Oyster Gagnon, a delicious new way of serving oysters!

If you’re like us and love oysters, you’re always looking for new ways to prepare them. We like them raw, steamed, broiled, fried, plain, and spicy. We’ve wrapped them in bacon, fried them in bacon fat and still look to find another new way of enjoying these wonderful morsels of the sea. We’ve always enjoyed Oyster Rockefeller but it just doesn’t have enough room in the shells for all the additional ingredients we’d like to add. Problem solved, throw away the shell and use a ramekin.

INGREDIENTS:

• 6-12 Large Blue Point Oysters, rinsed and patted dry.
• 8 oz White mushrooms, finely chopped.
• 3 cloves Garlic, minced.
• 1/4 tsp. Fresh ground pepper.
• 1 lb Fresh spinach.
• 1 lb Hickory-smoked bacon, sliced in 1/2″ pieces and divided.
• 8 ozs La Gruyere cheese, grated.
• 8 ozs. Parmesan cheese, grated.
• SERVING SUGGESTION: One fresh baguette, cut into 1/2″ diagonal slices, brushed with olive oil and toasted in oven.

DIRECTIONS: Preheat Oven: 350 degrees

1. Add bacon pieces to a Dutch Oven or large skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Cook bacon until it begins to brown.
3. Remove one-half of the bacon from the pan and drain on a paper towel, set aside.
4. Continue cooking the remaining bacon until crispy, remove and drain on a paper towel, set aside. DO NOT combine with softer bacon.
5. Remove most of the bacon fat from pan leaving approximately 3 tbsp to continue the cooking process.
6. Add mushroom to the pan and coat with bacon fat over medium heat.
7. When mushrooms are tender and browned, add spinach and combine together. (If the mixture is too dry, add a few tablespoons of water or wine. Apply pan cover and let the spinach wilt. About 4-5 minutes.
8. Add garlic and pepper to the mixture and combine.
9. Reduce heat to low-medium and add cheese and combine.
10. Once the cheese has melted, add soft bacon to the mixture and combine.
11. Place one large oyster in each ramekin and top with cheesy-spinach mixture.
12. Add Parmesan cheese to cover mixture in each ramekin and place on a cookie sheet for easy handling.
13. Place cookie sheet on the second shelf from the top of the oven and bake until cheese is browned (about 10 minutes).
14. Remove from oven and top with crispy bacon.
15. Serve with toasted baguettes. Bon Appetit!!!