December (Charles)

Fried Oysters

2 quarts vegetable oil for deep frying
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
12 ounces shucked oysters, drained
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup fine breadcrumbs

This is a really easy recipe for fried oysters. All you need is a small sized fryer which you can get for $24 dollars on Amazon. Heat deep fryer to 375 degrees. Combine flour, salt and black pepper. Dredge oysters in flour mixture, dip in egg and roll in breadcrumbs. Carefully slide oysters into hot oil. Cook five at a time until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Drain briefly on paper towels. Serve hot.

Gastrography
This recipe is actually one of my Dad’s (Dad cooked almost every Sunday night, and mom usually cooked the rest of the week when I lived at home). One must always remember when eating fresh oysters that you should only eat oysters during months with the letter “R” in them. The reason I put this recipe in December is because this is the month of oyster roasts in the Charleston. One of the most memorable oyster roasts I ever went to was Christmas night. My entire family, consisting of about fifteen people, decided to go for a walk after Christmas dinner in my neighborhood. Well, it turns out the Morgans, a family that lives down the street, were having an oyster roast that night, and my family decided to crash the party. The next thing the Morgans know, there is a pack of Carmodys standing in their front lawn wanting to try some oysters. They were great and let us hang out, and it was a great evening. Oyster Roasts are yet another great communal meal.

My most memorable time eating Dad’s fried oysters was when I was in eighth grade. I had just gotten back from a concert at our church, which was a couple of blocks from our house, and we had told my youth pastor that the band who performed, Stellar Kart, could shower at our house before they hit the road. I felt like the coolest kid ever having five band members dressed in their tight black jeans and spikes to be coming over to my house. Dad was cooking fried oysters that night, and the band ended up staying for an extra hour while Dad popped out as many fried oysters as he could. Needless to say, I request this dish as much as possible.

(This is the band, Stellar Kart, that loved my Dad's oysters)