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Fricasseed Oysters

Oysters simmered in a white sauce of butter, flour, lemon juice, and seasonings.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Warren, Pa. Presbyterian church. Second auxiliary missionary society. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Lemon and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,047 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓

Fricasseed Oysters

Ingredients

Directions

Cook the oysters

  1. Heat 2 teaspoons butter, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper (cayenne) in a pan.

  2. Add 1 pint oysters to the pan.

  3. Place all other ingredients except oysters in a blender; when hot, add oysters, cover, and shake pan occasionally.

  4. When oysters are plump, drain them and set aside.

Make the sauce and serve

  1. Keep hot; add enough cream to the liquid drained from oysters to make 1 cup.

  2. Make a white sauce using the liquid: 2 tablespoons butter, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 2 tablespoons flour, and salt and pepper to taste.

  3. Beat 1 egg until light, pour sauce over it, add oysters, and when hot, serve on toast or in patty cases.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

653Calories
20 gProtein
18 gFat
101 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Warren, Pa. Presbyterian church. Second auxiliary missionary society. [from old catalog]. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Lemon + peppertop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together27,047 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  2. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together124,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  3. Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together106,462 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  4. Butter + lemontop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,227 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  5. Lemon + flourtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together30,404 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Oysters (in the method)
Are the main ingredient, plumping and firming as they heat in the butter.
Butter
Adds richness and carries flavour in both the pan and the white sauce.
Flour
Thickens the liquid into a smooth white sauce.
Egg
Enriches the sauce and helps thicken it as it warms.
Lemon juice
Adds acidity that brightens the rich sauce and oysters.
Cream (in the method)
Adds richness and body to the liquid from the oysters.

The step that matters

Pouring the sauce over the beaten egg. Hot sauce added to egg can scramble it if poured in quickly. Pour slowly while whisking so the egg warms gradually and stays smooth, thickening the sauce without curdling.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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