I was intrigued by a recipe I found in an online article from Garden and Gun, the superb magazine on southern life, which includes tons of recipes from the South’s leading restaurant chefs.
The recipe is from Southern Soul Barbecue Restaurant on Saint Simon’s Island, Georgia. The Smoked Oyster Spread is a family recipe from the restaurant’s co-owner and chef, Griffin Bufkin.
It instructs to barbecue oysters in the shell over a 200 degree heat with soaked wood chips like cherry or other fruit woods for about one hour. Alternatively “in a pinch use tinned smoked oysters.”
I succumbed to the pinch method.
Smoked Oyster Dip
Looking for smoked oysters was a chore. No one carried them, even at Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Rosemont, Harbor Fish, Browne Trading, Free Range Fish and Leroux-the usual suspects. Smoked mussels were everywhere. As a last resort I looked online at Hannaford, which surprisingly occasionally has these hard-to find foods. And there they were from Bumble Bee or Chicken of the Sea. I rushed down to the store and found the last 4 containers of Bumble Bee smoked oysters.
I made the dip for an appetizer to serve Sunday night before a dinner of roast chicken, pureed sweet potatoes, braised sweet and sour red cabbage and bourbon spiked blondies topped with my homemade coffee ice cream (using up a quart of soon-to-expire raw heavy cream from High View Farm). The dip was a great hit.
The spread is well worth the effort and maybe next year when BBQ season is in full swing again I’ll try smoking my own oysters. (They’re smoked in the shell in a cast-iron skillet for about one hour.)
Adapted from Southern Soul Barbecue Restaurant
Ingredients
- Four 3.5-ounce tins smoked oysters
- 16 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 cup mayonnaise (I use Duke’s)
- 1 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
- 1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- A few drops hot sauce
- 1 small shallot, grated
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 2 tablespoons chopped scallions, white and green part
Instructions
- Drain the oysters from their tins, reserving the liquid. Add a bit of the liquid to the finished dip if you think it needs more flavor. I didn’t think so. Put into a 2-cup measure
- Put the remaining ingredients into a bowl of a stand mixer and mix, using the paddle attachment to combine. Work at medium low speed until the mixture is well combined until moderately creamy.
- Add the oysters, mixing at low speed to incorporate. Put into a serving bowl to chill until ready to serve. Sprinkle the top with Old Bay. Serve with classic saltines or Town House crackers. Don’t get fancy with the crackers.
- The original recipe calls for Steen’s Colossal Smoked Oysters, which are available at Amazon.
