048/18 – Flamed Oysters with Shallot and Apple Dressing:
I saw Niklas Ekstedt at Meatopia a couple of years ago and loved his approach to cooking. Someone on Twitter recently pointed out that Niklas was going to be on TV with Mary Berry so I watched the episode and really wanted to cook some dishes from his book. First up was Flamed Oysters with Shallot and Apple Dressing.
Food from the Fire by Niklas Ekstedt is available from Amazon for £17.99.
The Kit:
Something new required for this cook – A Flambadou!
The Flambadou (or flamboir a lard) is an iron cone with a hole in the bottom mounted on a long handle. You place lard or tallow in the cone which drips out the bottom and either cooks or sears the food underneath.
I got mine from Tom Bray / Argentinian Cross for about £30.
The Ingredients:
Beef tallow seems quite hard to get hold of. My wife went to our local butcher to get some, they seemed quite confused why anyone would want it and thought I was making beef dripping so they minced it to help. Not ideal as I wanted it in slices but I will sort that next time. The oysters were from our local fishmonger, freshly delivered that day. £10.40 for 6.
The Prep:
I cooked these on the day I was cooking the baby back ribs over logs in the WSM so made use of the embers to heat up the Flambadou both inside and outside of the cone.
The oysters were opened by holding them in 1 hand with a tea towel and pushing a flat screwdriver into the valve end and twisting.
I made the Shallot and Apple Dressing by mixing chopped Shallots, Apples and Fennel Fronds with Shaoxing Rice Wine (Recipe calls for sherry vinegar and I didn’t have any, this is close enough!)
The Cook:
I poured out the embers from inside the cone and placed some beef tallow in the cone then tipped it sideways in the fire to make the fat catch light. First attempt didn’t go too well as some of the fat tipped out, I scopped it up and ended up with a spare bit of charcoal on top!
2nd attempt was much better. Fat was dropped over the oyster for 5 seconds.
3rd attempt was far better, plenty of flames from the fat in the cone.
Time to Eat:
Salt in the dish to hold the oysters steady, dressing on top and good to go.
Overhead shot.
Summary:
This was great fun, nice to cook something using a new and different method. The Oysters tasted fantastic, very fresh with the taste of the sea. The dressing worked well as well.
Next time I would try to use sliced Beef Tallow rather than minced but wouldn’t change much else. Planning more cooks with the Flambadou – watch this space!
Cook Difficulty: | 4/5 |
Cook Duration: | Short: 1/5 |
Cook Equipment: | Flambadou |
Cook Method: | Dripping Fat! |
Charcoal: | N/A |
Smoking Wood: | N/A |
Cook temperature: | Very hot! |
Cook time: | 5 seconds per oyster |
Internal temperature: | Unknown |
Notes: | Use sliced beef tallow next time |
The Book:
If you like the look of this recipe the book is available from Amazon for £17.99.
Now that is seriously funky food.
Thanks Gill!