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.

How to make Boudin – Cajun stuffed Blood Sausage

The Best Boudin

If you love Cajun recipes then you’re going to love Boudin. And this recipe is by far the best I’ve ever had and I’m not just saying that, either. I’m telling you that this is hands down 1st place, blue ribbon material right here. This recipe could easily compete with Dj’s, Zummo’s or your grandma and grandpa’s recipe, it’s that good!

Boudin Dressing

Once you’ve cooked the bulk of this recipe it can be served as is, turned into sausage links or rolled into Boudin Balls and deep fried. The majority of the ingredients is virtually the same for all 3 recipes, only one is served as a dressing, one get’s stuffed like sausage and the other gets dipped in an egg wash and breaded before they’re fried. They are all delicious and fun to make but today we’re going to focus on stuffing hog casings to create Links that can be smoked, grilled, baked or pan fried.

Stuffing Boudin into Casings

In order to stuff the casings, however, you’re going to need a mixer with a meat grinder and horn attachments to form the links. Another thing you’re going to need, obviously, is the casings themselves. You can purchase Hog, Lamb or edible artificial casings from your local butcher or order them online. I was fortunate enough to find Hog Casings, here locally, at my Harmon’s Grocery store. They matched the bone marrow price in the meat department, which ran about $1.29 per pound, and 1 lbs. of these Hog casings goes a long way. Plus they store in your refrigerator for up to six months if you keep them soaking in salt water.

Remember that Mardi Gras is in full swing, starting today(Fat Tuesday), so be sure to check out Crawfish Etouffee and my Homemade Jambalaya recipes.

Boudin Ingredients:

4 cups white rice, cooked
1 lbs Ground Andouille Sausage
1/2 lbs Chicken liver
1 Celery stalk, chopped
1/2 Red Onion, chopped
3 Garlic Cloves, chopped
1 Jalapenos, chopped
1 Bell Pepper, chopped
1/2 cup Fresh Parsley, chopped
1/2 cup Scallions

2 Cups Chicken Broth
1 Cup Clam Juice
2 tbs Butter
1 tbs kosher salt
2 tbs freshly ground black pepper
1 tbs Worcestershire
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 cup Red Wine

Use Hog, Lamb or Artificial Casings for Stuffing the Boudin.

Crawfish Etouffee with Cream

Classic Crawfish Etouffee!

Traditionally there is absolutely no cream added to Crawfish Etouffee, but there are several different ways to make it. I personally prefer the cream because it adds a lighter yet richer flavor for me that soothes the hick-ups in all the Cajun spices. Now don’t get me wrong, I love spicy food as much as the next guy. I’m just saying that adding cream to a french originated Cajun recipe, developed there in good ol’ New Orleans by those wonderful locals, isn’t exactly a fauxpas! As long as you stick to the basics and keep the bulk of the recipe the way it was originally intended, then I don’t think we’re breaking any rules. As long as it tastes great, what rules are we really breaking anyway?

The main thing you need to understand is that this Crawfish Etouffee recipe generally starts out with a French style Mirepoix. Basically, you combine and add chopped Celery, Onion and Carrots but in this recipe, we will not be adding any Carrots. Instead we will be using Celery, Onion, Garlic and Bell Pepper. Using these ingredients with a few Cajun spices and some classic Creole Seasoning, we will be well on our way to making one of the best Crawfish Etouffee Dinners you have ever had the pleasure to plate with rice!

Crawfish Etouffee Ingredients:

2 cups dry rice (follow cooking instructions)

1/4 stick Butter
1/2 cup Roux
5 Chopped Garlic Cloves
1/2 Chopped Onion
1 Chopped Celery Stock
1 chopped Bell Pepper
1 tsp Creole Seasoning
1/2 tsp Cajun Spice
4 Bay Leaves
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
2 tbsp Worcestershire
1 tsp Sriracha
1 bottle Clam Juice
2 cups Chicken Broth
1 cup Whipping Cream
1 lbs Crawfish Tail Meat

To make Crawfish Etouffee, saute the Mirepoix and add a shake of the Creole and Cajun Seasoning. Add the Roux and stir thoroughly. Once it’s combined turn heat to high, then add the Oyster Juice or Shrimp Stalk. Stir until it’s Pasty, then add the Chicken Broth and stir. Now add the Worcestershire, Hot Sauce (Sriracha or Louisiana), Cajun and Creole Seasoning and bring to a boil. Add the cream and Italian Seasoning and bring it back to a boil. Season the Crawfish in a separate bowl with Creole Seasoning, then add the Crawfish to the Etouffee and reduce heat to a simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Serve Crawfish Etouffee over rice and garnish with some Scallions.