Food & Drink

Chicken-Fried Oysters with Garlic-Dill Pickle Sauce

Cast-iron fried oysters

Recipe by Walter Bundy

February/March 2014

Photo: Peter Frank Edwards

A batch of chicken-fried oysters.

Ingredients

- Peanut oil
- 1 quart all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tbsp. paprika
- 1 1/2 tbsp. garlic powder
- 2 tbsp. Old Bay Seasoning
- 2 tsp. celery seed
- 1 1/2 tbsp. onion powder
- 2 tsp. thyme powder
- 2 heaping tsp. cayenne
- 3 tbsp. kosher salt
- 2 tsp. black pepper
- 4 cups shucked select oysters
Roasted Garlic–Dill Pickle Sauce
- 10 garlic cloves, stems removed
- Olive oil
- 1 cup Duke's mayonnaise
- 2 dill pickles, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp. fresh dill, minced
- Juice from 1/4 lemon
- 1/4 tsp. cayenne
- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- Pinch white pepper

Preparation

Fill a cast-iron skillet halfway to the top with oil and heat it to 350 degrees. (If you don’t have a thermometer, flick a drop of water into the oil. If it sizzles, the oil is ready to go.)

Combine flour and all seasonings into a large bowl and mix thoroughly.

Drain oysters in a colander or strainer and then dredge them, one by one, in the breading mix. When 10 to 12 oysters are ready, shake excess flour off and drop them gently into the skillet. Fry until golden, 3 to 4 minutes, turning frequently. Place on paper towels to drain and cool slightly.

Serve with garlic–dill pickle sauce on the side. Repeat the process until all of the oysters are gone.

For the sauce:

Peel garlic cloves, submerge them in olive oil in a tinfoil-covered baking dish, and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, or until soft. Mash garlic into a smooth paste and combine with other ingredients, mixing well.

Recipe by chef Walter Bundy of Lemaire in Richmond, Virginia