonCreole seasoning
1teaspoonkosher salt
1quartpeanut oil
Instructions
While the oil heats, pour the oysters into a colander or strainer and let them drain. Then, rinse with fresh water to wash off any debris or shell fragments.
Pour the buttermilk into a medium-sized bowl and dunk the drained oysters. Let them marinate for 15 to 20 minutes.
Place the cornmeal, flour, creole seasoning, and salt in a shallow bowl or pie plate and whisk to combine.
Remove the oysters from the buttermilk one at a time and dredge them in the cornmeal mixture. Toss gently and make sure they are well coated, then shake any excess breading off.
Place the coated oysters on a metal cooling rack until all of them have been coated. Letting them sit for a few minutes helps to fuse the breading and buttermilk and keeps the breading from falling off when they are fried.
Place a large stockpot, Dutch oven, or cast iron skillet with high sides over medium-high heat and add one to two inches of oil.
When the oil reaches 350 °F, carefully add the oysters to fry one at a time. Depending on the size of your pan, it works best to fry in batches and only cook six to eight at a time. You do not want to crowd them. (Maintain a consistent heat of 350 °F by increasing or decreasing the heat under the pan.)
Let the oysters fry for about two to three minutes, stirring occasionally or until the breading is light golden brown and the meat is opaque with the edges slightly curled. Use a wire kitchen spider or slotted spoon to remove them from the oil. Place on a paper towel or wire cooling rack to drain.
Repeat until all of the oysters are fried and serve immediately. Optional, garnish with fresh lemon or lime slices and serve with your choice of sauce and sides.
Notes
Generally, most raw oysters are sold shucked and packaged in pint-size containers, which hold from sixteen to twenty oysters depending on their size. The number of servings you can get out of a pint depends on who will be eating them and the size of their appetite. For planning purposes, you can figure that a pint will feed two adults when you serve them as a dinner entrée and four adults when they are served as an appetizer. This recipe can be scaled up or down. The seafood and oil smell in your house can be minimized by boiling several cups of equal amounts of vinegar and water for about ten minutes.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 methods, they are available and deemed safe to eat all year round. Shucking oysters or removing their shell requires a special oyster knife and a certain amount of skill. If you want to learn how to shuck them, check out this video by America's Test Kitchen. Canned oysters, which can be purchased either fresh or smoked, are already cooked and unsuitable for this recipe.Try to maintain a consistent temperature when frying. Too low and your food will be greasy and soggy; too high and the food will burn before it is cooked through.Freshly shucked oysters can be stored in the coldest part of your refrigerator for up to five days.To keep your fried oysters warm while the rest cook, place them on a metal rack over a cookie sheet in a 200 °F oven.A fried oyster's minimum safe internal temperature is 145 °F, measured by an instant-read meat thermometer.If you don't have buttermilk, you can make your own by combining two tablespoons of white vinegar or lemon juice with two cups of whole milk. Let it sit for about five minutes, and voila, buttermilk.