Cornmeal-Fried Oyster Sandwich with Lemon Tartar Sauce

Recipe by: Tom Douglas | from Tom Douglas' Seattle Kitchen

Cookstr

Total Time: Under 1 Hour

Skill Level: Moderate

Cost: Moderate

cornmeal-fried-oyster-sandwich-with-lemon-tartar-sauce

Photo by: Joseph De Leo

One of my favorite sandwiches is the classic po’ boy from New Orleans, a hollowed-out baguette heaped up with fried oysters and slathered with tartar sauce. You don’t want bread that’s too dense or heavy or one with too hard a crust because it will make the sandwich difficult to eat. If the bread seems too thick, pull some out of the middle to make room for the oysters. You can make this sandwich on untoasted bread, or you can brush the cut sides with butter and grill them before filling the bread with oysters.

Yield: Makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

for the lemon tartar sauce:

1 large egg yolk
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2/3 cup peanut or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon chopped drained capers
1½ teaspoons finely chopped red onions
1½ teaspoons finely chopped dill pickles
1 tablespoon sweet pickle juice from the jar
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
¼ teaspoon Tabasco sauce, or to taste

for the spicy cornmeal flour:

2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup cornmeal
4½ teaspoons cayenne
4½ teaspoons paprika
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1½ teaspoons dried thyme
¼ teaspoon celery seeds

for the sandwich:

2 dozen Pacific oysters, scrubbed, rinsed, and shucked
4 pieces French bread, cut into 6- to 8- inch sandwich lengths
Butter lettuce leaves
Peanut oil for frying

Directions

To make the tartar sauce, place the egg yolk, mustard, and lemon juice in a food processor or blender. Pulse to combine.

With the processor running, slowly add the oil in a steady stream. The mixture will become thick and emulsified. Add the capers, onions, pickles and their juice, parsley, lemon zest, and Tabasco and pulse to combine.

Remove to a small bowl and set aside, refrigerated.

To make the cornmeal flour, combine the flour, cornmeal, and seasonings in a medium bowl. Set aside.

To panfry the oysters, dredge them in the seasoned cornmeal flour. You can leave them in the bowl of flour until you are ready to panfry them. Shake off any excess flour right before frying.

Set up your sandwiches so they can be assembled as soon as the oysters are fried.

Split the French bread rolls lengthwise. For each sandwich, spread the tartar sauce generously on both sides of the bread. Line the top half of the roll with lettuce leaves.

You will need to use two or more non-stick sauté pans or a large sauté pan. Cover the bottom of each sauté pan with a thin layer (1/8 inch) of peanut oil. Over high heat, heat the oil until very hot.

Fry the oysters in the hot oil on both sides until golden brown and firmed up, about 4 minutes total. Drain the oysters on paper towels.

ON THE PLATE: Place 6 fried oysters on the bottom half of each roll. Put the lettucelined half on top to form a sandwich. Serve immediately.

Notes

A STEP AHEAD: The cornmeal flour can be made a week in advance and stored, covered, at room temperature. The tartar sauce can be made a day ahead and stored, covered, in the refrigerator.

IN THE GLASS: Entre-Deux-Mers from Bordeaux, a dry white blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon