Oysters with Raspberry Mignonette Granité

This sharp and colorful frozen sauce is a winner on raw oysters.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
freezing time: 8 hours
Total Time: 8 hours 10 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Sauce
Cuisine: American
Keyword: oysters, sauce
Servings: 16 people
Calories: 10
Cost: $60

Equipment

  • shucking knife

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup raspberries about 1/2 of a 6-ounce container, to make 2 Tbl puree
  • 3/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1/3 cup shallots minced
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper coarsely ground
  • 1 Pinch kosher salt
  • 48 oysters scrubbed, in their shells
  • Ice for serving

Instructions

  • Work raspberries through a fine mesh strainer with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula to remove the seeds. (You should have about 2 tablespoons of purée.)
  • In a small bowl, combine raspberry purée with vinegar, shallots, pepper, and salt. Pour into a small container (a 2-cup Tupperware container works great) and freeze for at least 8 hours, stirring once or twice with a fork.
  • When the granité is completely frozen and the guests are due to arrive soon, use an oyster knife to open the oysters. Loosen them from their shells, but leave them sitting in the bottom “cupped” side of the shell. Set them on a bed of ice to keep them cold and upright.
  • Right before serving, rake the mignonette with a fork and stir it, breaking any big, icy chunks into shards. Spoon about 1 teaspoon granité onto each oyster and serve. Keep additional mignonette granité in the freezer to top oysters as needed.

Notes

Plan on buying at least 3 oysters per person. This recipe makes about 1 cup of granité for up to 48 oysters, but if you’d like more, simply add up to 1/2 cup of red wine vinegar to the recipe.
The acid in the vinegar slows down the freezing, so to be safe, make the granité a day ahead.
The time needed to shuck the oysters will vary with skill levels. An accomplished shucker could go through 48 oysters in 10 minutes or less, but if you’re a novice it might take considerably longer.
The raspberries add a punch of bright color to the granité. Although highly recommended, you could leave them out.
This recipe was featured on Chowhound.com.

Nutrition

Serving: 3oysters | Calories: 10kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 8mg | Potassium: 33mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 1mg
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