Shinkai and Oysters on the Half-Shell

• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/2 shallot, minced
• 1 dozen briny oysters, such as Totten Inlets, Kumamoto, or Olympia, shells scrubbed
• 1 teaspoon cracked black peppercorns
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• Shinkai deep sea salt

1. Combine the vinegar and shallot in a small bowl suitable for serving and set aside.
2. Put the oysters on a rimmed sheet pan and freeze for about 10 minutes to numb their adductor muscles; this will make them easier to open.
3. To open, hold the oyster firmly, either in your hand or pressed down on a work surface, and work the point of an oyster knife between the tips of the shells to pop the shells apart.
4. Run the knife along the inside of the top shell to cut the meat from the shell, and then remove the top shell.
5. Run the knife under the oyster to detach it from the bottom shell, but leave the oyster nestled in the shell.
6. The oysters liquor should be clear; cloudiness indicates that the oyster is not completely fresh and should be discarded, or at least regarded with suspicion.
7. Pick out any shards of shell that might have broken loose during shucking.
8. Add the pepper and parsley to the vinegar-shallot mixture.
9. This is the mignonette.
10. Arrange the oysters over crushed ice on a platter large enough to hold them in a single layer.
11. Make a pile of the salt to one side of the oysters or in a separate dish and serve the bowl of mignonette alongside with a small spoon.
12. To eat, spoon a drop or two of mignonette into an oyster shell and season with a pinch of salt.
13. Immediately slide the oyster, salt, and sauce from the shell into your mouth.

red wine vinegar, shallot, briny oysters, cracked black, flatleaf parsley, salt

Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/shinkai-and-oysters-on-the-half-shell-382437 (may not work)