To ragoo Oysters

The Art Of Cookery · Hannah Glasse · 1747
Source
The Art Of Cookery
Yield
1.0 quart
Status
success · extracted 12 days ago
Not a recipe
No
Ingredients (24)
for the oysters
for the ragoo
for garnish
Instructions (22)
  1. Open the oysters, save the liquor, and strain it through a fine sieve.
  2. Wash your oysters in warm water.
  3. Make a batter: Take two yolks of eggs, beat them well, grate in half a nutmeg, stir in a little lemon-peel (finely chopped), a good deal of parsley, a spoonful of spinach juice, and two spoonfuls of cream or milk. Beat it up with flour to a thick batter.
  4. Have ready some butter in a stew-pan.
  5. Dip your oysters one by one into the batter.
  6. Have ready crumbs of bread, then roll the battered oysters in it.
  7. Fry them quick and brown, some with the crumbs of bread, and some without.
  8. Take them out of the pan, and set them before the fire.
  9. Have ready a quart of chesnuts, shelled and skinned.
  10. Fry the chesnuts in the butter.
  11. When they are done, take them up.
  12. Pour the fat out of the pan.
  13. Shake a little flour all over the pan.
  14. Rub a piece of butter as big as a hen's egg all over the pan with your spoon until it is melted and thick.
  15. Put in the oyster liquor, and three or four blades of mace. Stir it around.
  16. Put in a few shelled pistachio-nuts.
  17. Let it boil.
  18. Then put in the chesnuts and half a pint of white wine.
  19. Have ready the yolks of two eggs beaten up with two spoonfuls of cream.
  20. Stir all well together.
  21. When it is thick and fine, lay the oysters in the dish, and pour the ragoo over them.
  22. Garnish with chesnuts and lemon.
Original Text
To ragoo Oysters. TAKE a quart of the largest oysters you can get, open them, save the liquor, and strain it through a fine sieve; wash your oysters in warm water, make a batter thus: Take two yolks of eggs, beat them well, grate in half a nutmeg, stir a little lemon-peel small, a good deal of parsley, a spoonful of the juice of spinach, two spoonfuls of cream or milk, beat it up with flour to a thick batter, have ready some butter in a stew-pan, dip your oysters one by one into the batter, and have ready crumbs of bread, then roll them in it, and fry them quick and brown; some with the crumbs of bread, and some without. Take them out of the pan, and set them before the fire, then have ready a quart of chesnuts shelled and skinned, fry them in the butter; when they are enough take them up, pour the fat out of the pan, shake a little flour all over the pan, and rub a piece of butter as big as a hen's egg all over the pan with your spoon till it is melted and thick; then put in the oyster liquor, three or four blades of mace, stir it round, put in a few pistachio-nuts shelled, let them boil, then put in the chesnuts, and half a pint of white wine, have ready the yolks of two eggs beat up with two spoonfuls of cream; stir all well together, when it is thick and fine, lay the oysters in the dish, and pour the ragoo over them. Garnish with chesnuts and lemon. You may ragoo mussels the same way. You may leave out the pistachio-nuts, if you don't like them; but they give the sauce a fine flavour.
Notes