Chef Thomas
A Proper Ploughman's Board
A board of good cheddar, thick ham, proper pickle, hard-boiled eggs, and crusty bread. Not cooking so much as assembling with conviction, and one of the finest lunches the English kitchen has ever produced.
Culinary Explorer
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Angels on Horseback
Created by Chef Thomas
Fresh oysters wrapped in crisp streaky bacon and grilled until the salt of the sea meets the smoke of the cure, served on hot buttered toast the way the Victorians intended, only simpler and at home.
Appetizers & Snacks
British
Dinner Party
Special Occasion
15 min
Active Time
8 min cook•23 min total
Yield12 pieces, serving 4 as a starter or 6 as a nibble
There's a smell that hits you when bacon meets a hot grill, and it fills the kitchen in a way that makes people drift in from other rooms. Add an oyster to the middle of that bacon, and you've got something that smells of the coast and the smokehouse at once. Salt on salt. It shouldn't work, but it does, and it has done since the Victorians served it as the final savoury before the port and cigars came out.
Angels on Horseback belong to the cold months, when oysters are at their best and the evenings have the sort of chill that calls for something rich and quick and slightly indulgent before you sit down to the main event. They're a dinner party dish in the truest sense: ten minutes of work, twelve small mouthfuls, and the kind of quiet showing off that looks like you haven't tried at all.
The trick is in the sourcing. Good oysters, good bacon, good bread. Everything else is just assembly and heat. I made these last November for four people, and I wrote it down in the notebook: "angels, toast, cold white wine, nobody spoke for thirty seconds." That's the effect you're after.
A recipe is a conversation, not a contract. If the oysters at the fishmonger look tired, walk away and make Devils on Horseback with prunes instead. The market decides. But when the oysters are bright and clean and smell of nothing but the sea, this is the thing to do with them.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
fresh oysters
Quantity
12
shucked, juices reserved
dry-cured streaky bacon
Quantity
12 rashers
stretched thin with the back of a knife
lemon
Quantity
half
juiced
black pepper
Quantity
a few grinds
cayenne pepper
Quantity
a whisper
sourdough or good white bread
Quantity
4 slices
unsalted butter
Quantity
for the toast
softened
flat-leaf parsley (optional)
Quantity
small handful
finely chopped
lemon wedges
Quantity
to serve
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| fresh oystersshucked, juices reserved | 12 |
| dry-cured streaky baconstretched thin with the back of a knife | 12 rashers |
| lemonjuiced | half |
| black pepper | a few grinds |
| cayenne pepper | a whisper |
| sourdough or good white bread | 4 slices |
| unsalted buttersoftened | for the toast |
| flat-leaf parsley (optional)finely chopped | small handful |
| lemon wedges | to serve |
Equipment Needed
- •Oyster knife (or a willing fishmonger)
- •Grill tray or wire rack set over a roasting tin
- •Wooden cocktail sticks
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the oysters
Shuck the oysters over a bowl to catch their liquor. Check each one for any stray shell. Lay them on a clean tea towel to blot off the worst of the moisture, but don't dry them completely. You want them damp, not dripping. The liquor in the bowl is worth keeping for another purpose, stirred into a Bloody Mary or tipped into a fish pie. A squeeze of lemon over the oysters now, and the lightest possible dusting of cayenne. Just a breath of heat. If you can see the cayenne sitting on top, you've used too much.
If shucking oysters isn't something you've done before, ask your fishmonger to open them for you. No shame in it. Just use them the same day, and keep them cold. - 2
Wrap in bacon
Lay the bacon rashers on a board. If they're thick cut, stretch each one with the back of a knife, pressing firmly along the length until it's thin and pliable. Place an oyster at one end of each rasher, give it a grind of black pepper, and roll the bacon around it snugly. Not too tight, or the oyster gets crushed, but firm enough that it holds. Secure each one with a wooden cocktail stick pushed through the middle. Line them up on a grill tray or rack set over a roasting tin.
Stretching the bacon matters. A thick rasher won't crisp properly in the time it takes the oyster to cook through, and an overcooked oyster is a rubbery, sorry thing. - 3
Grill until crisp
Heat the grill to its highest setting and position the rack about ten centimetres from the element. Grill the wrapped oysters for three to four minutes on one side, until the bacon has gone golden and is starting to crisp at the edges. Turn them over, carefully, and give them another two to three minutes on the other side. You're watching for the bacon to be properly crisp all over while the oyster inside stays tender and just set. The kitchen will smell of salt and smoke and the sea. That's when they're ready.
Don't walk away from the grill. Bacon under high heat goes from golden to black in the time it takes to refill your glass. Stay close and trust your nose. - 4
Toast and serve
While the angels grill, toast the bread and butter it generously while it's still hot. Cut each slice into three fingers or triangles, whatever pleases you. Lay the toast on a warm plate, settle the angels on top, remove the cocktail sticks, scatter over the parsley if you have it, and serve immediately with lemon wedges alongside. These want to be eaten within a minute of leaving the grill. They don't wait. They shouldn't have to.
Chef Tips
- •Buy your oysters from a fishmonger you trust and use them the day you buy them. A fresh oyster smells clean, like rock pools and cold water. If it smells of anything else, it isn't fresh. Walk away.
- •The bacon does double duty here: it bastes the oyster as it crisps, keeping it from drying out under the fierce heat of the grill. Dry-cured streaky is what you want. Wet-cured bacon releases too much water and steams rather than crisps. The difference is everything.
- •Serve these with a cold, bone-dry white wine or a glass of champagne if the occasion calls for it. The acidity cuts through the richness of the bacon and lifts the brininess of the oyster. A Muscadet or a Chablis is ideal.
- •These are not thesort of thing you can make ahead. They take ten minutes from start to table. Have your guests in the kitchen with you, or at least within earshot. The toast goes on, the angels come off the grill, and everyone sits down. That's the only choreography required.
Advance Preparation
- •The oysters can be shucked and wrapped in bacon up to two hours ahead. Keep them covered on the grill tray in the fridge until you're ready to cook. Bring them to room temperature for ten minutes before grilling.
- •The toast and grilling must happen at the last moment. This is not a dish that holds or reheats. It lives in the minutes between the grill and the table.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 150g)
Calories
395 calories
Total Fat
26 g
Saturated Fat
11 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
15 g
Cholesterol
95 mg
Sodium
825 mg
Total Carbohydrates
24 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
16 g
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