Pickled Oysters.—A few pickled oysters may be served instead of clams during warm weather. Scald a quart of oysters a moment, drain, and put them in jars. To a pint of oyster liquor, add half a pint of hot water and half a pint of hot vinegar; pour over the oysters; add three cloves, four whole peppers, a small bit of mace, and a slice of lemon, to each jar. This will be sufficient for two ordinary fruit-jars.
Scalloped Oysters.—Put in the bottom of a yellow dish two ounces of sweet butter, divided into little pieces. Add a layer of raw oysters, and cover them with cracker-dust or bread-crumbs, and add salt and pepper to taste; another layer of oysters, and so on until the dish is full, the last or top layer to be crumbs, and between each layer there should be a small amount of butter. Moisten the ingredients with a liberal quantity of oyster liquid, put small butter balls on top of the dish, and bake a delicate brown color. Oysters were formerly baked in a scalloped or shell-shaped dish, hence the name.
Oyster Salad.—Boil two dozen small oysters for five minutes in water enough to cover them; add a little salt and a tablespoonful of vinegar; drain and cool. Put into a salad-bowl the centre leaves of two heads of cabbage lettuce, add the oysters whole, pour over them a mayonnaise; garnish with oyster-crabs, hard-boiled eggs, and, if liked, a few anchovies cut into fillets.
Plain Fried Oysters.—As a rule, fried oysters are not served as a breakfast dish, owing to the coating with which they are usually surrounded. Served plain, however, they are quite acceptable. Dry them well in a napkin, and roll them in a little flour to insure that they are quite dry, then cook them in a very little hot dripping.
Miss Parloa’s “New Cook-Book” says, “a quart of oysters is enough for a party of ten” (p. 118). There are from twenty to twenty-five oysters in a quart, rarely more than this.
Oyster Toast.—Select fifteen plump oysters; chop them fine, and add salt, pepper, and a suspicion of nutmeg. Beat up the yolks of two eggs with a gill of cream; whisk this into the simmering oysters. When set, pour the whole over slices of buttered toast.
Oyster Omelet.—Stew six oysters in their own liquor for five minutes; remove the oysters, and thicken the liquid with a walnut of butter rolled in flour; season with salt and cayenne; whisk this to a cream. Chop the oysters, and add them to the sauce; simmer until the sauce thickens. Beat up four eggs lightly, and add a tablespoonful of cream; turn out into a hot pan, and fry a light gold-color. Before folding the omelet entirely, place the oysters with part of the sauce within, and turn it over on a hot dish. The remainder of the sauce should be poured round it.
Oysters Broiled.—Rub the bars of a wire broiler with a little sweet butter; dry twelve large, plump oysters in a napkin, and place them on the broiler; brush a little butter over them, and broil over a fire free from flame and smoke. When done on both sides, arrange them neatly on toast; pour a little well-seasoned melted butter over them, and serve.
Do not bread-crumb oysters intend for broiling.
Tripe with Oysters.—Tripe, when properly prepared by a simple process, is very nutritious and easily digested.