Oysters with Mignonette Granita

Is there anything better than oysters on the half shell with mignonette sauce? Turns out there is: oysters with mignonette granita. This genius party trick came into our lives via a now-long-gone restaurant on the Hoboken, NJ waterfront. Thankfully the magic lives on.

Why we love this recipe

Briny, beautiful oysters on the half shell are a hell yes or hell no proposition. Much as I love it when someone converts to Team Yes on their own, I'm not here to convince detractors. Instead, I'm here to help those of you already in the know to elevate your oyster experience to the next level, and to make it comfortably attainable at home.

Oysters with mignonette granita:

• Make a great thing even greater by turning a beautiful classic sauce into a fun, low-key innovation that was clearly meant to be
• Demystify the cleaning, shucking, and serving process so you'll feel confident serving oysters at home (after a little practice)
• Will become your new favorite party trick that lasts a lifetime

I first published this recipe here way back in 2009. I've since updated the post for clarity, but the recipe remains the same. If you're a fan of old-school blog narrative, scroll below the recipe card to read the post's original text.

What you'll need

Here's a glance at the ingredients you'll need to make mignonette granita. You will, of course, also need some oysters.

• Red wine vinegar is the classic choice and makes a stunning pink granita. You can use champagne vinegar if you prefer. Both are delicious.
• A minced shallot contributes tons of beautiful flavor
• A few peppercorns add a hint of heat
• Tiny amounts of salt and sugar balance the vinegar's acidity

How to make it

Here's an overview of what you'll do to make a gorgeous batch of mignonette granita. Get all the details in the recipe card below, and scroll down to learn how to shuck oysters.

1. Place all ingredients in a very small pot and bring to a a boil for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
2. Pour cooled mixture through a fine-meshed sieve into a small baking dish.
3. Freeze the mixture, scraping every hour or so with a fork to break up the ice into small pieces, until fully frozen.
4. Serve in a small, very cold bowl as a condiment for oysters on the half shell.

How to clean oysters

One at a time, hold oysters under cold running water. Scrub with a firm-bristled brush to remove all grit from the exterior, then set right-side-up on a baking sheet filled with crushed ice.

There will inevitably be a bit of sand trapped in the hinge, which you'll encounter while shucking — there's nothing you can do about it at this stage. When you find it later, know that you haven't done anything wrong.

How to shuck oysters at home

Shucking oysters at home can feel intimidating at first, but with a few simple tips and a little practice, you'll find it fun and empowering, promise. It's one of those super-useful party tricks that will serve you for life. 

Here's what to do. You can see the steps in action in the video that accompanies this post.

1. First you'll identify the top and bottom of the oyster. The top shell is flat, and the bottom is cupped. This is more obvious on some oysters than others, but there's always at least some difference between top and bottom. Orient the oyster right-side-up so you won't lose the delicious liquor inside when you open it. Then you'll find the hinge and insert the tip of the knife into it. You'll need to use a combination of knowledge and strength to identify exactly where and how far to insert — you'll quickly get a feel for it as you practice.
2. Once the knife is inserted far enough to create a useful lever that will open the shell rather than chipping off bits of it, you'll give the handle a good, strong twist to pop the hinge open. This is where you'll encounter an extra bit of grit, so wipe the tip of the knife clean on your towel before proceeding.
3. Insert the clean knife tip between the top and bottom shells near the opening you created, and run it all the way around the edge to loosen the top shell from the bottom.
4. Detach the oyster from the top shell by scraping the muscle with the knife, and discard the top shell. Then use the knife to detach the oyster from the bottom shell, too. Do your best to keep it level so you won't spill too much of the liquor. Place prepared oyster on a platter filled with crushed ice.

Shucking & serving tools for oysters with mignonette

Here are my favorite basic tools for oysters:

• Any firm-bristled scrub brush for food will work well. Here's the one pictured in the video.
• The OXO knife has a nice, soft handle that helps prevent blisters if you're shucking a lot of oysters at once
• No-nonsense dish cloths or towels help protect your hands and can head straight to the washing machine when you're done
• Cut-resistant gloves are a nice insurance policy
• For serving, I sometimes use my deviled egg platter set over a sheet pan of crushed ice
• Or use any large serving platter with a raised edge and filled with a layer of crushed ice. One of my favorites, which you'll see pictured across Umami Girl, is this one. The copper tray in this post is no longer available.

Expert tips and FAQs

Champagne mignonette

I love the beautiful, jewel-toned pink of mignonette granita made with red wine vinegar. But champagne vinegar — or a combination of champagne vinegar and a little bit of Champagne — also makes a lovely mignonette. You can swap into this recipe, without further changes, ½ cup champagne vinegar, with or without two additional tablespoons Champagne or other good-quality sparkling wine.

More show-stopping seafood appetizers

• Party-ready oysters
• Truly the best shrimp cocktail ever
• Prosciutto-wrapped shrimp

Original 2009 text

Raw oysters, hard alcohol and grilled peaches are only the breakfast of champions under certain controlled circumstances. Although I can think of a few others, the best excuse for this type of tomfoolery is a vacation. I’ve been looking for a reason to share this week’s recipe with you for quite some time, and vacation seems like just the one — even though the inspiration for the recipe comes from a restaurant in our home town.

The erstwhile 3 Forty Grill

Hoboken’s 3 Forty Grill sports a funny little raw bar. In part, it’s funny bad, because in direct contravention of the Little Raw Bar Book of Etiquette in my head, they won’t let you order fewer than six of a particular type of oyster. It’s not that I have a hard time polishing off six oysters in a matter of seconds while my dining companions are searching for the tiny stud earring I “accidentally” dropped on the floor, trust me. It’s just that for several years now, I’ve been madly scribbling on a tiny part of the white space in my brain, trying to figure out what could motivate such a policy. 

I’ve watched plenty of experts shuck oysters and even shucked my own thumb on occasion, thank you very much, and I have yet to encounter anyone who prefers doing six at once over doing just the one.

A very special granita

Under ordinary circumstances, a girl might vote with her wallet and order her oysters elsewhere. But my friends, the oyster-eating circumstances at 3 Forty are far from ordinary. To balance out the funny bad, they offer funny good — funny oh so good — in a tiny little metal cup. The goodness has no given name, but those of us who have been around the oyster trough and the dessert tray a time or two will recognize it instantly as a Mignonette Granita.