Hangtown Fry: Omelette with Fried Oysters

In Cambria, Central Coast, California, there's a restaurant called Moonstone Beach Bar & Grill that faces the ocean, and which serves the best Sunday brunch. They have complimentary champagne with their brunch, and the choices are fantastic. My favorite is the Hangtown Fry, which is omelette with fried oysters and a jalapeno cream sauce. Moonstone Beach Bar & Grill also serves the best little cubed potatoes that pop in your mouth.





I found the following recipe for Hangtown Fry, although I haven't tried it yet.

The Moonstone Beach Bar & Grill describes their Hangtown Fry this way: Three egg omelette with deep-fried oysters, bacon, Swiss cheese and jalapeno cream sauce. So if you try the recipe below, add bacon, Swiss cheese, and jalapeno cream sauce.

Their Eggs Benedict is also very good and is described as: Poached eggs, Canadian bacon, homemade Hollandaise on a flaky all butter croissant, served with country taters (those delicious cubed potatoes!). 

Do read the short introduction below about the name "Hangtown" -- I had no idea the name came from hangings in Placerville!

Fried Oyster Omelette (Hangtown Fry) from pacseafood.com
This omelette hails from Hangtown, a town northeast of Sacramento that was
named for the notorious hangings once held there (it's now called
Placerville). The dish seems to have come into existence during the Gold
Rush, as the high-priced breakfast of a lucky miner, and later became a
specialty at San Francisco's Tadich Grill. It is traditionally served
with bacon.
Active time: 15 min. Start to finish: 15 min 

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup ground saltine crackers (about 8)
Salt and pepper
4 large eggs
4 shucked oysters
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

INSTRUCTIONS:
Put flour and ground saltine crackers in 2 separate small bowls and
season flour with salt and pepper. Beat 1 egg with a fork in a small
bowl and season with salt and pepper. Pat oysters dry and coat, 1 at a
time, in flour, then egg, then cracker crumbs, shaking off excess
between each coating. Put coated oysters on a plate.
Beat remaining 3 eggs with a fork for omelet. Heat butter in an 8-inch
nonstick skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides, then fry
oysters until golden, about 1 minute per side, transferring with tongs
to paper towels to drain.
Reduce heat to moderately low, then add eggs to skillet and cook,
stirring gently, until half set, about 1 minute. Season with salt and
pepper. Arrange oysters over half of eggs opposite skillet handle, then
continue to cook until eggs are just set, about 1 minute more. Fold
omelette over oysters and invert onto a plate.
Makes 1 serving

~~~~
 Read also:
Cooking with Cecilia Brainard - Quiche
Cooking with Cecilia Brainard - Linguine with Clams
Cooking Lengua Estofada 
Food Essay - Fried Chicken Caribbean-style
How I Learned to Make Leche Flan (or How I Met my Husband)
Cooking with Cecilia - Leche Flan (Vietnamese Style) 
Recipe of Balbacua Cebuana from Louie Nacorda 
Easy Filipino Recipes from Maryknollers
Cooking with Cecilia - Beef Bourguignon 
Cooking with Cecilia - Chicken Soup for my Bad Cold 



All for now,
Cecilia

tags:  food, recipe, wine, breakfast, brunch, eggs, omelette, omelet, eggs benedict, hangtown fry, cambria, California,