OYSTER PATTIES (CULINARY QUICKIES EP 24)

Oysters in season are a treasure, and for those who love oysters, oyster patties—or oysters in pastry cases, in this case, vols-au-vent—are anticipated from Thanksgiving through the New Year. They're very special, and, as demonstrated here by Chef Tracey Mitchell, they're easy to make. You can find puff pastry dough or already baked puff pastry cases/vols-au-vent in many grocery stores and bakeries. If you’ve an afternoon available and you're game, making the pastry yourself is worth the trouble, and you can find the recipe in Episode 23. If you use store-bought puff pastry sheets, follow the instructions in our vols-au-vent recipe for cutting the pastry cases out and baking. You can make them using small pastry cases for hors d’oeuvres or large cases for individual side dishes at dinner. Let’s do this! Prep time: 1O min Cooking time: 20 min Bake time: 15 min Yield: 4 to 6 servings or 1 dozen hors d'oeuvres TOOLS & EQUIPMENT Wide sauté/deep frying pan Scissors Strainer Chef’s knife Cutting board Four-centimeter-diameter fluted (scalloped-edged) cutter and a slightly smaller biscuit cutter Parchment paper Quarter-sheet or lightly-buttered casserole/brownie pan INGREDIENTS 2 Bacon strips (2 oz.), small dice 1/3 cup Water 2-3 tbsp Butter 1 Celery Rib, finely diced 1 Medium Yellow Onion, finely diced 1 cup Mushrooms, medium dice 1/3 cup Flour 3/4 + 1/4 cups Heavy Cream 1/2 cup Oyster Liquor reserved from draining the oysters (substitute fish or chicken stock) 1/4 tsp Cayenne 1/2 tsp Thyme 1/4 tsp Salt 1/4 tsp Pepper 4 large cloves Garlic, pressed/finely minced 1/2 cup Green Onions, finely sliced 1/2 cup Parsley, finely minced Juice of 1/2 a Lemon 2 pints/32 oz. Oysters, medium cubed (allow 2 small or 1 large oyster per person, use scissors to cube, and be careful to save the liquor from the oysters by cutting over a bowl and straining the oysters.) DIRECTIONS 1. Preheat the oven to 400º F. Render fat from bacon with a small amount of water. Continue cooking over medium high heat to brown the bacon. Once browned, remove the bacon to be added later. Now add the butter to melt in the little bit of bacon fat, careful to reduce the heat to medium. Add the vegetables to the sauté pan by halves to wilt the onions, celery, and mushrooms until all have browned a little, the onions are translucent, and the mushrooms have concentrated their flavor and become slightly sweet. 2. Once the vegetables have caramelized a bit and have become medium brown and aromatic, add the flour and lightly mix in to brown and absorb the liquid from the vegetables. The flour will brown as the vegetables take on a deeper color. At this point, the flour will deepen a little in color and adhere to the vegetables, leaving the bottom of the sauté pan “clean” and taking on a glaze. Once this happens, it’s time to add liquids. 3. Add the cream while stirring and then add the oyster liquor. Once incorporated and beginning to thicken, add the cayenne, thyme, salt, and pepper. Next, add garlic. Be prepared to adjust the amount of liquid along the way. Sometimes the stew is rather thick and requires a bit of thinning, although never so much that you wind up with stew running out of your pastry cases! 4. Finally, add the oysters and bacon bits, plus a squeeze of lemon to brighten the stew. Reduce the flame to medium, cooking for no longer than it takes for the oysters to be incorporated. They will cook further while in the oven, and overcooking them will make them take on a chewy, rubbery texture. 5. Having gently pried the tops from the vols-au-vent, arrange the cases on a parchment-lined quarter-sheet or lightly-buttered casserole dish or brownie pan and generously fill the cases with stew. Replace the tops and place the pastries in the oven to bake for 15 minutes. The cases will become a little more golden brown and the stew will steam when they’ve reached doneness. 6. Gently remove patties to plates and garnish with a bit more green onion and parsley. ENJOY!