Cajun Oyster Fried Eggs Recipe and More

CAJUN OYSTER FRIED EGGS

It may come as a surprise, that one third of oysters on the market in the America come from Louisiana. Naturally, you'll find some unusual oyster recipes in the recipe boxes of Cajun women, living on back roads paved with crushed oyster shells.

Recipes with oysters, eggs, peppers, hot sauce, and rice predominate most Cajun recipe boxes, largely due to the fact that these ingredients were readily available. My Grand'mere had no less than two hundred recipes for oysters. She had over fifty recipes for rice dishes. With the exception of desserts, almost no recipe did not include some sort of pepper. Eggs were plentiful and fresh because she free-ranged her chickens. They were there simply for the finding, as the hens could get creative in hiding their nests.

While generally recipes with eggs are thought of as breakfast, this recipe is a great light dinner or late lunch meal. One of the the recipes is for oyster-fried eggs. This recipe comes from such a recipe collection, that of my Great-Grand'Mere Robichaux.

PART 1# - INGREDIENTS:

• 8-oz pint of medium-shucked oysters
• 3 tablespoons of finely ground breadcrumbs
• 1 beaten egg, with 1 tablespoons of heavy cream added
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 4 slices of bacon

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Pat the oysters dry with a paper towel.

2. Dip the oysters in the beaten egg and heavy cream mixture. Then, coat them in the breading.

3. Pan fry in the melted butter until mostly cooked and remove from pan.

4. At the same time, fry the slices of cooked bacon in another skillet, but remove from the pan to drain on paper towels, just before they become crisp.

PART #2 - INGREDIENTS:

• 6 eggs
• 1/3 cup of heavy cream
• Chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 1 finely diced scallion
• 1 clove of garlic, finely minced
• 1 cup of left over ham, cubed very small
• 1 cup of finely diced bell peppers
• Celery salt
• Tabasco sauce or other preferred hot sauce
• 2 tablespoons of butter

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Prepare a saucer with about eight drops of Tabasco sauce or other preferred hot sauce and set aside.

2. Beat the six eggs with the cream and parsley.

3. In a clean skillet, sauté the scallion, the left over ham, and bell peppers.

4. Add the egg mixture.

5. On a low fry, gently add the bacon and oysters, being sure to spread them out evenly in the pan.

6. Lightly salt all over with the celery salt.

7. Finally, dip your clean finger into the hot sauce and drop a little into the center of each oyster.

Eggs are done when creamy and soft. Do not overcook. Serve immediately. Makes 3 to 4 servings.

NOTE: Oysters are known to be important in providing a full day's supply of zinc. Zinc helps the body to repair cells. Zinc is also known to prevent prostate cancer in men.

One thing we all probably have figured out is that the freshest ingredients make a better meal or recipe. Nothing could be more true than recipes that include both oysters and eggs. So how do you know if you have chosen the freshest of these two ingredients?

Eggs:

• Remember, eggs are porous, just like your skin. Because of that, old and bad eggs can float. Always discard any eggs that float.
• Fresh eggs will always lie at the bottom of any pan or bowl of water.
• Angled eggs on the bottom are still fresh.
• Eggs that hang out at the bottom, pointed end down are only safe to eat for boiling and baking. They won't taste that good.
• In the pan, a fresh egg won't spread much, an old egg will run.

Oysters:

• If still in the shell, one of the shells should be more cupped than the other.
• The oyster should be plump.
• The oyster should be clear, or slightly milky.
• Store in the coldest part of the refrigerator.
• Fresh, of course, means not frozen and fresh means "just arrived" more than a day or two old.
• With all seafood, including oysters, use your common sense. The oysters should look fresh, they should feel fresh, and most important -- they should smell right.

Of course, if you have a large family, the perfect compliment to Cajun Oyster Fried Egs is oyster soup or stew. Grand'mere often served her Cajun Oyster Soup as a starter for that meal.

Grand'mere's Cajun Oyster Soup

Ingredients:

• Butter
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
• 2 minced cloves of garlic
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon white pepper
• ¼ teaspoon paprika
• 2 dozen fresh shucked oysters
• 1 pint reserved oyster liquid
• 1 quart light cream
• 1 cup chicken broth
• ¼ cup finely chopped parsley
• 1 finely diced hot pepper

Part I Instructions:

• Melt some of the butter in a skillet (medium high)
• Sauté onion, celery, and garlic until mixture is smooth (four or five minutes)
• Add oysters
• Add reserved oyster liquid
• Add chicken broth
• Mix well and continue cooking until oysters begin to curl on the edges
• Reduce heat and simmer for a few more minutes
• Set aside

Part II Instructions:

• Put cream in large double boiler
• Cook over simmering water until cream becomes very hot
• Add hot peppers
• Gradually add set aside mixture while continually stirring
• Once mixed heat in double boiler for another fifteen minutes
• Ladle into bowls
• Sprinkle fresh parsley on top of each bowl
• Serve immediately

As any Cajun knows, what's a meal without at least one side dish with rice. The following oyster and rice recipe was always a family favorite.

Oyster's and Rice:

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 medium finely chopped onion
• 1 finely chopped red bell pepper
• 2 stalks of celery, finely minced
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 cup chicken stock
• ½ teaspoon white pepper
• ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
• ½ cup cooked wild rice
• ½ cup cooked white rice (short grain)
• ½ cup minced green onions
• 1 pint fresh Louisiana oysters, with their liquor

Instructions:

• Heat butter
• Add garlic, onion, pepper, and celery
• Sauté until tender
• Add flour and blend until smooth
• Add chicken stock
• Add any oyster liquid
• Add peppers
• Add Worcestershire sauce
• Simmer for 10 minutes
• Add heavy cream
• Add oysters
• Continue to simmer for 10 minutes
• Add wild rice
• Add white rice
• Add green onions
• Simmer for additional 5 minutes
• Serve immediately

The world can't be wrong, most cultures use some sort of hot sauce. Made from peppers, here are the basic facts:

• Sauces made from peppers reduce illness, especially respiratory related
• People with asthma have less problems with breathing if they ingest foods with hot sauce regularly
• Hot sauces open up sinus and nasal passages
• Some people receive relief from headaches
• Are a source of Vitamin C
• Aid digestion
• Speeds up metabolism

Oyster festivals and events are found all over the United States. Here are a few highlights of some of them:

• Louisiana Oyster Jubilee- Usually held in the French Quarter in March or April, this annual festival includes the longest oyster po-boy and an oyster shucking contest.
• Amite Annual Oyster Festival-- March 20-22, 2009 in Amite, Louisiana
• Hot Sauce Festival - New Iberia, Louisiana - Usually held in April
• International Rice Festival - Crowley, Louisiana - Usually held in October
• St. Clement of Rome Oyster Festival- Metairie, Louisiana - Held in October
• St. Martinsville Pepper Festival- St. Martinsville, Louisiana - Annual festival usually held in October

Oysters in Louisiana are in the American oyster family and found throughout the Gulf of Mexico area. Generally, they are larger than European oysters. Their gray shells are coarse and weighty.

There are several reliable oyster companies that sell wholesale and are open to the public in Louisiana, they are:

• P & J OYSTER CO., INC. -- 1039 Toulouse Street, New Orleans, LA 70112 504-523-2651 - In business since 1876, P & J Oyster Company is the oldest continuously oyster distributor in Louisiana.
• BOQUET'S OYSTER HOUSE, INC. -- 6645 Hwy. 56, Chauvin, LA 70344 985-594-5574
• RICHARD'S OYSTER HOUSE -- 2618 Hwy. 182 East, Bayou Vista, LA 70380 985-395-7282
• AMERIPURE OYSTER COMPANIES -- 803 Willow Street, Franklin, LA 70538 800-328-6729 - AmeriPure uses an all-natural method to remove the potential Vibrio bacteria from the oyster, while still in the shell.
• LOUISIANA OYSTER PROCESSORS -- 10577 Cherry Hill Ave. Baton Rouge, LA 70816 225-291-6923
• WILSON'S OYSTERS,INC. -- P.O. BOX 3715, Houma, LA 70361 985 8578855 - Hand picked cultivated oysters.

People who are healthy should not worry about eating oysters or worry about getting several Vibro infections, if they follow certain precautions. However, people with compromised immune systems and certain common illnesses should be extreme cautious about consuming oysters. Serious illness and death can occur if you are in a high-risk category, because you have:

• Cancer
• Diabetes
• Immune system diseases
• Iron overload disease (a.k.a. hemochromatosis)
• Liver disease
• Stomach problems

If you have any of the above conditions, you need to only eat oysters that have been post harvest processed, or only eat oysters that are fully cooked.

Always check with your physician, if you have any concerns about eating oysters before consuming them.