Freshly smoked oysters are delicate, juicy and only mildly canned oysters. My preference is to use small oysters for this recipe, as they are daintier and more fun to eat.
I was lucky enough to be given a bag of lovely little oysters from the Hog Island Oyster Co. Tomales Bay, one of my frequent haunts. The result is briny, smoky, tender and oyster-y. If you make these, you will not be sad. The best way to preserve your smoked oysters is to vacuum seal them once they’re cold.
If you do this, they will keep for a year. Otherwise, you can put them in a jar of olive oil and they will keep in the fridge for about two weeks. Oh, and can you do this with pre-shucked oysters? I suppose so, but it would not be my preference.
This is an easy way to make smoked oysters, where you make your own brine while prepping them. You can of course shuck all your oysters raw and use the liquor to brine them, but it’s a bit harder and I don’t like the end product quite so much. Use a small, sharp knife to remove the oysters from the shells, trying your best to get the little “scallop” muscle that holds the oyster in its shell — it’s tasty! When it’s done, drop each oyster into the strained broth. Make sure all the oysters soak for at least 20 minutes. Keep in mind oysters are small, so you will need a fine grate to prevent them from falling through.
When they are done, toss the oysters in the oil and eat, or store in a glass jar in the fridge for up to a week. You can also just eat them as an appetizer on crackers. Welcome to Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, the internet’s largest source of recipes and know-how for wild foods. I am a chef, author, and yes, hunter, angler, gardener, forager and cook. While tricky to keep a low temp, they come out smoky and rich, smoking only 60 mins or they crisp.
These smoked oysters are freakin’ legendary! You use vermouth in your recipe. Would another type of liquor work? Either of those are good choices, as would be brandy. I built a cold-smoker but am looking to buy an electric hot smoker for the sole purpose of smoking oysters. Yes, the Bradley is excellent for low temp hot smoking. Wow, thanks for the speedy reply.
I notice that Bradley uses its own briquettes. Cleo: I haven’t had a problem with the briquettes. Easy to get on Amazon or wherever, and there are third party makers of them. We raise oysters in New Hampshire. And, you can one eat a few hundred raw, so I’m excited to smoke them. I’ll take a photo of my first batch. Just used my Bradley smoker for the first time.