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Southern Fried Oysters

Southern Fried Oysters Recipe

Steven Pennington
Last Fried Oyster Recipe You'll Ever Need
4.49 from 49 votes
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 3 minutes
Marinade 20 minutes
Total Time 28 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Southern Classic
Servings 4 People
Calories 641 kcal

Suggested Equipment

Ingredients
  

The Oysters

  • 24 oz Oysters - Freshly Shucked Freshly Shucked Everywhere sells them slightly differently; that's okay. The flouring mix works for all amounts, double when needed. Buy local oysters when possible.

Flour Dredge

  • 1 cup All-Purpose Flour Magic Flour Mix for a cup: Ingredients - Use ⅔ C of AP Flour & ⅓ C of Corn Starch
  • ⅓ cup Cornstarch
  • 2 ½ cup Cornmeal
  • 2 Tablespoon Cajun Seasoning Tony's or Old Bay
  • 1 ½ Tablespoon Paprika
  • 1 Tablespoon Garlic Salt If watching your salt intake, use garlic powder.
  • 1 Tablespoon Onion Powder
  • 2 teaspoon Dried Oregano Crush in the palm of your hand to release the natural oils
  • 1 teaspoon Thyme - Dried Crush in the palm of your hand to release the natural oils
  • 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
  • 1 ½ Tablespoon Sea Salt To Your Taste

Marinade

  • 2 cup Buttermilk Whole milk / Half & Half will work
  • 2 Tablespoon Hot Sauce (Cholula) The hot sauce does not make the oysters spicy. Adds additional flavor. Often used when marinading fried chicken.
  • 1 tip Refrigerator for 30-40 minutes The natural acids in the buttermilk will bring flavor and help the flour stick better than normal milk

Instructions
 

Preparation & Marinating Of The Oysters

  • Rinse off the oysters under cool running water. (If the oysters are super fresh, you can skip this step).
    Place the rinsed oysters into a bowl.

The Marinade

  • Combine the buttermilk and favorite hot sauce like Cholula hot sauce (link in notes below). So good. Not like Tabasco hot sauce in flavor. Much better in my opinion.
    Cover the oysters with the marinade, then into the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Not overnight, the natural acids in the buttermilk will break down the oyster texture too much.

Dry Ingredients

  • Mix all dry ingredients in a large-sized bowl.
    1 cup All-purpose flour + ⅓ cornstarch + 2 ½ cup cornmeal + 2 T creole seasoning + 1 T garlic salt + 1 T onion powder + 2 teaspoon dried oregano + 1 teaspoon thyme + 1 teaspoon black pepper + 1T sea salt.
    Chef Tip: After mixing the dry ingredients, take a taste of the flour mixture. Does it taste too much like flour or cornmeal? Then adjust and add more seasoning based on what you think it needs. You can always cook a small test batch and then adjust the seasoning. This is how restaurant chefs balance out dishes.
    TSA: Taste. Season & Adjust

Dredging For Frying The Oysters

  • Add the oysters from the buttermilk marinade (do not rinse) and place them straight into the cornmeal coating mixture / dredging flour mix.
    Crispy/Thickness Options:
    1) The photo on the post = wet (marinade), then the oysters are added to the dry (flour), then into the fryer.
    2) A thicker outside crust. Repeat option 1) above twice. Double dredge and fry.
  • Plan Ahead Option: You can dredge and flour the oysters in advance, place them on a baking sheet, and store them in the refrigerator until you are ready to fry. (max prep time: 30 minutes in the refrigerator).
    Be sure to cover the baking sheet/cookie sheet first with a good amount of cornmeal to avoid sticking.

Frying The Oysters

  • A high smoke point oil is needed when frying oysters.
    I like using peanut oil or canola oil to fry oysters.
    Tip: If the oil does get too hot and exceeds the smoking point, there is no saving the oil. The flavor will be rancid and not useable. Start over...
    Google the "smoke point" of whichever oil you choose. Never exceed the max temperature of the oil.
    Add enough oil to the pot to cover the oysters; the oysters need to be in the oil, not floating on top of the oil. At least 4 inches of oil in the pot. You are "deep" frying the oysters. If you're low on oil, use a pot that isn't as wide.
  • Preheat to 360 degrees (medium-high heat), testing with a candy thermometer or temperature probe. The temperature will drop as soon as the first batch of oysters goes in, so keep an eye on the frying temperature.
    This is why we start at 360 and not 350.
    Carefully add the oysters and fry for 2-3 minutes, then remove the oysters.
  • Tip: Do not overcrowd the pot, or the temperature will drop too much, and the oysters will not get crispy but muddy and soggy full of oil. Manage the oil temperature, do not overcrowd the pot.
    Suggestion: Test fry a few oysters to test the oil temperature before committing all your delicious oysters to the fryer.
    Have a large plate with paper towels all laid out and ready to go before you begin frying. Place the oysters on the paper towels straight from the fryer.
    Immediately after coming out of the fryer, sprinkle the oysters with sea salt.

Notes

Chefs Tips List:
  • Use a high smoke point oil.
  • Do not exceed the maximum smoke oil temperature.
  • Perform the sniff test for freshness. The oysters should smell clean and that of the ocean.
  • Taste the raw flour dredge to check for seasoning.
  • Salt the oysters once out of the frying oil.
  • Suggested hot sauce for the marinade: Cholula Hot Sauce
 
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