The Oyster Tradition

The Gulf oyster is the most important single shellfish in Louisiana cuisine — present in gumbo, in po'boys, in Rockefeller, in bisque, in dressing, on the raw bar, and chargrilled at Drago's. The Louisiana oyster tradition is vast enough that individual preparations have their own entries (Rockefeller at LA2-02, po'boy at LA2-03), but the oyster itself — the culture of oystering, the raw bar tradition, the chargrilled phenomenon, the specific character of the Gulf oyster — deserves its own entry as a foundation of Louisiana food.

Gulf oysters (*Crassostrea virginica*) from the coastal waters of Louisiana — harvested from Plaquemines Parish, Grand Isle, and the brackish bays and bayous of the coast — are larger, plumper, and milder in salinity than Atlantic or Pacific oysters. Their flavour is sweet, briny, mineral, and clean, with a creamy texture when raw. The mildness of Gulf oysters makes them ideal for cooking (they don't turn overwhelmingly briny when heated the way cold-water oysters can), but it also makes them superb raw — especially in the winter months (September through April) when the water is cold and the oysters are at their fattest and firmest.

Raw: on ice, lemon, cocktail sauce, saltines, cold beer or dry white wine. Chargrilled: French bread for the garlic butter, cold beer. Fried: on a po'boy, dressed, Crystal hot sauce. En brochette: as a first course, with remoulade (LA2-15). The oyster adapts to every context in Louisiana cuisine.