Chef Thomas
A British BLT
Back bacon crisped in a hot pan, a ripe tomato that actually tastes of something, crisp lettuce and real butter on proper toast. A sandwich that earns its place in the notebook.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Angels on Horseback on Toast
Created by Chef Thomas
Oysters wrapped in smoky bacon, grilled until the fat crisps and the sea-sweetness swells inside, set on hot buttered toast. The old savoury course, brought back to the table where it belongs.
Sandwiches & Wraps
British
Dinner Party
Special Occasion
20 min
Active Time
8 min cook•28 min total
Yield4 servings (12 pieces)
There's something about the smell of bacon under a hot grill on a dark evening that makes a kitchen feel like the right place to be. Add oysters to the equation and the room takes on a different charge: salt air and wood smoke, something a little reckless, the kind of cooking that says tonight is not an ordinary night.
Angels on horseback belong to the old British savoury course, that peculiar tradition of serving something sharp and salty after the pudding, a full stop to the meal rather than another comma. The Victorians understood what they were doing. A crisp, smoky parcel with a briny, yielding centre is the sort of mouthful that makes conversation stop for a second. It deserves reviving.
This is a winter thing, really. Oysters are at their best when the months have an R in them and the evenings draw in by four o'clock. I make these for New Year sometimes, or when someone comes for dinner and I want to start the evening with something that feels like a small occasion without requiring hours at the stove. Twelve oysters, six rashers of bacon, some good bread, and ten minutes under the grill. We're only making dinner. But it's the kind of dinner people remember.
I wrote it down in the notebook after the first time: bacon, oyster, toast, January. The squeeze of lemon. The look on someone's face. That was enough.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
fresh oysters
Quantity
12
shucked, juices reserved
thin-cut smoked streaky bacon
Quantity
6 rashers
halved crossways
good sourdough or white farmhouse bread
Quantity
4 slices
unsalted butter
Quantity
30g
softened
lemon
Quantity
1
cayenne pepper
Quantity
a pinch per piece
flat-leaf parsley (optional)
Quantity
small handful
finely chopped
black pepper
Quantity
freshly ground, to taste
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| fresh oystersshucked, juices reserved | 12 |
| thin-cut smoked streaky baconhalved crossways | 6 rashers |
| good sourdough or white farmhouse bread | 4 slices |
| unsalted buttersoftened | 30g |
| lemon | 1 |
| cayenne pepper | a pinch per piece |
| flat-leaf parsley (optional)finely chopped | small handful |
| black pepper | freshly ground, to taste |
Equipment Needed
- •Oyster knife (if shucking yourself)
- •Wooden cocktail sticks
- •Wire rack and baking tray
- •Grill or overhead broiler
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the oysters
If your fishmonger hasn't already done it, shuck the oysters over a bowl to catch the liquor. Check each one for stray bits of shell. Give them a gentle rinse if needed, then lay them on a clean tea towel and pat dry. A wet oyster won't let the bacon crisp around it properly. Season each with a little freshly ground black pepper and the smallest dusting of cayenne. Go easy. You want warmth, not heat.
Ask the fishmonger to shuck them for you if you're not confident. No shame in it. A good fishmonger would rather do it than have you butcher them at home. Bring them home in their liquor and use them within a few hours. - 2
Wrap in bacon
Lay out the half-rashers of bacon on a board. Place one oyster at the end of each piece and roll the bacon around it snugly, not too tight, just enough to hold. Secure each with a wooden cocktail stick pushed through the overlap. The bacon should wrap around once, perhaps once and a half. If your rashers are too thick, the bacon won't cook through before the oyster toughens. Thin is the thing here.
Stretch the bacon slightly with the back of a knife before wrapping. It thins the rashers and helps them crisp evenly under the grill. - 3
Grill the angels
Heat your grill to high and position the rack about ten centimetres from the element. Lay the wrapped oysters on a wire rack set over a baking tray, seam side down so they don't unravel. Grill for three to four minutes, then turn them. Another two to three minutes on the other side. You're watching the bacon, not the clock. When it's bronzed and tightened around the oyster, when the fat has gone translucent and the edges are starting to crisp and curl, they're done. The oyster inside should be just warmed through, plump and briny, not rubbery.
- 4
Make the toast
While the angels are under the grill, toast the bread until it's properly golden, with some colour and crunch. Butter it generously while it's still hot so the butter melts into every pore. Cut each slice into triangles or rectangles, whatever suits the size of your oysters. The toast should be sturdy. It has work to do.
- 5
Assemble and serve
Pull the cocktail sticks out. Set three wrapped oysters on each piece of toast, or two per triangle if you've cut them smaller. A squeeze of lemon over the top, a scattering of parsley if you have it, and bring them to the table while the bacon is still crackling. These want eating immediately. The toast softens, the bacon relaxes, and the whole point is the contrast between the crisp and the yielding, the salt of the bacon and the sea-taste of the oyster. Don't let them wait.
Chef Tips
- •Buy the oysters from a fishmonger you trust, and buy them on the day you plan to cook. Rock oysters are fine here, you don't need the more expensive natives. The bacon and the grill will do enough to the flavour that the subtleties between varieties won't matter as much as freshness will.
- •Smoked streaky bacon is what you want, not back bacon. Streaky has the fat to crisp properly, and the smoke plays well against the mineral sweetness of the oyster. Dry-cured if you can get it, because the wet-cured sort leaks a pale liquid under the grill that steams the bacon instead of crisping it.
- •The timing is a matter of attention, not precision. Every grill runs differently. Watch the bacon. When it looks like something you'd want to eat on its own, the angel is ready. The oyster inside needs only to be warmed, not cooked through. If you can still taste the sea, you've got it right.
- •A very cold, very dry white wine alongside. Muscadet or Picpoul, something with enough acidity to stand up to the bacon fat and enough minerality to match the oyster. Or Champagne, if the evening calls for it.
Advance Preparation
- •The oysters can be shucked, wrapped in bacon, and secured with cocktail sticks up to three hours ahead. Keep them covered on a tray in the fridge until you're ready to grill.
- •Do not toast the bread in advance. It must be hot and freshly buttered when the angels come off the grill. The assembly takes thirty seconds.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 115g)
Calories
310 calories
Total Fat
17 g
Saturated Fat
7 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
8 g
Cholesterol
75 mg
Sodium
840 mg
Total Carbohydrates
24 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
15 g
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