LAMB FAT OYSTERS
Serves 2-4 as a starter
While hosting the wood-fired Meatopia festivala couple of years ago, I discovered
a wonderful new live fire tool: the flambadou,or fat baster. Swedish chef (and ex-pro snowboarder) Niklas Ekstedt used one to cook beef fat oysters. As soon as I saw him drip freshly rendered, aged beef fat onto the oysterswith his flambadou, I was sold. So, I called TheMaster, The Dude, Shovel Hands, The Banger, The Wielder of Thor’s Hammer, Alex Pole, and asked him to make me one.
INGREDIENTS
12 oysters, freshly shucked, in their half shells
50g chunked lamb fat
1 shallot, finely chopped
4 tbsp juice from a jar of sour pickles or dill pickles
Tabasco (optional)
METHOD
First off, you’ll need to build a fire and createa good bed of hot charcoal. Make sure it’s niceand flat. Bury your flambadou in the hot coals,getting some of the coals inside the cone itself. You need your instrument super hot:I like to bury it for 15 minutes before proceeding with the cook.
Lay your open oysters, in their half shells, ontothe coals. Pull the flambadou out of the coalsand tip out the charcoal from inside.
Now, throw 4 chunks of the lamb fat into the cone and get ready for the render. Hold theflambadou above each oyster until 4-5 nice bigdrops of hot fat drip out onto it, then move onto the next oyster. You’ll probably need to refillthe cone a couple of times:it depends on thesize and width of your flambadou.
Once you’ve dripped the lovely lamb fat onto the oysters, take them out of the coals and lay them onto a tray (it’s handy to line the tray with salt, sand, gravel or something similar that will stop the shells rocking and losing the lamb fat) and get ready to garnish.
Top the oysters with a small pinch of shallot, a splash of pickle juice and a glug of Tabasco (if you like), then devour and enjoy.
