Cocktail Sauce Has Its Place…But Not on My Oyster

Cocktail Sauce Has Its Place…But Not on My Oyster

I like cocktail sauce. Every Thanksgiving, we prepare our own with catsup, horseradish, lemon and hot sauce. We started making our own after we realized that we could never get a store brand with enough horseradish tang. For this food party, I always put out a bowl of cocktail sauce with some big shrimp. This bright-flavored sweet/hot/sour condiment complements the light funk of shrimp (and, yes, I do enjoy the way this sauce works with bottom-feeding slightly garbagy under-taste of shrimp – people seem not to usually talk about this, but there is some sensory similarity between shrimp and day-old kitchen waste).

I am less enthusiastic about cocktail sauce with oysters. A few days ago, I was talking with Erin Murray, a nice lady who wrote a book, Shucked, about leaving her desk job and working on an oyster farm. She told me that her understanding was that cocktail sauce was developed in the Midwest, years ago, to cover the slightly rotten taste of oysters that had been shipped from the East (due diligence googling has not yet validated this origin myth – if you have any theories, I’d love to hear them).

In those days before refrigeration, Murray explained, oysters were sent by train (or in some cases canal barge) in big barrels, padded (and I suppose insulated somewhat )with sawdust. Spoilage would not have been uncommon.

Cocktail sauce is almost universally the condiment served alongside oysters, whether you ask for it or not. Not once have I ever received a platter of oysters with bright red sauce without the thought flashing through my mind, “Really, you want me to put that overwhelmingly powerful stuff on these beautiful oysters? Crazy!”



Slathering cocktail sauce on oysters is like splashing A-1 over an aged New York strip at David Burke’s. It may not taste bad, really, but you’re covering over the unique wonderfulness of the protein with the massive flavor of the powerful condiment.

Murray recommends with oysters a mignonette, which I would definitely prefer, but even that sauce seems a little harsh for the delicacy of these sea creatures.

Of course, if you’re doing a Henry VIII style app course of a few hundred oysters, maybe you want to vary the flavor a little when you get to oyster 150 or 151. But though oysters used to be cheap street food, they’re now upwards of a buck or two a pop, so we don’t eat as many, and it seems a shame to shroud the few we have in a sauce that camouflages the subtle character and homogenizes the flavor oyster-to-oyster.

To obscure the deep deliciousness of these little bastids seems sad…unless, of course, they’re rotten or you don’t really like the taste of oysters.

"Cocktail sauce is almost universally the condiment served alongside oysters,"

Not in New Orleans at the Acme Oyster House. Tabasco is the condiment provided. I have switched to Crystal after having Crystal at Commander's Palace many years ago. Crystal is not as hot and maybe a little sweeter and you can savor the food more, rather than the heat.-Dick

budrichard wrote:"Cocktail sauce is almost universally the condiment served alongside oysters,"

Not in New Orleans at the Acme Oyster House. Tabasco is the condiment provided. I have switched to Crystal after having Crystal at Commander's Palace many years ago. Crystal is not as hot and maybe a little sweeter and you can savor the food more, rather than the heat.-Dick

And I probably should have qualified even more that it's "almost universally the condiment served alongside oysters" in the United States. In France, the oyster accompaniment seems usually to be just lemon; in Australia, it's something like a combo of catsup and mayo (perhaps actually worse than our cocktail sauce).

Murray said she likes a little hot sauce now and again as it brings out the briny sweetness of some oysters.

Me, I prefer going commando.

If you have to put something on your oysters, you shouldn't be eating them. How could you possibly taste the liquor which is an integral part of the experience.

I like a little squeeze of lemon as I feel like it compliments both the liquor and the oyster. Cocktail sauce is a definite no-no.

jesteinf wrote:I like a little squeeze of lemon as I feel like it compliments both the liquor and the oyster. Cocktail sauce is a definite no-no.

That's exactly how I like mine, although I will occasionally use a bit of hot sauce if it's available for the sake of variety.

jesteinf wrote:I like a little squeeze of lemon as I feel like it compliments both the liquor and the oyster. Cocktail sauce is a definite no-no.

I'm going to hazard that your spartan approach to oyster eating (like mine) is the exception. People can eat their food however they like (big of me, I know), but I always like to see how others approach their chow, and I'd say that most remove the oyster and dip into sauce before eating, frequently neglecting the liquor, which mbh rightly acclaims.

Fun-ish fact: oyster farms, unlike (say) salmon farms, actually do the environment some good as the little guys filter zillions of gallons of water and leave little waste. It would be a better world if there were more oysters.

David Hammond wrote:Cocktail Sauce Has Its Place…But Not on My Oyster

She told me that her understanding was that cocktail sauce was developed in the Midwest, years ago, to cover the slightly rotten taste of oysters that had been shipped from the East (due diligence googling has not yet validated this origin myth – if you have any theories, I’d love to hear them).

Two people you may want to contact are Jon Rowley of Seatle, Washington and Joan Reardon of Chicago. Joan's written a book on Oysters.

Jon is very involved in oysters. He just had his Walrus and Carpenter Picnic, where you go out at low tide to eat really fresh oysters and drink wine at night. His wife is a Pie Queen, too.

Regards,

For all you bbq'rs out there, throw a few 1/2 shells on the smoker for 5 minutes with a bit of lemon. Nothing easier, nothing tastier.

I've gotten to the point with really good oysters where I don't put anything on them...just seems like a waste.

=R=

David Hammond wrote:[he told me that her understanding was that cocktail sauce was developed in the Midwest, years ago, to cover the slightly rotten taste of oysters that had been shipped from the East (due diligence googling has not yet validated this origin myth – if you have any theories, I’d love to hear them).

In those days before refrigeration, Murray explained, oysters were sent by train (or in some cases canal barge) in big barrels, padded (and I suppose insulated somewhat )with sawdust. Spoilage would not have been uncommon.

No amount of cocktail sauce can cover up the taste (or after effects) of spoiled oysters. I'm doubting this theory big time. Personally, back when I was allowed to eat them, a naked oyster with an occasional squeeze of lemon was my preferred style.

belon oysters by Mel Hill Photography, on Flickr

These Belons got nada and were better for it!

stevez wrote:

David Hammond wrote:[he told me that her understanding was that cocktail sauce was developed in the Midwest, years ago, to cover the slightly rotten taste of oysters that had been shipped from the East (due diligence googling has not yet validated this origin myth – if you have any theories, I’d love to hear them).

In those days before refrigeration, Murray explained, oysters were sent by train (or in some cases canal barge) in big barrels, padded (and I suppose insulated somewhat )with sawdust. Spoilage would not have been uncommon.

No amount of cocktail sauce can cover up the taste (or after effects) of spoiled oysters. I'm doubting this theory big time. Personally, back when I was allowed to eat them, a naked oyster with an occasional squeeze of lemon was my preferred style.

I hear what you're saying and maybe "rotten" was too strong a word. I've had oysters that were, let's say, "past their prime" without actually being spoiled, and at that point, you might as well dip them in whatever you got.

I like oysters a lot, but I dont tend to eat them unless I am somewhere that I can reasonably have many of them, like in New Orleans. I would say that over 90% of my lifetime oysters have been eaten there, and NO is one place where I think that cocktail sauce, in moderation, is acceptable. Since the southern oysters tend to be bigger, and less subtle in flavor, they are harder to overwhelm with sauce. I use various combinations of ketchup, hot sauce, horseradish, and lemon (in part depending on what number abita I am on). On the rare occasion that I order oysters in more northern climes, where they tend to be smaller and more delicate, I usually just add a little acid, either lemon or mignonette.

-Will

So if someone would want to try oysters for the first time in a restaurant (not buy and bring home) what would be the best place to do it in the Chicago area to ensure they were fresh, served correctly, and cost effective?

toria wrote:So if someone would want to try oysters for the first time in a restaurant (not buy and bring home) what would be the best place to do it in the Chicago area to ensure they were fresh, served correctly, and cost effective?

My 3 favorite places for oysters right now are Balsan, The Publican, and GT Fish & Oyster. If you've never had oysters, I'd recommend GT as they usually have several varieties to choose from (both east and west coast) and their servers are pretty knowledgeable. IIRC, their selection tends to be just slightly larger than Publican. Really, though, you can't go wrong at any of the three.

jesteinf wrote:

toria wrote:So if someone would want to try oysters for the first time in a restaurant (not buy and bring home) what would be the best place to do it in the Chicago area to ensure they were fresh, served correctly, and cost effective?

My 3 favorite places for oysters right now are Balsan, The Publican, and GT Fish & Oyster. If you've never had oysters, I'd recommend GT as they usually have several varieties to choose from (both east and west coast) and their servers are pretty knowledgeable. IIRC, their selection tends to be just slightly larger than Publican. Really, though, you can't go wrong at any of the three.

I would have said the bar at Shaw's but I'm no expert, I just like the fact that I can slurp down a 1/2 dozen with a nice beer and still make my train home.

thanks!!

toria wrote:So if someone would want to try oysters for the first time in a restaurant (not buy and bring home) what would be the best place to do it in the Chicago area to ensure they were fresh, served correctly, and cost effective?

I'd also suggest Shaw's, but I would say to go there for their Sunday Brunch. If you don't like the oysters, there are a million other items on the buffet that you would like. No harm, no foul.

good idea.

FYI;

Monday Feb 6 will be the next 50 cent Oyster Monday at Shaw's Oyster Bar, 3-6pm. Slurp slurp slurp!

January 12 post here:
http://twitter.com/shellyfromshaws

I am so astounded by the fact that you put horseradish and hot sauce in your homemade cocktail sauce ... must not let husband know this ... that I can't begin to grasp the rest of your post about oysters.

I can't imagine a worse combo than raw oysters and cocktail sauce. Does anyone actually do this?

teatpuller wrote:I can't imagine a worse combo than raw oysters and cocktail sauce. Does anyone actually do this?

I'd done this before when I first started eating oysters. It isn't gross, but it does cover up the taste of the oyster.

David Hammond wrote:I like cocktail sauce. Every Thanksgiving, we prepare our own with catsup, horseradish, lemon and hot sauce. We started making our own after we realized that we could never get a store brand with enough horseradish tang.

Have you tried grating your own horseradish root within an hour or so of serving the sauce? It makes a huge difference and takes the root's contribution beyond mere tang.

budrichard wrote:"Cocktail sauce is almost universally the condiment served alongside oysters,"

Not in New Orleans at the Acme Oyster House. Tabasco is the condiment provided. I have switched to Crystal after having Crystal at Commander's Palace many years ago. Crystal is not as hot and maybe a little sweeter and you can savor the food more, rather than the heat.-Dick

It's been a long time (>15yr) since I set foot in Acme but I distinctly remember while standing at the bar being presented with a do-it-yourself cocktail sauce kit. Without me asking, bottles of ketchup, horseradish and Tabasco plus some lemon wedges and a tiny mixing bowl were set down on the bar together with the oysters, which were placed directly on the marble. This happened on more than one occasion.

If you go through the hundreds of Acme photos on Yelp it looks like these days the raw oysters come with a little plastic tub of cocktail sauce and some lemon wedges. I'm sure there are always bottles of Tabasco nearby, as at seemingly every restaurant in New Orleans.

David Hammond wrote:A few days ago, I was talking with Erin Murray, a nice lady who wrote a book, Shucked, about leaving her desk job and working on an oyster farm. She told me that her understanding was that cocktail sauce was developed in the Midwest, years ago, to cover the slightly rotten taste of oysters that had been shipped from the East (due diligence googling has not yet validated this origin myth – if you have any theories, I’d love to hear them).

In those days before refrigeration, Murray explained, oysters were sent by train (or in some cases canal barge) in big barrels, padded (and I suppose insulated somewhat )with sawdust. Spoilage would not have been uncommon.

I haven't looked into it very carefully but I'm skeptical of that story. Is it in her book?

In 1889 the New York Sun wrote:"Yes," said an old Californian last evening in Delmonico's, "a dash of absinthe is good in a cocktail but there is a cocktail we get in San Francisco that knocks out any of your cocktails here. It's the oyster cocktail." Not one of a dozen New Yorkers who sat at the table had ever heard of an oyster cocktail. Continuing, the Californian said: "Put half a dozen to a dozen small oysters into a goblet or beer glass, with enough of the liquor to cover them. Salt, pepper, catsup, a dash of Tobasco sauce, half a spoonful of Worcestershire, two or three spoonfuls of vinegar, and sometimes a pinch of horseradish. Stir it up with a spoon and drink it down. It's hot, but it's food for the stomach to work on at night. The oyster cocktail is as much of an institution in San Francisco as the whiskey cocktail is here.

The only mentions of oysters sauced with catsup and Tabasco (and sometimes horseradish) in the Chicago Tribune come more than a decade later. It sounds like oyster cocktails became fashionable in Chicago in the late 1890s or soon after. Chicago had numerous oyster houses decades before that. Raw oysters were commonly eaten at these restaurants but I've been unable to find any mention of sauces.

Never made cocktail sauce with ketchup, I always use heinz chili sauce as the red base. Lately, I've been going to Froniter for oysters squirt of lemon, and fresh horseradish. I change it up too sometimes with Louisiana hot sauce.

stevez wrote:Personally, back when I was allowed to eat them,

Ok, I'll bite.

"allowed to eat them"

??

Authenticity would seem to demand that a tad of gin be added to the fresh horse radish, chili sauce,
Wooster and Tabasco blend, eh? Not, of course, that I still use such a concoction on my PEI oysters... (But I did back in the Day...)

A drop of lemon, that would seem sufficient...

Belons, BELONS??!! O.M.G. --where could divinity such as that ever be found?!!

Geo

Where are people buying "affordable" oysters at retail places? Does such a thing exist? Or is it better to go to Shaws and belly up to the bar and not have to cut your hands shucking?

I like variety and nostalgia, among other things, in my eating experiences. For example, I love Chicago deep dish pizza but would not want that to be the only kind of pizza available.

So I do sometimes want to eat oysters on saltines with a dash of cocktail sauce, shredded horseradish, and lemon, the way I had them at a little beachside, red-checked-tablecloth shack on a memorable vacation trip to Panama City, Florida.

Other times, just some lemon. Other times, mignonette. Other times, nothing. Haven't tried them on the grill or smoker yet, and haven't ever had oysters Rockefeller; they're on my list for 2012.