Mignonette Sauce for Oysters

This is a classic recipe for mignonette sauce to serve with oysters, a staple at fine dining restaurants. Much like we love to enjoy oysters with a squeeze of lemon, this tangy sauce goes really well with creamy oysters with the bonus of a lovely pink colour.

Mignonette sauce for oysters

Mignonette is a classic sauce for serving with oysters. A classic, proper one is made with just red wine vinegar and eschalots (called shallots in the US). No messing around with oil, no sugar, no salt. It’s meant to be clear and pink and pure, not sweet, oily and brown.

It’s sharp – being that it’s just made with vinegar. So it’s just like squeezing fresh tangy lemon juice on oysters, with the extra flavour from the eschalots! It just goes so well with creamy, briny oysters.

What you need for mignonette for oysters

Here’s all that goes into a classic mignonette.

• Red wine vinegar – This is the classic vinegar used for mignonette. With only 2 ingredients in this sauce, the better the quality, the better the flavour. Aged vinegars made from good grapes will have a smoother, more rounded, complex flavour whereas economical ones will be sharper with less flavour.

  Feel free to play around with other vinegars such as white wine vinegar, champagne vinegar, sherry vinegar.

• Eschalots – Also known as French onions, and called “shallots” in the US. They look like baby onions, but have purple-skinned flesh, are finer and sweeter. Not to be confused with what some people in Australia call “shallots” ie the long green onions.

  Ordinarily I say that red onion can be substituted but for mignonette, it’s just too chunky.

• Pepper? We don’t put pepper in the mignonette because it sinks. If you want pepper (and personally, I don’t miss it), serve it separately in a pinch bowl so people can sprinkle it on their oyster themselves.

How to make Mignonette for oysters

I feel almost silly having this section in this post!! You just combine the vinegar and eschalots and mix. Make this at least a couple of hours ahead of serving, if you can, to give the flavours a chance to meld.

How much mignonette to use per oyster

Speaking of the eating part though! This sauce is sharp – don’t eat spoonfuls of it plain. But it works with creamy oysters. There’s no rule about quantity to use because it comes down to personal taste. But as a guide, a typical amount would be 1/2 teaspoon for small oysters and 3/4 teaspoon for large. Some people will use more liberally!

No video today. It’s an easy recipe! Also, I shared 2 more oyster recipes today – see them here.

Love to know what you think if you try it. – Nagi x

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Mignonette Sauce for Oysters

Author: Nagi

Prep: 5 minutesmins

Starter

French, Western

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5 from 1 vote

Servings24

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This is a classic recipe for mignonette sauce to serve with oysters, a staple at fine dining restaurants. Think of this as an elevated alternative to eating oysters with just a squeeze of fresh lemon juice – vinegar provides tang plus extra flavour from eschalots with the bonus of a lovely pink colour!Makes enough for 24 oysters. Some people use only a little, others go to town with it.

Ingredients

Mignonette:

• ▢ 2 1/2tbspeschalot(US: shallot), finely minced (Note 1)
• ▢ 3tbspred wine vinegar, preferably a good quality one (Note 2)

Oysters:

• ▢ 12 – 24oysters(Note 3)
• ▢ Black pepper, sprinkle yourself (Note 4)

Instructions

• Mignonette – Mix together in a bowl then set aside for at least 2 hours to let the flavours meld.
• Serving – Transfer into a little dish with a small spoon. Serve alongside oysters (generally people help themselves).
• Using – Most people just use about 1/2 tsp for small oysters and 3/4 tsp for large. Some people will use more liberally! Comes down to personal taste.

Recipe Notes:

1. Eschalots –Also known as French onions, and called “shallots” in the US. They look like baby onions, but have purple-skinned flesh, are finer and sweeter. Onions are too chunky for mignonette.Not to be confused with what some people in Australia call “shallots” ie the long green onions.2. Good vinegar – With just 2 ingredients and no oil in mignonette, there’s nothing to hide behind! So the better quality vinegar you can get, the better your mignonette. Price will be your guide. 🙂3. Oysters – Both Sydney Rock (smaller, stronger flavour) and Pacific (fleshier, cleaner flavour) oysters are great. These are the two main varieties here in Australia. Flavour and quality comes down to where they are grown. I love: Tasmanian, Merimbula, Port Stephens, Batemans Bay, Boomer Bay. But there are many more from around Australia that are great I haven’t tried or I don’t see them here in Sydney!4. Pepper – If you want pepper, serve it in a little pinch bowl for people to sprinkle on each oyster themselves. Don’t stir it in the mignonette, it sinks.5. Serving oysters – I generally serve on either a bed of crushed ice, rock salt (though have to dispose so I rarely do this) or a bed of cheap leafy greens (like watercress, whatever’s good value at the time).Make ahead – You can make this the morning of the day you plan to serve. To get ahead the day before, I’d chop the eschallots and keep them in a container then mix on the day.

Keywords: dressing for oysters, mignonette, sauce for oysters

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