Wednesday's Chow - Rocky Mountain Oyster

by Andrea Dowing

This week's guest offers a very unique recipe.  I'm not telling you what they are if you don't know already, lol.  You'll figure it out...

And check out Andrea's blog from Monday, if you haven't yet, What's in a Word.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN OYSTERS

In my book, Loveland, I have a scene during spring round-up when the men are eating Prairie Oysters.  Better known today as Rocky Mt. Oysters, they are still served after spring round-up—and I should know, because this year I was at the Cottonwood Ranch in Wells, Nevada (http://www.cottonwoodguestranch.com/) for their round-up.  Amber Scholl is the wonderful chef there, and after the roping, branding, ear-marking, vaccinating, and final snipping to make would-be bulls into hefty steers, Amber’s work takes over.  Here’s her recipe and instructions for Rocky Mt. Oysters which I can personally vouch are delicious…if you don’t think about where they came from!  My deepest thanks to Amber for sharing this with us.

1)       Take the testicle and make a long incision vertically, just to remove the first membrane. Cut all remaining parts until membrane is completely separate. Wash or soak for an hour in cold water.

2)      Get your batter ready:   approx. 1 cup of flour, 2 tbs. of garlic powder (the more the better), 1 tbs. salt, 1 tbs. pepper, 1 tbs. seasoning salt (optional)

3)       Heat 1 cup of peanut, vegetable, or canola oil in your frying pan. (Amber prefers cast iron pans and peanut oil).

4)      While your oil is heating, remove the second membrane from the "oyster". To do this, you make another incision in the membrane until you can squeeze the meat out. It will naturally separate and then goes directly into the flour mixture.

5)      Once fully coated, add to oil, and cook until brown and crisp, maybe 8 minutes or so.

6)      Serve with fry sauce, ketchup, or anything else you prefer.

 

Amber told me there are many ways to cook these but this is her favorite. Mine too!