Mignonette Sauce For Oysters is a simple and elegant way to enjoy oysters. It’s the perfect finger food to have for a New Year’s Eve party!
Last updated 11 September 2021
Happy New Year!
After stuffing my gob with plenty of binge eating during the Christmas holidays, it’s time for lighter, healthier foods. I say that now, but watch me continue to stuff my face in until the end of January! I seriously have little control and easily give in to temptation with rich and indulgent foods.
Luckily, indulgent eating doesn’t always have to be unhealthy or high in calories. This is very true for oysters. Oysters are indulgent and fancy but low in fat, especially when served raw with a simple but sophisticated mignonette sauce. That means we can help ourselves to 2 or 3 dozen without feeling guilty, right?
On lazy days when I am preparing raw oysters for my guests, I serve them just with lemon wedges or with Mignonette Sauce because both are ways effortless and delicious. Mignonette sauce is tart and refreshing, which beautifully complements the flavours of creamy, briny oysters.
For me, serving oysters with mignonette sauce at a New Year gathering is a no must. We need only a few ingredients and there’s hardly any prep work at all. We just scatter the oysters over plenty of rock salt and plonk the bowl of mignonette sauce next to it. How elegant, impressive, and easy was that?
After all, New Year’s celebration means less time in the kitchen and more time for eating and drinking!
Oysters are broking me!
Is there such a thing as an ‘Oysteraholic’? because I think I need professional intervention for my addiction to these molluscs. Every time oysters are on the menu, I would order them, and it doesn’t even matter how it’s cooked or what it’s served with. I want it and I need it!
The only painful thing about ordering oysters is the price tag. To have the privilege to slurp on a dozen oysters in a restaurant can us back from $30-$50 (USD 23-38). Suckers like me would happily pay for this.
People who are not oyster fans probably think we’re crazy for paying crazy amounts for such little feed. My husband, Tomasi, is one of them! The only time he would ever steal an oyster from me is when it’s Kilpatrick because they’re covered in bacon.
The funny thing was I loved all kinds of seafood but stayed clear from oysters. The way oysters looked terrified me, and the thought of eating one raw made me cringe. Also, what made matters worse was I heard that people have died from eating raw oysters!
I finally tried my first oyster when I was in my early twenties. For some unknown reason, my ex-boyfriend made it his mission for me to try eating raw oysters. He assured me by saying ‘You would love it because it tastes just like the sea’. After a few minutes of bickering, I gave in. He squeezed some lemon and sprinkled a little salt before feeding it to me. Scared, I closed my eyes and slurped the oyster off its shell. The rest is history because we all know what happened next. I’m truly an Oysteraholic!
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Ingredients for Mignonette Sauce For Oysters
Oysters – The most common oysters around my area are Pacific and Sydney rock. When eating raw, I prefer the taste of Sydney rock as they are smaller and tastier. For cooking, I use the Pacific because they are larger and meatier. However, any variety of oysters will work, but try to find the freshest oysters possible because you’ll be eating them raw. The last thing you want is to be sick after eating them!
Shallots (eschalots) – It’s so confusing right? Shallots, green onions, spring onions and other small onions can be confusing. It also doesn’t help that other countries call the same onion a different name!
I’ve seen the stores here call shallots ‘eschalots’ or ‘French shallots’. Eschalots look like small brown onions but are skinny and oval-shaped, they’re difficult to peel and way more expensive than other types of onions.
Red and white wine vinegar – Some recipes only use red wine vinegar to make Mignonette Sauce, but I like to add white wine vinegar as I find red wine vinegar on its own is too harsh on the palate. White wine vinegar is milder and not as strong as red vinegar.
Sugar – The sugar decreases the raw and harsh taste of the vinegar. It only adds a subtle sweetness to the sauce.
Here’s to more oyster love!
Oysters Kilpatrick
Oysters with Pomegranate Vinaigrette
Oyster Mornay
Japanese Oyster Dressing
How to make Mignonette Sauce For Oysters
Step-by-step guide with photos
Prepare the shallots:
Cut the top and bottom of the shallots and peel off all the dry layers of the skin. Use a sharp knife to dice the shallots finely.
For the dressing:
Combine the red and white vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Whisk the sauce until the sugar and salt dissolve, then add in the shallots and give it a mix. Cover bowl and set aside for the flavours to infuse for 30 minutes before serving.
Leftovers – Transfer the sauce into a sealed container and refrigerate, it’ll be good for up to a month.
I’ve used a third-party application to calculate the calories and nutritional information, so please use this as an approximate guide only.
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements. For specific details and conversions, visit our Australian Cooking Measurements page.
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Cheers – Cat T
Mignonette Sauce For Oysters
Ingredients
- 24 oysters (2 dozen) (NOTE 1)
- 4 small shallots (finely diced) (NOTE 2)
- ¼ cup white wine vinegar (NOTE 3)
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar (NOTE 3)
- 2 tsp sugar (NOTE 4)
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cut the top and bottom of the shallots and peel off all the dry layers of the skin. Use a sharp knife to dice the shallots finely.
- Combine the red and white vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Whisk the sauce until the sugar and salt dissolve, then add in the shallots and give it a mix. Cover bowl and set aside for the flavours to infuse for 30 minutes before serving.
