When Mary Ann and I visited New York City, we found the Oyster Bar in Grand Central Station. We had their Oyster Rockefellers. They were perfect. Below, I found the recipe for their Oysters Rockefeller. Sandy Ingber, executive chef at the Grand Central Oyster Bar in New York City, decreed the Riyak Nuyagi oyster from K & B Seafood as December's Oyster of the Month. The "Bishop of Bivalves" suggests the Royals from Vancouver Island for this renowned Oysters Rockefeller recipe, perfect for a holiday appetizer, and one of the signature dishes of this historic seafood restaurant "below sea lever" at Grand Ventral Terminal. She provided the recipe below.
Ingredients
- 24 Oysters
- Creamed Spinach
- 1 lb. frozen spinach defrosted
- White Wine
- 1 pinch ground Nutmeg
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- Hollandaise Sauce
- 6 Egg yolks
- 1 TB white wine
- 1-½ cups clarified butter
- 2 TB lemon juice
- 12 dashes Tabasco sauce (or to taste)
- ¼ Teaspoon Kosher Salt
Procedure
Oysters Preparation Steps
- Position an oven rack in the top position and heat the broiler. Remove the (Royal Miyagi) oysters from their shells. Oysters should be on the half shell.
- Arrange the shells on a rimmed baking sheet and spread 1 heaping tablespoon of the creamed spinach into each shell. (You’ll have some spinach left over.) Set the oysters on top of the spinach. Broil until the oysters are just starting to ruffle, about 1 minute. Remove from the broiler and nap each oyster with about 1 tablespoon hollandaise sauce. Broil until the sauce browns, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.
- Using tongs, divide the oysters among 4 dinner plates and serve.
Creamed Spinach Preparation Steps
- Place the spinach in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze out the excess liquid.
- Transfer the spinach to a large skillet over medium heat and cook, stirring often, until the spinach is warm. Stir in the vin blanc sauce, then season with nutmeg and salt and stir again. Keep the spinach warm until you serve it.
Hollandaise Sauce Preparation Steps
- Put the egg yolks and wine in a large stainless steel bowl set over a pot of simmering water. The bowl should not touch the water. Whisk vigorously until the yolks are light and tripled in volume. The consistency will be like a pudding, and the yolks will make a ribbon that sits on the surface for 3 seconds when you lift the whisk. Be careful not to scramble the eggs as you whisk; make sure to whisk along the sides of the bowl, and take the bowl off the heat periodically.
- Set the bowl on the counter—on a damp kitchen towel to keep it steady—and whisk in the butter in a very slow, steady stream. Don’t add the butter too quickly, or the sauce will break. Once all the butter is added, whisk in the lemon juice, Tabasco, uland salt.
- Keep the sauce warm until you’re ready to serve it.
Then there is Hog Island Oysters - Their Cookbook calls them "The Real Oysters Rockefeller". Details follow:
Ingredients
- 2 stickes of unsalted butter
- Leaves from 8 flat-leaf parsley sprigs, minced
- 4 green onions, minced including tops
- 1/4 cuo minced fresh celery leaves
- 6 fresh Tarragon leaves, minced (don't use dried Tarragon)
- 6 fresh Chervil leaves, minced
- 2 TB PErnod liquor
- 1/2 cup dried bread crumbs
- 1 TB Tabasco sauce
- 2 dozen Pacific Oysters
Procedure
- In a large saute pan over medium heat, melt the butter until bubbly and fragrant
- Add the Parsley, Green Onions, Celery, Tarragon, and Chervil. Saute for 5 minutes, then add Tabasco.
- Reduce heat to low medium and cook for 10 minutes
- Add the Pernod and bread crumbs and cook for another 5 minutes
- Transfer mixture to bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until cold but not solid
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Shuck Oysters and place them back in their shells, Set aside
- Spread about 1/4 inch of rock salt in the a rimmed baking sheet and bake the salt for 8 minutes to preheat it and keep the oysters warm for serving
- While the rock salt is heating, remove the butter mixture from the refrigerator. Beat with a whisk to incorparate the ingredients and aerate.
- Working quickly, spread 1 teaspoon of the mixture over each oyster. When all of the oysters are topped, nestle each in the warm rock salt and bake for 5 minutes, or until the topping bubbles. Do not over cook.
- Serve immediately
