Recipe: Wellfleet Oysters on the Half Shell

the appetizer:

Take a seafood taste tour with The New England Clam Shack Cookbook by Brooke Dojny, including recipes like Roast Clams; Snail Salad; and Wellfleet Oysters on the Half Shell.

Cookbook

Wellfleet Oysters on the Half Shell

4 servings

Oysters are named after the bay they're harvested from, and Cape Cod Wellfleets (from that town's nutrient-rich tidal bay) are some of the most prized in the world. When these local oysters are plentiful especially in the winter months, Land Ho in Orleans promptly puts them up on their menu board as a special and happy customers slurp them up by the dozens and dozens. A squirt of lemon or a dollop of this simple cocktail sauce is the only embellishment they require.

Land Ho! Cocktail Sauce

1 cup chili sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
3 generous tablespoons prepared horseradish
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Pinch of onion powder
Freshly ground black pepper

How to Shuck an Oyster

Oysters

24 chilled Wellfleet or other good oysters (see Note)
Green leaf lettuce
Lemon wedges

1. For the cocktail sauce, in a medium bowl. whisk together the chili sauce, ketchup, horseradish, lemon juice, and onion powder. Season with pepper to taste.

2. Refrigerate the sauce for at least 1 hour to blend flavors. May be stored for up to 3 days.

3. Shuck the oysters (or have them shucked at the fish market) and cut them away from the muscle.

4. Arrange lettuce leaves over a bed of crushed ice. Arrange oysters on the lettuce. Garnish with the lemon wedges and serve with the cocktail sauce.

NOTE: The U.S Food and Drug Administration warns that people with immune disorders and some other conditions should avoid eating raw seafood because it may pose serious health risks.