Before oysters became the indispensable first course of an important dinner*, they were “the fast food of the era” according to James C. O’Connell’s Dining Out in Boston. That era being the 19th century, of course. Before refrigeration, no breakfast could be quicker than to slurp down a dozen at an oyster house — or even quicker at an oyster bar, which didn’t have barstools. But they didn’t always have to be taken on the half shell; they could be serve roasted, stewed, or fried.
Serving oysters at home at a formal dinner is a little different from typical restaurant service because fewer condiments are permitted. “Little trays of horseradish, tabasco sauce, and oyster crackers should never appear at the dinner table,” according to Millicent Fenwick**, who ought to know. She would at least permit a little cup of cocktail sauce if it was embedded in the ice on each diner’s plate, “but a simpler and more formal way of serving them is with nothing more than a section of lemon.”***
Much more rarely seen now is the oyster cocktail, in which oysters are served with cocktail sauce or mignonette sauce in a small glass. (One possible recipe may be found here.) Dear Mother (may she rest in peace) included small oyster glasses in her wedding crystal, but they may never have been used. Etiquetteer uses them for eggnog, and occasionally for sherry with the soup course.
An oyster cocktail glass repurposed for eggnog.
To eat an oyster, the only tools allowed are the oyster fork, the shell, and your hand (solely for the purpose of lifting the shell to your mouth). To eat an oyster gracefully means being sure that the oyster is entirely loose in its shell before lifting it. Use the oyster fork to probe underneath first to dislodge it completely, otherwise you run the risk of looking clumsy, or just getting too intimate with that shell. If you’re served an oyster cocktail, use your oyster fork; don’t slurp them right out of the glass.
Of course oysters are Perfectly Proper on almost any occasion (they don’t seem to be thought of for breakfast any longer, though), formal or informal. Observe the beautiful iced tray in the photo above, brought to a lovely dinner last year by oyster experts for the cocktail hour. But whether served formally or informally, the real trick to eating oysters on the half shell is avoiding getting tiny bits of grit or shell into one’s mouth. Use your napkin to cover your mouth while extracting anything.
Etiquetteer’s favorite, however, will always be oysters Rockefeller — how convenient, since today happens to be National Oysters Rockefeller Day! Etiquetteer wishes you joyous and Perfectly Proper consumption of your favorite oysters, and prosciutto with melon for those who Simply Cannot Take Shellfish.
A restaurant presentation of oysters on the half shell. Note the horseradish served with the cocktail sauce. That would not be considered Perfectly Proper at home.
*Which has not been the case for decades. As usual, Etiquetteer blames Woodstock.
**Vogue’s Complete Book of Etiquette, by Millicent Fenwick (1948), page 305.
***Ibid.