Mignonette

Mignonette Sauce

While enjoying fresh raw oysters while dining out may be a date night ritual, there’s no reason you can’t have the same luxurious experience at home. All you need are fresh oysters, our homemade mignonette, a couple lemon wedges, and an oyster shucking knife.

A classic mignonette is made from vinegar, shallots, and black pepper. The hardest part is for sure shucking those oysters! But with the proper knife, a kitchen towel to protect your hand, and a little elbow grease, you’ll be enjoying oysters on the half shell at home in no time!

Ingredients For Mignonette

This recipe is for a classic mignonette, which consists only of red wine vinegar or white wine vinegar (your choice!), finely chopped shallots, and freshly cracked black pepper. A touch of kosher salt to round it out, but that’s it!

Don’t forget to pick up an oyster shucking knife if you don’t already own one. Couldn’t get into those beautiful raw oysters without this!

How To Make Classic Mignonette

Simplyt combine red wine vinegar, shallots, black pepper, and salt in a small bowl, then whisk to combine. So quick and easy to make!

We recommend letting the mignonette rest at room temperature for at least 2 hours. The flavor will intensify the longer it sits.

Mignonette sauce can be stored in an airtight container in a refrigerator for up to 3 months.

Enjoy Mignonette Sauce With Oysters

There is nothing quite as quintessential to enjoy with mignonette as oysters on the half shell.

Raw, fresh oysters are an indulgence on their own. Just like wine, the specific taste of the shellfish is reflective of where the oysters were grown. So, for instance, oysters from the cold, New England shores off of Maine and the Cape (such as Blue Point, Wellfleet, or Malpeque oysters) will taste a touch brinier than oysters from the West coast, and have a smoother texture. Oysters harvested from the West Coast and Pacific waters (such as Barron Point, Inlet, or Kumamoto) will taste sweeter, are plump and creamy, and are overall less briny than East coast oysters.

The good news? While all raw oysters can be enjoyed naked (straight from the shell), they can also benefit from a touch of something extra. A squeeze of fresh lemon juice, a small bit of cocktail sauce, or… mignonette! The latter is our favorite and what we always reach for when we order oysters on the half shell.

Variations On Mignonette

While most mignonette sauces taste roughly the same — generally, they all consist of vinegar and shallots, giving them their definitive flavor — here are some ideas to play with the overall flavor.

• Spicy: mince a jalapeño or other chili
• Sweet: cube or dice sweet apple
• Asian: add minced garlic and grated ginger
• Crisp and light: try adding minced cucumber

And if you’re more of a cocktail sauce kinda guy or gal, we’ve got you covered!

The possibilities are endless, but remember: don’t overdo it and mask the flavor of the oysters! They’re expensive and delicate and to completely overpower their natural flavor would be a damn shame.

So grab your oyster shucking knife and let’s get to it!

Prefer cooked oysters? Check out oysters rockefeller or simple grilled oysters, both sound delish!

If you make our Mignonette sauce, please let us know by leaving a review and rating below.

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For more seafood recipes, check out the following:

• Classic fish cakes
• Ahi tuna poké bowls
• Pan seared scallops
• Miso cod
• Slow baked salmon with herb shallot butter

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