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U.S. Oyster Cookoff 2009 Recipes & More
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| Jackie Takes the Silver Tray |
Holy Chipotle! Chesapeake cook Jackie Hardin,
of Galena brought home the Grand Prize in the 30th Annual National Oyster Cook-off for her dish “Oyster Tacos with Chipotle
Cream Sauce.” See below for more of this story.
OYSTER TACO WITH CHIPOTLE CREAM*
Jackie Hardin
Galena, MD
1 pint
Maryland oysters, select
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup fine yellow corn meal
salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
oil
for frying
8 flour tortillas
8
ounce bag cole slaw
1 cup mayonnaise
2-4 minced canned chipotle chilies in adobe sauce
lime
wedges and cilantro for garnish
Combine mayonnaise and chipotle
peppers and set aside. Wrap tortillas in foil and place in a warm oven
250 degrees.
Prepare fried oysters; combine flour, corn
meal, salt and pepper in bowl. Drain oysters. Dip each oyster
in beaten egg then into flour mixture. Heat 2 – 3 inches of oil in
frying pay to 375˚ degrees. Fry oysters a few at a time until golden
brown, about a minute or two. Don’t overcook.
When
all oysters are done, remove tortillas from oven. On each tortilla, spoon on
chipotle cream, Cole slaw, and top with fried oysters. Garnish with cilantro and
lime wedges. Serve 4.
OYSTERS
BOURGUIGNON IN PUFF PASTRY
Loic Jaffres, Leonardtown, MD
2
dozen medium fresh Maryland oysters
4 ounces butter
4
ounces pancetta
4 ounces sliced shallots
1
cup white wine
1 teaspoon dry thyme
1 teaspoon
crushed garlic
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup water
(with dashi)
2 sheets puff pastry
3 ounces
Roux (1/4 lb. Melted butter, 6 oz. flour - mixed together to form paste)
chopped
parsley
In medium skillet, combine butter, shallots & pancetta. Sauté until translucent.
Add
white wine, thyme & garlic. Cook two minutes.
Add chicken stock & water with dashi. Stir.
Shuck oysters & add oysters to
liquid; cook until oysters curl. About 2 minutes. Strain, Return
liquid to pot
and reduce by half. Add roux, stirring constantly. When thickened, add oysters.
Add salt
& pepper as needed.
Cut puff pastry in 2” squares. Pre-bake dough at 350 degrees for 7 to
8 minutes.
Cut top of each puff, indent a hole with finger; add one oyster and Bourguignon
sauce. Topped
with chopped parsley & serve hot.
*More about the competition: Jackie seems to think it was the simplicity and the perfect combination of flavors that stood out for
her dish. “We had an hour to prepare our dishes,” she says. “I had to stretch it to make the demo last for
15 minutes. I’d taste the sauce, add a little more, taste it again. That used up two minutes.”
If
you’ve been to the Chestertown Farmer’s Market, you’ve seen Jackie and her husband Mike, selling their painted
gourd birdhouses. But it turns out Jackie’s a competitive cook from way back. “I demo’d a crab dish in front
of James Michener years ago,” she says. “I thought he’d fallen asleep, but later he told me he was just
praying for me. When I won, he told me it’d worked.”
This year, magic again. Jackie took home $1,300
and a silver tray. ($1000 for the Grand Prize and $300 for First in the Main Dish category.) More pictures are up at
the US Oysterfest website [http://www.usoysterfest.com]
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