Champagne Food Pairing: Oyster and Scallops Motoyaki with wine-infused shallots

Ingredients

• four fresh raw oysters, deep cup, shucked (see the Instructions and Recipe Tips, below)
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 12 diver scallops (small scallops)
• ¼ tsp. canned chipotle paste
• Rock salt, to keep oyster shells stable, not shown
• Micro greens, optional ingredient
• Motoyaki Sauce (see recipe below)
• White wine infused shallots (see recipe below)

Instructions

Oysters to use in this recipe

We recommend using beach oysters in this recipe. However, any oyster with a deep cup will do.

The only requirement is that oysters are alive, fresh & come in tightly closed shells. Avoid oysters with broken or cracked shells.

• A good oyster must smell fresh, like an ocean.
• Discard the ones that have a foul smell.
• Make sure to buy oysters from a reputable fishmonger only.

When you bring oysters home, you can store them either loose or in a mesh bag. Put them in a bowl or any container without a lid. Do not pour any water into the storage container, or your oysters will spoil. Cover with a clean, damp cloth or paper towel. Oysters can be stored this way in a fridge for up to 7 days.

Shucking oysters

This is how we do it:

• Hold the shell cup side down, flat side up, with the hinge toward you.
• Using a side–to–side motion, wiggle your shucking knife into the hinge, just until the point when the knife is wedged enough to gain leverage.
• Twist the knife until the shell pops and slightly opens. At this point, you need to check the knife for any grit and wipe it off.
• Very carefully slide the knife along the underside of the top shell to sever the muscle holding the top shell. Discard the top shell.
• Slide the knife under the oyster meat and sever the muscle that attaches the oyster meat to the lower shell. Be very careful not to spill the oyster juice.
• Check for any shell bits or grits and remove them from the oyster using your shucking knife.
• Serve your oyster on a half-shell, making sure it is properly balanced on the plate. We use an inch deep dish filled with pickling salt when we serve our oysters.

Do not shuck oysters until you are ready to eat them.

Method

Prepare the Main dish:

1. Preheat oven broiler to high.
2. Make Motoyaki Sauce first and set it aside.
3. Prepare wine-infused shallots and set them aside.
4. Remove the tough side muscle along the side of the scallops, if present.
5. Heat a frying pan to medium-high heat and add all the butter. Season scallops with salt and pepper. Once the butter starts to foam, place the scallops into the pan and sear them on both sides, 1 ½ minutes on each side. Take great care not to overcook them. Set scallops aside to cool down.
6. Place just enough rock salt to form a base to keep the oyster shells upright.
7. Shack the oysters and remove the oyster meat together with oyster juices into a bowl.
8. Mix oyster meat with the seared scallops and chipotle paste and set aside while you place the oyster cups onto the baking tray with rock salt.
9. Place the scallop-oyster mix back into the oyster cups.
10. Spoon Motoyaki sauce over the scallop-oyster mix, just enough to cover it completely.
11. Place the tray with oysters under a broiler for 6-8 minutes, depending on the height of the oven rack positioning and the temperature of your oven broiler. Ensure that the sauce bubbles and caramelizes before you pull the oysters out of the oven.
12. Spoon a dollop of white wine-infused shallots and top with microgreens if using.
13. Place on a plate with a bed of rock salt.

Recipe Tips

• Make sure to use an oyster shucking knife to open oysters. Never use a kitchen paring knife or any other kitchen knife.
• You may also want to invest in an oyster shucking glove to hold the oysters as you shuck them. However, we were just as successful with using a small kitchen towel. In our opinion, as soon as the towel is thick enough to protect your hand from oyster barnacles and sharp edges, it does the trick. Make sure to put it in wash immediately afterwards
• Make sure to pat dry the scallops with a paper towel to remove any excess moisture. The side muscle is a little piece of tough tissue on the side of the scallop. You can pinch it off or tear it away with your fingers.
• If you want a more delicate miso flavor, consider using white miso paste instead of the red miso paste used in this recipe. 
• If you don’t have rock salt, you can use pickling salt with the same success. The key is to steady up the oyster shells, both when cooking and plating.