Oysters Bienville

Total Time: 1 hr 35 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr 15 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 2 cups milk
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 pinch nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups minced green bell peppers
• 1/2 cup minced scallion
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 1/3 cup dry wine
• 1 (7 ounce) jar pimientos, drained and cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 3 ounces american cheese, shredded
• 1/8 cup unseasoned breadcrumbs
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
• 3 lbs rock salt or 3 lbs other coarse salt
• 24 oysters, in the shell
• lemon wedge

Recipe

• 1 to make the sauce: in a small saucepan, warm the milk over medium heat and bring almost to a boil, watching it carefully so that it doesn’t boil over.
• 2 remove pan from heat and reserve.
• 3 meanwhile, place another small pan over medium heat; add in 2 tablespoons butter.
• 4 when the butter has melted and the foam begins to subside, sprinkle in the flour, stir the mixture to blend, and immediately turn the heat down to med-low.
• 5 continue stirring while the mixture bubbles for two minutes.
• 6 gradually whisk in the reserved warm milk, raise the heat to med-high, and bring to a boil, whisking continuously.
• 7 reduce to a bare simmer and add a pinch of nutmeg and a generous pinch of salt and cook, stirring regularly, for 15 minutes.
• 8 the sauce should be very thick but still pourable.
• 9 whisk in a small quantity of milk if you think it needs thinning.
• 10 pass the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl and set the sauce aside.
• 11 place plastic wrap directly on sauce to keep a skin from forming.
• 12 melt the remaining 4 tablespoons butter in a large saute pan over medium heat.
• 13 add in green peppers, scallions, and garlic; cook gently for 5 minutes (do not let the vegetables brown).
• 14 add in the wine; increase the heat to med-high; let it reduce by half.
• 15 add in pimentos, cheese, breadcrumbs, cayenne, a few grindings of black pepper, a pinch of salt, and the reserved cream sauce, stirring to incorporate the mixture.
• 16 decrease the heat to medium-low and let the sauce gently simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• 17 when finished, it should be almost, but not quite, the consistency of mayonnaise.
• 18 taste the sauce for salt and adjust.
• 19 transfer sauce to a small bowl; set aside.
• 20 divide half the rock salt between 4 dinner plates, each large enough to hold 6 oysters; distribute the salt evenly on each plate; set plates aside.
• 21 divided the remaining salt between two roasting pans, each large enough to hold a dozen oysters in one layer; distribute the salt as you did for the plates.
• 22 open the top, flat side of each oyster; retain in each shell as much of the oyster liquor as possible.
• 23 discard the top shell and free each oyster from its muscle.
• 24 transfer each oyster in its bottom shell to the salt-lined roasting pans.
• 25 arrange the oven racks to accommodate both pans and preheat oven to 400°.
• 26 place 2 teaspoons of the sauce on top of each oyster, if they are medium-size (a little more if they are larger, a little less if they are smaller).
• 27 the mixture should almost, but not quite, cover the meat of the oyster.
• 28 place the pans with the oysters in the oven and cook about 20 minutes, until there is a lively bubbling at the edges of the oysters.
• 29 when the oysters are done, let them cool for 2 minutes, then, wearing rubber gloves or with the help of a large spoon, carefully transfer 6 oysters to each of the salt-lined dinner plates.
• 30 garnish each plate with a lemon wedge and serve immediately.
• 31 **alternative cooking method: preheat broiler; place one pan under the broiler for 3-5 minutes or until the oysters are bubbling on top; repeat with second pan; proceed as directed.