Lindisfarne Oyster with Gin Fizz Granite

Serves 4

Shuck 24 perfect oysters very carefully keeping the plump meat intact.

How To Shuck:

1) Choose fresh oysters. Oysters should still be alive when you shuck them; if they’re not alive they won’t be safe to eat. Pick oysters with the following properties:

• Closed shells – if it is open, it's likely that it's already dead. Lightly tap the shell and if it immediately shuts, the oyster is still alive and will be fine to eat.

• A fresh sea smell – as fresh oysters smell both sweet and salty, meaning that “fishy” smelling oysters are probably off.

• A heavy feel - place the oyster in your palm to feel for a nice heavy weight, as this means it's still full of seawater and probably harvested recently. If it's surprisingly light, the water has dried up, and it's no longer suitable to eat.

2) Have the right supplies on hand. Besides a nice sack of fresh oysters, you'll need the following supplies to properly shuck them:

• A stiff-bristled brush to give them a good clean.

• Heavy gloves in order to protect your hands.

• An oyster knife (or another knife with a heavy blade that won't break).

• A bed of ice for keeping the oysters fresh.

3) Before you start shucking, take a close look at an oyster so that you know the right way to handle it while shucking.

• The hinge is the muscle that connects the top and bottom shells at the pointy end of the oyster.

• Opposite from the hinge is the rounded front of the oyster.

• The top of the oyster is the flatter shell.

• The bottom shell is cup-shaped.

4) Pop on your heavy gloves (oysters and the knife are sharp) and gie the oyster a good clean with the brush whilst rinsing in cool running water.

5) Grasp an oyster in one hand, cup-side down. The curved side of the oyster should be against the palm of your hand. The point, or hinge, should be facing toward you.

6) Insert the oyster knife into the hinge. Point it down into the cup of the oyster. Use a twisting motion to separate the top and bottom shells. You should feel the hinge pop when you twist the knife.

7) Run the blade along the top of the shell. Work the blade as close to the top of the shell as possible, and run it from the hinge around to the other side of the oyster. Continue using a twisting motion to separate the top and bottom shells

• The shell will be very tightly closed, so be careful not to let the knife slip as you do this.

• Do your best not to break the shell into pieces. A few stray bits may get inside, but the shell should stay mostly intact.

8) When the top and bottom shells are separated, open the oyster, taking care to hold it level. Run the knife along the top shell to separate any remaining meat.

• Carefully separate the oyster meat from the bottom shell, so you or your guest won't have to do so before eating the oyster.

• Wash and remove any shell in its own juices with a fine sieve.

• Place it back in the bottom shell before serving.

9) Serve the oysters. Place shucked oysters on a bed of ice, after adding the gin fizz granite.

Gin Fizz Granite

150g sugar

30g glucose

300g water

500ml lemon juice

2 lemon zest

350ml Gin

• Make light syrup with the glucose, water & sugar. Allow to cool.

• Mix the syrup with the gin, lemon & zest and combine well.

• Freeze in a shallow metal tray, and scrape with a fork to create flaky crystals.

Paul’s Tip: Please make the granite one day in advance and also use a fork to carefully flake into crystals

Perfect for this time off the year – LOVELY!