Fried Oysters

Joe and I spent the weekend at Massanutten Resort in the mountains of Virginia. We went skiing for a few hours and planned on coming back to the house and make an amazing appetizer before dinner: FRIED OYSTERS!! We have never made our own before, but we definitely always devour oysters whenever they are in front of us. With the television cable out and it was just the two of us up there, we wanted to try something different to entertain ourselves. These oysters were from the Eastern Shore and were purchased at a local seafood shop in Virginia Beach.

You will need:
1 pint of pre-shucked oysters
2 large eggs
1 cup flour
Panko crumbs (we combined regular and chipotle flavored)
Vegetable oil for frying

In a large skillet, heat the oil until 350 degrees (we used an electric fryer). Put desired amount of oysters in a strained and quickly run cold water over them. One at a time, cover each oyster in flour, then soak in egg wash, and finally coat with Panko crumbs. Throw it in the fryer or skillet until golden brown on each side. We put up to 7 oysters in the oil at a time.  Remove from fryer and place on a paper towel, serve immediately.

**We purchased two seafood dipping sauces, spicy cocktail and a creamier spicy sauce.  These turned out amazing!!!  Can't wait for you to try them out.

**Here's a need fact:  Eastern Shore oysters are required to be washed before shipping if they are going more than 50 miles away. This causes the oysters to lose a lot of its flavor. If you get prewashed oysters, add some natural sea salt into the pint to bring back the flavor. We lucked out by having our seafood distributor make the cut by only 2 miles!