An Oyster Feast

If you listen carefully right now you will hear whole beds of Wellfleet oysters fattening themselves up for a winter that many of them won’t see. That’s because thousands of the salty, creamy-fleshed bivalves will instead soon be gobbled up raw and cooked, cold and hot, plain and fancy. It’s the pinnacle of oyster season on the Outer Cape, and OysterFest is upon us.

To mark the occasion, I asked a few of the people who are part of Wellfleet’s oyster economy to describe their favorite ways with Wellfleets. Buttery breadcrumbs, fresh horseradish and green peppercorns, and bacon are among their secrets.

You’ll need at least a dozen oysters, and preferably three, to celebrate each of their recipes properly. Christopher and I usually figure a dozen per person.

ELLIE MULPETER’S ‘MAKE ’EM HOW YOU LIKE ’EM’ BROILED OYSTERS 

Ellie Mulpeter came to her love of oysters by way of her husband, Jimmy, who has worked with his uncle, Jim O’Connell, at their Indian Neck shellfish grant since he was in college.

Her first taste was during a 2013 visit. “I started with baked oysters,” she says, “which helped ease me into their taste and texture. Now, you can’t keep me from an oyster, raw or cooked.”

Ellie’s go-to recipe, with a much-loved butter-and-breadcrumb topping, is one she often serves when friends are over for drinks. But it’s not just for guests, she says. “In the fall, we enjoy these whenever we haven’t had a chance to go grocery shopping.”

The recipe is flexible, and, like a true home cook who works by feel and experience, Ellie sent it to me without measurements (that’s the “how-you-like-’em” part). She specifies panko breadcrumbs, but I had fresh ones in the freezer and broiled with butter their texture was excellent. I tested a variety of proportions, and this is my version of her classic.

Makes about ¾ cup, enough for 2 dozen oysters

2 oz. (one half stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 small clove garlic, peeled and minced fine
1 small shallot, peeled and minced fine
Large pinch ground black pepper
Large pinch ground red pepper
½ tsp. paprika
½ tsp. honey
¼ cup breadcrumbs
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley
Hot sauce and fresh lemon for finishing

1. Rinse and shuck the oysters, saving as much of their liquor as possible in the half shells. Arrange the oysters on a rimmed baking sheet, using scrunched up aluminum foil, extra oyster shells, or seaweed to hold the shells upright. Set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the softened butter with the next 6 ingredients, stirring until smooth. Fold in the parsley and breadcrumbs and place about 1 teaspoon of the mixture on top of each of the oysters.
3. Slip the oysters under the broiler. Keep an eye on them and remove when the butter mixture is bubbling and topping is golden brown, about 5 minutes.
4. Give each oyster a drop or two of hot sauce and a squeeze of lemon before serving, “for extra pizazz,” says Ellie. Serve piping hot.

 JASON WEISMAN’S FRESH HORSERADISH SAUCE FOR OYSTERS (OR CLAMS)

Jason Weisman and his wife, Elizabeth, are known not only for the shellfish they harvest from their Loagy Bay grant but also for the delicious homemade sauces they concoct and serve at parties up and down the Outer Cape.

This horseradish sauce, a favorite of customers, is equally good on oysters and clams. Fresh horseradish root is crucial, says Weisman. He advises me to choose a root that’s firm to be sure it’s fresh and flavorful. The one I got at Stop & Shop weighed just about a pound and was plenty pungent when ground up.

I wondered about the amount of ground pepper in the recipe, but the green peppercorns, which are the unripened version of common black pepper, were mild and bright and brought a welcome piney-floral element to the sauce. Note that green peppercorns often come in brine, but this recipe calls for the dried variety, which are available at Atlantic Spice in Truro.

The finished sauce brought Bloody Marys to mind, so I tried a generous tablespoon of it in a quickly mixed cocktail, and now I’ve amended our house recipe to include it.

Makes about 1 cup, enough for 2 dozen oysters (and a few Bloody Marys)

8 oz. fresh horseradish root
Enough cider vinegar to cover the horseradish
½ tsp. whole celery seeds
2 tsp. freshly ground green peppercorns
1 Tbsp. whole yellow mustard seed
1 Tbsp. whole brown mustard seed
Sliced Salicornia (known around here as sea beans or sea asparagus) for garnish

1. Rinse and shuck the oysters, saving as much of their liquor as possible in the half shells. Arrange the oysters on a rimmed baking sheet, using scrunched up aluminum foil, extra oyster shells, or seaweed to hold the shells upright. Set aside.
2. Wash and peel horseradish root with a paring knife or vegetable peeler. Roughly chop into ½-inch pieces and grind in food processor to a uniformly shredded consistency. (Weisman suggested that I wear goggles to protect my eyes from the pungency of the horseradish; I didn’t and wished that I had. Either way, do not stick your nose into the bowl of the processor and inhale deeply.)
3. Put the horseradish into a small mixing bowl and add enough cider vinegar to just cover. Stir in celery seeds, ground green peppercorns, and mustard seeds.
4. Place a teaspoon of the sauce onto each of the oysters and garnish with slivered sea beans. Leftover sauce may be refrigerated for up to 3 weeks.

BARBARA AUSTIN’S BROILED OYSTERS WITH BACON 

Aquaculturist Barbara Austin has been a leader in Wellfleet’s oystering community for over 35 years. This family recipe was her mother-in-law’s, she says, and she’s been making it to acclaim for decades. I got it from Nancy Civetta, the Wellfleet shellfish constable, who got it when Barbara first revealed her broiled oyster secrets in the 2004 edition of the SPAT cookbook, The Joy of Shucking.

The flavors of oysters, anchovies, and pork work perfectly together with a result that I can only describe as succulent. Since I couldn’t locate anchovy paste, I made my own for this by finely chopping and then mashing 2 large anchovies with the side of a chef’s knife. I ended up adding a bit more anchovy to the finished paste than called for because I liked the flavor — but let your preference be your guide. And, since I forgot to buy bacon, I used thinly sliced smoked pork sausage instead: any pork in a storm.

Makes enough for 2 dozen oysters

4 oz. (a half stick) of butter at room temperature
1 Tbsp. anchovy paste or 2 anchovies chopped and mashed into a paste
¼ cup parsley, minced, divided
6 slices of thick-cut bacon, each cut into 4 equal sections (or an equal amount of thinly sliced smoked pork sausage)

1. Rinse and shuck the oysters, saving as much of their liquor as possible in the half shells. Arrange the oysters on a rimmed baking sheet, using scrunched up aluminum foil, extra oyster shells, or seaweed to hold the shells upright. Set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl combine the softened butter with the anchovy paste and half of the parsley, stirring well.
3. Place about 1 teaspoon of the butter-anchovy mixture onto each oyster and top each with a piece of bacon or sausage.
4. Slip the oysters under the broiler until the bacon is browned and beginning to crisp, about 5 minutes. Garnish with the rest of the minced parsley and serve hot.