Pickled Oysters?
Picking oysters is not something we think about much, if at all today, but this practice was a mainstay of early modern European foodways. With the arrival of Europeans to New York in the 17th century, where there was a plentiful supply of large and tasty oysters, the practice flourished providing a valuable export commodity for almost two centuries.
Pickling is a process best suited to preserve foods that are highly perishable and seasonal; oysters were both. While an oyster in the shell can survive days, weeks, possibly even months, out of the water if stored properly, a shucked oyster spoils quickly. Beginning in the early 18th century, seasonal restrictions on oyster harvest were imposed by the New York Common Council to protect citizens and the fishery. In fact, for much of the 18th century it was illegal to harvest, sell, or buy a live oyster in Manhattan during the summer months (May - August). As a result, anyone who wanted oysters, the most popular food for most residents, could only buy those that had been preserved through pickling or frying.
“About New York they find innumerable quantities of excellent oysters, and there are few places which have oysters of such and exquisite taste, and of so great a size: they are pickled and sent to the West Indies and other places…”
Peter Kalm, October 31st, 1749
Although the practice of pickling oysters is thought to have been started by the Gauls in present day France, the earliest pickling recipes that I could find are English and date to the beginning of the 17th century. All of these recipes call for first boiling the oysters and then combining them with vinegar and various spices, usually some combination of pepper, allspice, mace or cloves and occasionally hot pepper.
“…then they take some mace, allspice, black pepper, and as much vinegar to give a sourish taste. All this is mixed with half the liquor in which the oysters were boiled…”
Peter Kalm, October 31st, 1749
In colonial New York, oystermen, innkeepers and merchants often developed their own unique recipes for pickling that they touted in advertisements and guarded closely. Oyster houses and inns advertised the availability of pickled oysters lasting 6-months for their patrons traveling to the West Indies and other “warm climates” (implying the East Indies).
New York Daily Advertiser, May 8, 1788
There are a number of modern adaptions of these historic pickled oyster recipes which allow us to make pickled oysters today. Such adaptions are necessary given that the original recipes rarely define the amount of the different components and/or call for very large numbers of oysters. Using one of these recipes, I have prepared pickled oysters for two events using adaptions of this recipe and both were well-received by the those brave enough to try them. Rather than shuck the oysters, I simply washed the shells thoroughly and steamed them open in a covered pot with a couple inches of water on the bottom (as you would steam mussels). Doing this allowed me to open and cook the oysters in one step. One warning…watch out for those cloves, they can easily overpower all the other flavors!
