50,000 Oyster Tribute to Charles Dickens

Oct. 10, 2011 - PRLog -- On Valentines Day in 1842, New York welcomed Charles Dickens and his wife with a 3,000 person gala festival at the Park Theatre dubbed “The Boz Ball” (Boz being the popular nickname for Dickens). There, New York’s best caterer at the time, Thomas Downing, an African-American also known as “the great man of oysters,” served a massive feast to the fans of Dickens including a centerpiece of 50,000 oysters.

Today, Red Rock Press would like to celebrate this literary giant with an authentic 19th-century recipe for Scalloped Oysters, including an updated recipe for the modern cook. The recipe comes from Red Rock Press’ “A Christmas Dinner” by Charles Dickens with Peter Ackroyd & Alice Ross and was originally featured in “The Female Instructor or Young Woman’s Friend and Companion” (1837). Alice Ross, a culinary historian, recreated the original recipe using authentic 19th-century cooking implements, then crafted a recipe for modern cooks to closely match the dish as it was enjoyed by Dickens himself.

Oysters were not the only delicacy served at The Boz Ball; Downing’s menu included “10,000 sandwiches, 40 hams, 76 tongues, 50 rounds of beef, 50 jellied turkeys, 50 pairs of chickens and 25 of ducks; also “2,000 fried Mutton Chops—cold” and 12 Floating Swans, a new device.” We hope that the Scalloped Oysters is enough to keep you satiated for a while – 76 tongues are just hard to come by these days. To learn more about “A Christmas Dinner” by Charles Dickens with Peter Ackroyd & Alice Ross and to find other authentic recipes from the 19th century, please visit http://www.ADickensChristmas.com.

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Original Recipe:
Oyster Scallops

Wash them thoroughly clean with their own liquor, and then put them in your scallop shells; strew over them a few crumbs of bread. Lay a slice of butter on the first you put in, then more oysters, and bread, and butter, successively, till the shell is full. Put them into a Dutch oven to brown, and serve them up hot in the shells.

The Female Instructor or Young Woman’s Friend and Companion
(London, 1837)

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Updated Recipe:
Scalloped Oysters
Serves 8 to 12

2 pints of fresh oysters, shelled (about 60), including liquid
1/2 tsp. ground mace or nutmeg
1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. flour
2-3 slices white bread
2-3 Tbsp. heavy cream

Separate oysters from their liquid and reserve the oysters. Place liquid in a medium saucepan with ground mace or nutmeg.
Mix butter and flour into a roux until smooth and add to oyster liquid. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly, and then simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.
While pot is simmering, toast bread slices and then cut each toast diagonally into 4 triangles. Place triangles around the edge of a large, shallow bowl in which the oysters are to be served.
Add reserved oysters and heavy cream to hot, thickened oyster liquid. Shake pot and cook until quite hot. Do not boil, as the oysters will become hard. Pour into serving bowl and serve hot.

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Daniel Kleinman
Red Rock Press
Daniel@RedRockPress.com
212-362-8304