Sauces for Fresh Oysters

Cocktail Sauce

Cocktail sauce is probably the most traditional topping. Plenty of oyster lovers claim cocktail sauce overpowers the delicate flavor of oysters. For some, that's exactly what they're looking for.

You can buy cocktail sauce, but it's so easy to it make yourself. All you need to do is add jarred or freshly grated horseradish to ketchup to taste (start with about 1 tablespoon horseradish to 1/4 cup ketchup). Stir well and serve it cold.

Lemon Juice

It is beyond simple, but a spritz of fresh lemon juice brings out the crave-worthy briny flavor that makes oysters such a hit with those who love them. Keep an eye out to avoid letting the lemon seeds land in the oyster. When you spritz lemon juice on truly fresh oysters, you may even notice them twitch a bit when the acid hits them. Slurp them up.

Mignonette Sauce

It may sound fancy, but the mignonette sauce is easy to make. Combine a finely minced shallot with about 1/4 cup champagne vinegar and add salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Let people drizzle mignonette sauce on their oysters and, to follow the French tradition more fully, offer thinly sliced rye bread and fresh butter alongside.

Pesto

The bright flavor of fresh basil that defines pesto, along with the richness from pine nuts, ​a sharp bite of garlic, and acid kick of lemon juice is a surprisingly lovely match with raw oysters. Make a batch of homemade pesto then thin it with lemon juice. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste, and dollop it onto oysters. It's not conventional, but it's darn tasty.

Serrano Chile Lime Sauce

For those looking for a little kick and a little something different, try this spicy twist on the traditional mignonette sauce. To make a spicy sauce, mix 1 small finely minced serrano chile (discard the seeds to tame the heat, if you like) with 2 tablespoons lime juice and 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar. Add salt to taste and some finely chopped cilantro, if you like.

Spicy Mignonette Sauce

For adventurous eaters, combine the classic mignonette sauce and nuoc cham, the spicy Vietnamese sauce, together in this recipe. It's amazing on raw oysters, but also truly shines when drizzled over grilled oysters. Peel and mince 1 small shallot and stir it into 1/2 cup cider vinegar, along with 1 to 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoons red chili flakes, and salt to taste. A bit of fish sauce is good, too. 

Tabasco Sauce

The vinegary, spicy tang of Tabasco, or similar vinegar-based chile sauces, meshes well with the underlying mineral-y sweetness that makes oysters so irresistible.