Weekly Recipe: Cafe Louie's Famous Fried Oysters

This recipe summons the laissez les bon temps rouler attitude.

Meet Cafe Louie (cafelouietx.com)— Houston’s latest and greatest all-day cafe and bakery. They dished us their take on fried oysters.

FRIED OYSTERS WITH REGGIANO TARTAR AND FRA DIAVOLO

OYSTER DREDGE

• Egg whites
• Yellow cornmeal
• Panko
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• White pepper
• Salt

Blitz your panko into a fine powder, mix 50-50 with yellow cornmeal, and season with the spices and salt. Toss all your oysters in a bowl of egg whites. Take the oysters out one at a time into the seasoned flour bowl, tossing them to coat. You can reserve on a baking sheet until ready to fry.

REGGIANO TARTAR

• 130 grams Duke’s mayo
• 50 grams Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
• 13 grams capers, chopped finely
• 13 grams parsley, chopped finely
• 8 grams lemon juice
• 5 grams anchovy, chopped finely
• 5 grams Dijon
• 3 grams garlic, microplaned
• 2 grams salt

Mix all ingredients together. Taste for salt.

FRA DIAVOLO

• 225 grams canned tomato, crushed
• 70 grams olive oil
• 50 grams white wine
• 40 grams onion, small dice
• 15 grams garlic, microplaned
• 3 grams chile flakes
• 1 gram Sicilian oregano

Sweat out the onion in the oil until completely translucent. Add in the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add in the chile flakes to toast, then deglaze with white wine. Reduce by half. Add in tomatoes, cook and reduce by 1⁄4. Season along each step with salt, and adjust at the end.

PICKUP

Set up a fryer at 350F. Drop in your oysters and cook until golden brown. Should take less than 2 minutes. Drain your oysters on a paper towel to take off excess oil and season with salt. Warm up your fra diavolo and place in a ramekin along with another ramekin of the tartar sauce. Mangia.