RAW BAR GIANT HAMMERHEAD OYSTERS

The Boathouse Disney Springs Florida

Come and Get Shucked !

Wow what a belter!  We were served these giant Hammerheads, Barnstable, MA* oysters at The Boathouse, Disney Springs Florida, they were outstanding oysters and a bonus as it was my husbands birthday and oysters are his favourite food.  The oyster shucker was photographing the finished dish as it was that impressive, I had the small crisp brine clean finish, seaweed notes and buttery texture Lucky Dux, Duxbury Bay MA* oysters which were divine as I couldn’t bring myself to eat several giant oysters in four bites each !

Hammerheads, Barnstable, MA* Oysters

(large size, deep cups, distinctive “ocean-in-a-shell flavour”)

My oyster the small crisp brine clean finish seaweed notes and buttery texture Lucky Dux, Duxbury Bay MA* next to my husbands giant Hammerhead oysters!

The Boathouse Disney Springs Florida Raw Oyster Bar Menu



A fabulous you tube video to watch eating a giant oysters...Mark Weins in Tokyo’s Tsukiji Market in Japan.  This market is described as culinary paradise for all fresh honest produce at its best.  

A Little Oyster History 

The word oyster translates from the Old French Oistre.  Oysters have been cultivated in Japan since 2000 BC and in the UK Whitstable oysters have been grown in the Kentish fields since Roman Times, there are several Oyster festivals in the UK annually.  In the early 19th century oysters were in abundance so much so that N.Y. New York was actually called The Big Oyster, Ellis Island was called The Little Oyster and Liberty Island was called The Great Oyster Island.

The native Lenape Tribes relied on these oysters as a sustainable source of protein.

In the early 19th century oysters were a cheap source of food, in the UK a poor mans food often put in pies, at the same time in N.Y. New York the harbour was the largest source of oysters WORLDWIDE. On any given day six million oysters could be found on on barges tied along the N.Y New York waterfront.

As always the greediness of us humans has resulted in demand out stripping natural production with no protection of the oyster beds along with shipping pollution and increased sedimentation from erosion most of the oyster beds have been destroyed.  This was further confounded when foreign oyster species were brought in and introduced disease wiping out the native oysters.

This now makes the oyster a expensive delicacy due to scarcity and demand.

YAKITORI BBQ SATAY CHICKEN

I can’t stop eating this!  

Outrageously awesome marinated chicken in fresh turmeric, lemongrass, ginger, garlic, shallots, ground cumin and coriander seeds, chilli flakes and olive oil gives this chicken satay multiple levels of flavour, combine that with the clean charred flavour from cooking on Binchotan Japanese Yakitori bbq this is a winner winner dinner.   

Served with a creamy peanut butter, coconut cream, soy, tamarind satay sauce, I need to calm down it’s just a recipe!  Serve this family style with skewers piled high, a large bowl of satay dipping sauce, flat breads and ginger lime rice for a wonderful sharing family or friends dinner.

There seems a lot of ingredients don’t be put off, most of the ingredients double up so it’s a one time preparation then divide and conquer!  I make my own flatbreads but store brought will cut the cooking time, my family like their food hot and spicy so just lower or leave out the chilli for a equally gorgeous chicken satay.

Ingredients 

(serves 4-6)

Marinade

12 chicken tenders or 4 large breasts cut into 3

1 small shallot finely diced

1 clove garlic finely grated

1 tsp grated ginger

1 tsp fresh grated turmeric root

1/2 stick lemongrass chopped

1/2 tsp coriander seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp Himalayan sea salt 

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp fish sauce (optional) tamari soy sauce instead ? 

1 tbsp dried chilli flakes

50ml ground nut or olive oil

12 bamboo skewers soaked in water for 30 minutes

Satay Sauce

1/2 small shallot finely diced

1 tsp dried chilli flakes

1 tsp grated ginger

1 grated garlic clove

1 tbsp tamarind paste

4 tbsp peanut butter

1 tbsp soy sauce

200ml coconut cream

1 pinch Himalayan sea salt 

This is a recipe that works brilliantly if you prepare all the ingredients first.  If you can marinate the chicken for at least 2 hours or more ahead of time, up to 24 hours,  this I find easy as I prep while cooking the evening’s before dinner, so I know the next nights family dinner is already done!  

For the marinade mix the shallot, ginger, garlic, turmeric, lemongrass, ground cumin and coriander seeds, salt, black pepper, fish sauce and chilli flakes with the oil, massage over the chicken and leave to marinate over night.  Thread the strips of chicken on to soaked bamboo skewers and drizzle with more oil.  Heat your bbq or a cast iron skillet hot and place the chicken skewers on to the bbq or skillet to sear and slowly charr for around three minutes each side, remove and place on a platter piled high ready to serve family style.

Meanwhile make the satay sauce, heat a skillet pan with a dash of oil, add the shallots, garlic and ginger and gently soften for a couple of minutes, take off the heat or the coconut and peanut butter sauce may split, add the coconut cream, tamarind and peanut butter, mix well to combine, add the soy sauce and mix well, taste and assess if your sauce needs a hint of salt and lime juice, this is personal to your own taste buds, I only needed a hint of salt, but felt that lime would have also been great.  Serve in a large or several small bowls around the family table.

Garlic & Lime Rice

2 cups soaked rice

4 cups water

1 lime zested and juiced

4 cloves garlic sliced

1 tbsp olive oil

1 knob butter

Place the 2 cups soaked rice in 4 cups of water, bring to a low simmer with the lid on, do not stir or take the lid off at any point, cook for eight minutes, take off the heat add the lime juice, zest and knob of butter, place the lid back on and leave to steam on the side off the heat for 5-8 minutes, meanwhile place the garlic in a pan and add a drizzle of olive oil and pan roast the garlic until nutty brown, when ready to serve stir in to the rice.

HOMEMADE FLAT BREADS

Flat Breads 1-48 hrs in Advance

500g 00 flour (blue caputo)

15g yeast (optional)

10g Himalayan sea salt 

50g olive oil}

320g water

Flatbreads

Place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and either by hand or by machine with a dough hook mix for seven minutes, then dust a little flour over the dough mix and gently form into a ball, cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave in a warm area to prove for 1-2 hours until doubled in size if you want to use immediately, then other options are leave to prove slowly in the fridge for 24hrs, this is what I do as it gives me much more control over time and usage, this will keep for 48hrs in the fridge ready to go when you are, you can also freeze any left over dough at this stage, then when ready to use remove from the freezer defrost and once up to room temperature use as you would fresh.

 Take a oversized golf ball piece of dough, dust your work top with a little 00 flour, roll into a ball and roll out a large disk no bigger than your skillet if your not cooking in a wood fired oven, heat to a hot heat, place the flat bread in the pan and cook for one and a half minutes on each side, keep warm by wrapping in a tea towel until serving, these flatbreads are best served warm but are almost as good used later the same day, to use the following day dip the flat breads in water and pop in a pre heated oven for 3-5 minutes and Ta-Da almost as good as fresh.

JUICY LUCIFER BURGER

I love generous gooey oozy cheese on my burger, when cheese is served on top of the burger it is just not enough for me, but a Juicy Lucy, well that’s just genius, every bite is loaded with a generous amount of hot gooey melted cheese, perfect!  I also love insane (not stupid) hot sauces, so this is a combination of both.  Then even more flavour is infused in the burger through the cooking on my Japanese Konro Hibachi BBQ with Binchotan coals, a sweet pure clean bbq smoke added flavour.  Almost as good on the grill or plancher.

Ingredients 

(serves 4)

800g twice ground chuck steak

50ml olive oil

1 tbsp butter

1 small onion finely diced

2 cloves garlic finely diced

1 jalapeño finely diced

4 rashers unsmoked bacon finely diced

Himalayan sea salt 

Fresh ground black pepper 

8 slices dairy Lea cheese slices

4 tbsp seriously hot chilli sauce

4 slices tomato

4 slices red onion rings

4 whole ice berg leaves or buns...

4 tbsp gourmet tomato ketchup

4 tbsp pickled jalapeños 

Heat a skillet medium hot, add the olive oil and butter, once melted add the onion and garlic and soften gently for five minutes, add to a large bowl along with the jalapeño, bacon, salt and pepper, mix well and form into 4 equal balls.

Take each ball and make a well in the center, take all the cheese slices and fold in half then again and once again, press two together and mould into a ball, place in the well along with a good glug of hot sauce then bring up the rest of the beef burger mince around the cheese and hot sauce encasing the cheese completely.

To cook heat your griddle or bbq and cook for 2 -3 minutes each side, turning only once half way through.  Serve in toasted buns or for me wrapped in ice berg leaves with a slice of red onion, tomato ketchup, jalapeños and more hot sauce on the side.

SALMON POKE

Super fast and simple to make and packs a lot of flavour, normally made with yellow fin tuna this is a slight twist using smoked salmon from London’s oldest smokers family run business since 1905 Foreman & Son.  Great flavours from the soy, sesame, ginger, turmeric, wasabi, mirin and rice wine vinegar makes this a wonderful fresh lunch.

Ingredients 

(serves 2)

180g smoked salmon

1 tbsp fresh grated ginger

50ml soy sauce

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp mirin

1 tsp rice wine vinegar

1/2 tsp wasabi paste

1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

1 pinch dried chillies 

1 spring onion finely sliced

1 fresh jalapeño sliced

Whisk all the ingredients except the salmon and toasted sesame seeds, together then pour over the salmon, leave to marinate for at least one hour but not more than four as the salmon will become to salty, serve on a bed of salad and avocado slices or sautéed garlic kale and finish with a sprinkling of the toasted sesame seeds, spring onion and jalapeño slices.