Recipe

Chef Eric Cook Shares One of His All-Time Favorite Creations: The Oyster BLT

Tomato jam, smoky pork belly, crunchy oysters, and peppery arugula come together in a divine New Orleans bite

By Lindsey Liles
Recipe by Eric Cook

August 15, 2024

Photo: Sam Hanna

“The oyster BLT is just the perfect bite,” says chef Eric Cook, the owner of Gris-Gris and Saint John in New Orleans. “You’ve got a sweet-tart tomato jam and then that smoky, fatty pork belly, the briny, crunchy oysters topped with earthy, peppery arugula.”

The Crescent City native created the dish while working as executive chef of the National WWII Museum’s American Sector. He was inspired by a po’boy he had eaten, one laden with bacon and oysters, and created his own twist using locally sourced ingredients. “It’s something I’ve been carrying with me for years, and I don’t think I’ll ever let it off the menu,” he says. Along with artichoke boulettes, a spicy French 75, and other New Orleans classics, the dish appears in his new cookbook out in September, a love letter to Creole home cooking called Modern Creole: A Taste of New Orleans Culture and Cuisine.

Read our Q&A with Cook here.

Ingredients

OYSTER BLT (Serves 6)
For the sandwich
- 1 (8 oz.) slab pork belly, cut into 24 (2-inch square, ½-inch thick) pieces
- Blended oil or vegetable oil, for frying
- 2 egg whites
- 1 quart oysters, drained
- 1 oz. micro arugula, for serving
For the tomato jam (makes about 3 pints)
- 2 pints cherry tomatoes
- 3 medium vine-ripened tomatoes, diced
- ½ cup Steen’s cane vinegar
- 2 cups light Karo corn syrup
- 2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 tbsp. black pepper
For the seafood dredge (makes 3¼ cups)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- ¼ cup Creole seasoning

Preparation

Prepare the seafood dredge: Combine the flour, cornmeal, and Creole seasoning in a bowl and mix well. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 weeks.

Prepare the tomato jam: Combine the tomatoes, vinegar, syrup, salt, and pepper in a saucepan set over low heat. Cook until the mixture has fully broken down, reduced by one third, and has a jam-like consistency. Store in the refrigerator for up to 14 days.

Prepare the pork belly: In a 12-inch cast-iron skillet set over medium heat, cook the pork belly as you would bacon, 5 to 7 minutes per side. Set aside to drain on paper towels. Heat the oil to 350°F in a deep fryer or Dutch oven. Line a plate with paper towels.

Prepare the oysters: Pour the dredge into a large bowl. Pour the egg whites into a second bowl and whisk until frothy. Add the oysters to the egg whites and mix until well coated. Let sit, refrigerated, for 15 minutes.

Strain the oysters from the egg whites. Add the oysters to the bowl with the dredge and toss to coat the oysters evenly. Shake off the excess dredge. Working in batches, fry the oysters in the hot oil until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain the oysters on the paper towel–lined plate.

Assemble the BLT: To serve, spread some tomato jam on a small plate. Alternate 4 fried oysters and 4 pieces of pork belly over the jam. Top with micro arugula.

Recipe excerpted from Modern Creole: A Taste of New Orleans Culture and Cuisine by Eric Cook with Jyl Benson, photography by Sam Hanna. Reprinted by permission of Gibbs Smith Books.

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Lindsey Liles joined Garden & Gun in 2020 after completing a master’s in literature in Scotland and a Fulbright grant in Brazil. The Arkansas native is G&G’s digital reporter, covering all aspects of the South, and she especially enjoys putting her biology background to use by writing about wildlife and conservation. She lives on Johns Island, South Carolina, with her husband, Giedrius, and their cat, Oyster.