There are various ways to cook an oyster. It is a flexible item that can be used in different recipes, including ones that require smoking.
Now, a lot of people have been asking me how to smoke oysters, which surprised me, considering how common oysters and smoking are. I mean, we see them in our favorite restaurants. Even your neighbors might have tried this cooking method.
However, I realize that smoking is still an enigma to some people. Of course, nobody is going to blame anyone about that. I was in the same boat a few years ago, and I have to admit that learning how to smoke anything is quite a daunting task indeed!
Smoking oysters is still a new thing for some people, but you should have the balls to at least try this recipe. Smoking is a good flavor enhancer, as you will know if you love smoked meat and other variants like jerkies. On their own, oysters are already good. However, if you add smoke to the equation, your tongue will relish a new world of flavor.
So, are you ready to learn this culinary trick? If so, then I’ll invite you to my simple cooking tutorial. Get your tools ready and let’s start!
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Smoking will require you to gather some necessary pieces of equipment. One of these is an electric smoker. However, you can also use traditional wood burners to create the smoke that you need.
You also need to get an oyster knife. After all, shucking the shell is difficult if you only use an ordinary knife. In fact, I deem it to be impossible.
Meanwhile, here are the ingredients that you will acquire:
- Oysters (medium size, around 30 to 50 pieces).
- Butter (melted).
- Minced garlic (5 cloves).
- Salt (1/8 teaspoon).
- Pepper (1/8 teaspoon).
Instructions
1. First of all, you will have to decide what kind of smoking device that you are going to use. Gas smokers, electric smokers, and offset smokers are all able to do the smoking. Just make sure that you know how to operate these devices. It would be great if the smoker allows you to control and adjust the temperature, so that you get the right heating output for smoking the oysters.
Do not forget to choose the type of wood that you are going to use for smoking. The wood plays an important factor in the overall taste that the oysters will acquire. Fortunately, there are a lot of options that you can choose from. But if you ask me, peach or apple is best for oysters. These wood types induce a light, sweet flavor, which is great for oysters!
2. When you have accomplished all of this, we can start with the smoking. Firstly, heat up your preferred smoking device and make sure that it reaches a temperature of 200 to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. While the device is still heating up, you need to shuck open your oysters. If you don’t know how to do this, refer to the oyster knife article that I wrote. There is a section where I give step-by-step instructions on how to pry open an oyster properly. As long as you have a good shucking knife, the process is very doable.
- Make sure that you only open the oysters when the smoking device is ready. You don’t want to leave them open and hanging for any length of time. Why? Well, fresh oysters have this fresh brine taste that quickly disappears when they are open and exposed to the air.
- If the oyster didn’t give you a hard time opening it, then you will have to throw it away. There is a good chance that the oyster is dead, and so it’s not edible anymore.
4. Make sure that you remove the other half of the oyster shell. Then, rinse the oyster shell under a cold tap. Put them on a clean tray.
5. Meanwhile, start melting your butter in the frying pan, but don’t let it go brown. Once it’s melted, you can add the minced garlic. If you are having trouble mincing the garlic, I recommend that you get a garlic press. This particular tool can mince and crush garlic in a quick and easy, mess-free manner.
6. Sprinkle pepper and salt onto the oysters. After that, pour at least one teaspoon of the butter garlic mixture that you’ve made and spread it thoroughly onto the flesh of the shell.
7. When the device has reached the ideal temperature, add the flavored wood into the heating element. Let the wood start to smoke before you put the oysters on. Do not forget that you still have to maintain the 200 to 250 degrees Fahrenheit temperature range.
8. Put the oysters into your smoking device. Make sure that they are placeed away from the direct heat. Always remember that we only want to smoke the oysters, not fry them.
9. Smoking oysters is actually a quick process, unlike dehydration, which will take up four to six hours of your time. If you maintain this temperature, the oysters should be ready in 30 minutes. The texture of oyster’s flesh will become moderately firm and palpable.
If this does not happen after 30 minutes, add another 10 to 15 minutes to the smoking time. Check them from time to time until they have the desired texture. If you notice that the butter from the oyster is evaporating, then the internal temperature is exceedingly hot, which will fry your oysters. At that point, you will need to remove them immediately.
Conclusion
After the smoking process, you have my permission to eat the oysters! Of course, there are better ways to eat them than just on their own, which can be rather bland. You can complement the dish with lemon and hot sauce to gain an extra kick that will make your mouth water. You can also eat them with French bread and include your favorite juice to the mix.
Smoked oysters will make you thirsty. Therefore, you should have a cold drink on hand to rescue your parched throat! There are a variety of ways to eat smoked oysters. The options are pretty limitless, so don’t forget to share this homemade dish with your friends and family! Trust me, it’s better than greedily keeping it to yourself!
Learning how to smoke oysters is pretty easy. It is not as tedious as you might think, as long as you have the right tools and the freshest ingredients.
If you want to learn more from sumptuous tutorials like this, hook my blog to your list of subscriptions. C’mon! It is free! I provide updates from time to time so that you and I can always catch up together! Enjoy cooking!
