18 medium oysters*
2 to 3 cups coarse or kosher salt
1 tablespoon truffle oil
Truffle Froth, recipe follows
Special equipment: oyster shucker
Cook's Note:*We used Malpeque oysters, an Atlantic variety.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Shuck the oysters. Discard the top shell. Strain oysters and oyster liquor (see Cook's Note*) through fine sieve into a ceramic or glass bowl. Cover in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. Scrub the bottoms shells of the oysters under running water and arrange them on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool.
Turn oven to broil.
Drain 2/3 of the liquid from the oysters for the sauce and set aside. Make a 1-inch bed of salt in a large pan. Evenly space the cleaned oyster shells on the salt bed with the outside edge of the shell facing down. Place 1 oyster on each shell. Place 1 drop of truffle oil on each oyster (truffle oil is potent so use sparingly). Drizzle 1 teaspoon of the froth over each oyster. Place the pan under the broiler until the froth turns golden brown, about 1 minute. Serve immediately.
Truffle Froth:
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon oyster liquor, strained
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon truffle oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley leaves
Special equipment: a hand held electric blender
In a small bowl lightly froth the egg yolks with the hand held blender.
In a heavy bottomed saucepan bring the oyster liquor and cream just to the boil. Reduce the heat to low. Pour 1/3 of the mixture into the 2 egg yolks and froth with the hand held blender. Slowly add the frothed egg mixture to the saucepan. Immediately begin frothing the mixture in the saucepan over low heat. Pour froth over truffle laced oysters on the half shell.
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