Oysters en brochette is a classic dish in New Orleans Creole cuisine. Raw oyster

Oyster

The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....

s are skewered, alternating with pieces of partially cooked bacon

Bacon

Bacon is a cured meat prepared from a pig. It is first cured using large quantities of salt, either in a brine or in a dry packing; the result is fresh bacon . Fresh bacon may then be further dried for weeks or months in cold air, boiled, or smoked. Fresh and dried bacon must be cooked before eating...

. The entire dish is then breaded

Breading

Breading is a dry grain-derived food coating for a piece of food such as meat, vegetable, poultry, fish, shellfish, crustacean, seitan, or textured soy, made from breadcrumbs or a breading mixture with seasonings. Breading can also refer to the process of applying a bread-like coating to a food...

 (usually with corn flour) and then either deep fried or sautéed. The traditional presentation is on triangles of toast with the skewer removed and topped with a Meunière sauce

Meuniere sauce

Meunière or , French ) refers to both a sauce and a method of preparation, primarily for fish. The word itself means "miller's wife". Thus to cook something à la meunière was to cook it by first dredging it in flour...

. When prepared well, the dish should have a crispy exterior and a soft savory center with a textural contrast between the bacon and the oyster. It was usually offered on restaurant menus as an appetizer; but was also a popular lunch entrée.

At one time, it was a ubiquitous option on menus across the spectrum of New Orleans restaurants. Today, it is rarely seen (no doubt owing to health concerns over the combination of fried oysters, fried bacon, and butter). An exemplary version can still be found at Galatoire's

Galatoire's

Galatoire's is a restaurant at 209 Bourbon St. in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA .Galatoire's Restaurant was founded in 1897 by Jean Galatoire, an immigrant from a small village near Pau, France in the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains. The restaurant is still run by his fourth...

.

A variation served as an hors d'oeuvres is angels on horseback

Angels on horseback

Angels on horseback is a hot appetizer made of oysters wrapped with bacon. In the United Kingdom they can also be a savoury, the final course of a traditional British formal meal...

. Single oysters are wrapped in partially cooked slices of bacon, each skewered with a toothpick

Toothpick

A toothpick is a small stick of wood, plastic, bamboo, metal, bone or other substance used to remove detritus from the teeth, usually after a meal. A toothpick usually has one or two sharp ends to insert between teeth. They can also be used for picking up small appetizers or as a cocktail...

. They are floured, deep-fried, and then passed on cocktail platters with a dipping sauce.

See also

• Louisiana Creole cuisine
  Louisiana Creole cuisine
  Louisiana Creole cuisine is a style of cooking originating in Louisiana which blends French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Greek, Asian Indian, Native American, and African influences, as well as general Southern cuisine...
  
  
• Oysters en Brochette Recipe with photo at Nola Cuisine