The "B" word....

Maybe not the first “B” word  which comes to mind (one version might end in “tch”), but one I am talking about is one I have been complaining about for years, so was kind of sorry to see the latest cover of my favorite magazine celebrating the culture of “The South"  I'm losing my battle. 

 

For their purposes, “the South” is sort of loosely bounded by Texas, Missouri, Kentucky, both Virginia's, and Maryland, although those get blurred once in a while.  Classy publication, although i think they cater to a well heeled clientele (shotguns many thousands, simple leather goods and shoes well into the upper three figures, sometimes over) but have creative photography and are quite food oriented (despite the title) which sometimes leads you down bunny trails:

 For Instance:

while paging through the magazine, I ran across the following fantastic image of Monk Boudreaux, “Big Chief” of the Golden Eagles Mardi Gras Indian Tribe. 

”Mardi Gras Indians are black carnival revelers in New Orleans, Louisiana, who dress up for Mardi Gras in suits influenced by Native American ceremonial apparel”. 

Those elaborate costumes can take up to six months to make, and then are worn in parades of the various Tribes in such events as the St. Josephs Day Parade (Traditionally the third Sunday in March). There are some 50 odd “Tribes” in New Orleans, and are loosely formed to honor the Native Americans who helped slaves escape.  More complicated but that’s kind of a generalization. 

Reaching back in time (more diversions) there was a TV series (2010 – 2013) called “Tremé” taking place in post Katrina centered the historically black area of New Orleans.  The main character was a trombone player Antoine Batise, played by Wendell Pierce, the show featured several well know traditional musicians.  If you can find it on Netflix or some such service, it never grows old.

Oops back to the main topic.... 

My main gripe with G&G was their (front cover) use of that word I abhor, I’ve harped on this before, but what is it about Americans that gives them an almost psychotic drive to have to declare something as “best”?  One thing single solitary above all others?  C'mon, MAN! In whose estimation?  Who calls it?  For instance, how can that apply to food? there are so many wonderful variations of a single item that it is patently stupid to try to elevate one particular preparation above all others.  Think about Chili, Pizza, Barbeque, even Crab cakes.  How many different ways to make them can you think of?  And I guess you could extend the concept to Bars (despite G&G).   Noisy, high energy?  wood and ferns?  Quiet tables with white table clothes and servers in black vests?  Mugs or crystal?…  How about sports? If you are not the one pro football team out 32 that wins the Super Bowl, your season was a failure.  Endless arguments about who is the “GOAT” (Montana, Brady, LeBron, Michael). How stupid.  

My own quest

Lately I have been embarking on my own quest to find the fried oyster that I personally enjoy more than others.  I find that while I enjoy preparing them on the half shell

I also like them fried.  The basic preparation is pretty common, egg bath, flour, roll in coating, and into the oil.  The variations all come within what is in the flour.. Old Bay (sorry), Creole seasoning, Italian herbs, on and on.  Coatings and batter can vary from simple to elaborate, from bread crumbs, saltines, butter, to tempura.  I have found that I like a crisp coating encasing a succulent creamy oyster.  So I’ve been hunting around, and have come pretty close with the following recipe from the web:

Crispy Fried Oysters with Cornmeal Batter

Vegetable Oil for Frying *see chef note *1

1 Quart Oysters (about 2 cups drained oysters)*2

2 Large Eggs, beaten

2 Cups Cornmeal *3

1 Tsp Sugar

2 Tsp Salt *4

1 Tsp Ground Black Pepper

2 Tbs Flour

Which I modified slightly:

Chef’s Notes from 1/21/2019:

1. Used Peanut Oil  

2. Made half a recipe (of ingredients, since not a Qt of Oysters

3. Added about 18 Cup Italian Panko Bread Crumbs

4. Due to health reasons cut way back on Salt.

Only nuance in the prep the called for leaving the shucked oysters in the beaten eggs for 10 minutes before proceeding.   Not sure what that does.

So did the mise en place

Laid the oysters out on a plate

On kind of a whim, I "trimmed" themto get rid of the stringy tag ends and the “foot”, which made a tidy little “pillow”.  Into the fryer until nicely golden, and out they came.

Between the corn meal and the Panko, they developed the nice “crunch” I was looking for.  Next time I think I’ll increase the Panko content, and maybe a touch of cayenne.

So I am on a journey to determine what is “best” for me, not (necessarily you).  That tenet would apply to any of the categories mentioned above.  That’s the fun of cooking, seeking what you like.

Anyway, keep trying to DFD

And eliminate MJ anywhere in your kitchen

and the last vestige of FOJTE visit, kind of fits the memories

and just found out that FOJTY may be coming out (with Duke and Smoke!)