Crispy Fried Oysters
- Vegetable oil for deep-fat frying
- 1½ cups unsifted bread flour or unbleached all purpose flour
- ½ cup unsifted yellow cornmeal
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon ground hot red pepper (cayenne), or to taste
- 24 medium oysters, shucked and drained well
Instructions:
To give the oysters extra crunch, use high-gluten bread flour for dredging.
- Pour the oil into a large, deep skillet to a depth of ½ inch and set over moderate heat.
- Meanwhile, combine the flour, cornmeal, salt, black pepper, and cayenne in a large pie pan. Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed; the mixture should be piquant.
- As the oil in the skillet approaches 360° F. on a deep-fat thermometer, dredge the oysters in the flour mixture and let stand until the oil reaches 375° F.
- Fry the oysters in three or four batches, allowing about 1 minute per side for them to crisp and brown; transfer to paper toweling to drain.
- Serve hot and resist the temptation to put out tartar sauce. Rick’s oysters don’t need it. No cocktail sauce, either.