This is a real crowd pleaser. Deep frying oysters in crispy breadcrumbs is a great way to serve them and even people who normally wouldn’t eat raw oysters will love them cooked. It changes the texture completely and they are delicious. Match that with your own cured duck ham and you have a real winner.

Ingredients | Serves 6

For the oysters

• 18 rock oysters
• 100g plain flour
• 100g panko breadcrumbs
• 3 whole eggs, beaten
• Vegetable oil for deep frying
• Specialist Equipment
• Muslin cloth
  
  

For the duck ham

• 1 large duck breast (300g)
• 75g coarse sea salt
• 10 black peppercorns, crushed
• 5 sprigs fresh thyme leafs
• 25g caster sugar
  
  

To garnish

• 2 Cox’s apples
• 750g coarse sea salt (This can be reused)

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Making the duck ham

The duck ham is an optional extra; the surf and turf element of this dish really works well but bear in mind, forward planning is essential as it will take 10 days to cure the duck breast. If you do not want to attempt this you can substitute the duck ham for a good quality salami or any other cured meat from a deli. Start by removing half the fat off the duck breast with a knife then in a bowl mix together the salt, pepper, thyme and sugar. In a small plastic container place a layer of the salt mixture on the bottom, put the duck breast on the salt mix then cover the breast with the remaining salt mixture. The thyme is very important in this recipe because as well as adding flavour it contains antibacterial agents that will protect the meat from contamination as it cures. Cover the container with cling film and place in the fridge for 24 hours. After 24 hours remove the duck breast from the cure and wash it under cold running water to remove all the salt mix, pat dry with kitchen towel and wrap it in muslin cloth. Tie some string around the end and hang the duck breast in the fridge for 10 days. It is important that the air can circulate freely around the meat so make sure you clear some space in the fridge. After 10 days remove the duck from the cloth and the beautifully cured duck ham is ready for eating.

Opening the oysters

We call this shucking. Hold the oyster flat side up and use a tea towel to protect your hands in case you slip when opening the oysters. Insert an oyster shucker or butter knife into the hinge of the oyster, ease the knife in gently then twist the knife to open the oyster. Discard the flat part of the shell and – using a spoon – carefully scrape the oyster into a bowl. Once you have done this to all the oysters, keep the meat in the fridge until needed and wash the curved part of the shells as we will use these later to serve the oysters in.

Just before you are ready to serve place the flour, beaten eggs and breadcrumbs in three separate bowls. Take the oysters out the fridge and place each one in the flour first, then the egg and finally the breadcrumbs. Make sure a decent layer of the crumbs stick to each oyster. Place the breaded oysters onto a clean tray ready for frying.

To serve

Heat a table top fryer or deep saucepan with vegetable oil to 180°c. Whilst the oil is heating tip the coarse salt into a serving dish then place the cleaned oyster shells into the salt, which is there to stop all the shells from tipping over. Taking a sharp knife, thinly slice the apple then cut into matchsticks. Remove the duck breast from the fridge and thinly slice. Once the oil is hot, fry the oysters for 2 minutes then drain on kitchen paper to remove excess oil. Place a deep fried oyster into each oyster shell, top with a slice of duck ham and some apple then serve straight away.

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