Oyster Patties is a traditional British recipe, based on Mrs Beeton's recipe of 1861, for a classic dish of steamed oysters that are sliced and mixed with a thickened mix of oyster liquor, cream and lemon juice that's poured into patty pans lined with puff pastry and oven baked. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Oyster Patties.
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This is a traditional British recipe redacted from the redoubtable Mrs Beeton's 1861 volume Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, the classic Victorian cookbook.
Original Recipe
289. INGREDIENTS.—2 dozen oysters, 2 oz. butter, 3 tablespoonfuls of cream, a little lemon-juice, 1 blade of pounded mace; cayenne to taste.
Mode.—Scald the oysters in their own liquor, beard them, and cut each one into 3 pieces. Put the butter into a stewpan, dredge in sufficient flour to dry it up; add the strained oyster-liquor with the other ingredients; put in the oysters, and let them heat gradually, but not boil fast. Make the patty-cases as directed for lobster patties, No. 277: fill with the oyster mixture, and replace the covers.
Time.—2 minutes for the oysters to simmer in the mixture.
Average cost, exclusive of the patty-cases, 1s. 1d.
Add the oysters to a pan and steam for about 3 minutes in their own liquor. Take them out of of the pan, beard them then shuck the oysters, reserve their liquor then strain this free from any grit.
Melt the butter in a pan and scatter over the flour then stir to combine. Beat in the oyster liquor, cream and lemon juice to taste then add the ground mace and season with cayenne pepper. Cut the oysters into three pieces and gradually heat the mixture, but do not allow to boil.
Roll out the puff pastry then cut into pieces large enough to cover the base of four patty pans. Fill with the lobster mix then cover with more puff pastry. Prick the tops to make steam holes then transfer to an oven pre-heated to 180°C and bake for about 20 minutes, or until cooked through. Serve hot.
