Oysters Rockefeller – Cleaning, Shucking and the Recipe

The Best Oysters are Rockefeller

Oysters Rockefeller are a great way to kick off any celebration. New Orleans Mardi Gras is certainly no exception. And as you may or may not know, the original recipe was developed in the French Quarter at local restaurant called Antoine’s back in the 1800’s. This recipe has since gone platinum. And you as you can see in the picture below, they are fairly inexpensive to buy and with this recipe, they certainly live up to their name, “Rockefeller”. I think I paid about 58 cents a piece is all and the results were spectacularly “Rich”.

What kind of Oysters do you have?

These are West Coast Oysters. You can tell they aren’t from the East Coast because of the Greenish color, instead of brown, and they’re a bit more long gated as well. They should always be scrubbed and rinsed before shucking. This will help eliminate any grime getting into the shell. Personally, I like to rinse them out after anyway. But some folks will freak out if you drain the “liquor” from the oyster before serving because there’s so much flavor there. But for Oysters Rockefeller, there is so much flavor added to it through out the recipe, in my opinion, it really doesn’t matter. The important thing is that no one breaks a tooth trying to eat them.

Shucking Oysters

I’ll show you, in the video below, how to properly shuck these things and lay them out on the half shell. There’s really nothing to it once you learn the tricks. But it’s important to lay them down on something that will keep them stable so they don’t teeter back and forth. Some people, restaurants included, press the round shell backs down into Rock salt, and that’s great for serving but I just use cup cake pans to keep them from moving and it works great for broiling.

Oysters Rockefeller

To make this recipe, you need a few key ingredients but the main thing is to make it green like money. As the story goes, when this recipe was created, someone in the restaurant exclaimed that these Oysters were as rich as Rockefeller. Others think it has to do with the color of money itself. Either way, the name stuck and now the world can enjoy them for any occasion.

If you’re interested in other Cajun recipes and food celebrated in New Orleans and at Mardi Gras, check out my Boudin, Crawfish Etouffee and my Jambalaya!

Oysters Rockefeller Ingredients:

1 doz Med/Lrg Oysters
2 cloves Garlic, ground
1 Green Onion, ground
1 sprig of Fresh Parsly
4 oz Baby Green Spinach
2 tbsp White wine, can sub ice water or white grape juice
1 stick of melted butter (1/2 cup)
1/2 tsp Crab Boil or Crawfish Seasoning (Old Bay is fine)
1/4 tsp Smoked Paprika
1 tsp Worcestershire
1 tsp Basalmic Vinager
1/3 cup Fresh Parmesan Cheese, grated
1/4 cup Bread Crumbs, optional

Be sure to watch the full Oysters Rockefeller Video Tutorial so you can see, step by step, exactly how to make them from scratch.

Alfredo and Cheese Sauce

The Best Cheese Sauce

Here is the Alfredo and Cheese Sauce I promised and it is so good. You’re probably going to be shocked when you see how it’s made but I’m certain that if you try it, you’ll be even more bewildered but amazed. I will admit that I was a bit bored when I came up with this idea but when I served this up to the wife and kids, we couldn’t stop eating it. So basically what I’ve done is taken a classic Italian Sauce recipe(French technically), Alfredo, and I’ve turned it into a true “Poor Man’s” recipe by adding an ingredient that will just blow your mind. Which is exactly what I do here, right? So let’s get crackin’!

Alfredo Cheese Sauce is Amazing

Believe it or not, the secret ingredient for this Alfredo Cheese sauce is Macaroni and Cheese Powder! And as you can see from the picture above, there’s nothing poor about this recipe. It’s rich, it’s creamy and the Fettuccine is perfectly cooked to Al dente. The only other thing you could add to make this sauce better, honestly, is Sriracha. I started squeezing that stuff over my Mac and Cheese a few years ago and it didn’t stop with this. I also love this dish with Garlic Parmesan Chicken, which is my next video recipe by the way, or with seafood twist; shrimp and scallops. Either way, I am certain you’re going to find this recipe dreadfully delightful! 😉

Also be sure to Check out the Olive Gardens Alfredo Sauce if you’re needing a more detailed tutorial on the basics of this sauce. I’m also plugging my Hawaiian Mac Salad recipe in case you need ideas for your left over Macaroni from the cheese box. You’ll see what I mean in the Alfredo and Cheese Sauce video below.

Alfredo and Cheese Sauce Ingredients:

Alfredo Sauce
1 Garlic Clove, chopped
1/4 cup Fresh Parmesan Cheese, grated
1/4 cup Dehydrated Parmesan Cheese
1 cup Whipping Cream
1 pinch of Salt
1/4 tsp White Pepper

Add this for Cheese Sauce
1/4 cup Whipping Cream or Milk
1 Mac and Cheese Powder Packet

Don’t let the ingredients fool you if you are doubting this recipe. This Alfredo Cheese Sauce tastes absolutely amazing and don’t forget the Sriracha if you’ve got some.

Olive Garden’s Alfredo Sauce Recipe

Dine in Alfredo Sauce

The Olive Garden’s Alfredo Sauce is one of my all time favorite recipes. To this day I’ll order their Seafood Fettuccine Alfredo because I LOVE IT! We faithfully make many variations of this sauce here in our own home and this exact recipe is the way it’s done at the Olive Garden. There’s no tricks, no gimmicks and you’re going to love this sauce as much as you love the original because it is the real recipe.

Alfredo Sauce on your Pizza

This Alfredo Sauce can be used over pasta, as a dip or if you want to make it really interesting, try it on your homemade pizza as the main sauce under your cheese. Chicken Alfredo pizza’s are pretty popular these days but I like to spin it a bit more with Tomatoes, roasted Artichoke hearts , and Shrimp Scampi baked right into the Alfredo, Mozzarella and provolone. But that’s just me! The pic above is actually my Margherita Pizza if you want to look into that recipe, CLICK HERE!

Olive Garden’s Alfredo Sauce Ingredients:

1 Garlic Clove, chopped
1/4 cup Fresh Parmesan Cheese, grated
1/4 cup Dehydrated Parmesan Cheese
1 cup Whipping Cream
1 pinch of Salt
1/4 tsp White Pepper

This Alfredo Sauce recipe can be cooked, from start to finish, in under 5 minutes.