What Are Chicken Oysters?

The first thing you may wonder is if a chicken oyster is from the farm or from the sea. Chicken oysters are actually a piece of dark meat hidden elusively where the thigh and backbone join on a chicken. Chicken oysters have a reputation as an especially delicious portion of meat.

Many cooks who do not know about this small tasty gem slice straight through the chicken oyster when they are cutting up their chicken. Cutting the chicken to preserve the oyster requires a little more concentration, but can easily be done by even the most novice cook. According to The Paupered Chef website, you first make an incision between the leg and the breast until the leg falls away to the table. Pop the leg joint out of place and cut as close as you can to the backbone.

Most of the time, the oysters are cooked as part of the whole chicken. However, some restaurants do remove them and serve them as a part of a specialty dish. In that case, the oysters should be prepared the same way you would cook any other part of the chicken. Chef Paul Merrett recommends coating the oysters in a little oil and butter and frying them skin down until brown and adding them to Caesar salad.

Finding specific recipes for chicken oysters is challenging. Most Internet searches simply return chicken in oyster sauce recipes. It is difficult to prepare chicken oyster recipes for a large group of people since an entire chicken yields only two small oysters. However, if you do manage to get your hands on some, consider wrapping them in bacon or frying them using your favorite Southern fried recipe.

It is important to follow proper handling when removing chicken oysters. Chicken should always be kept in a refrigerator at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or in the freezer at 0 degrees Fahrenheit. A frozen chicken should always be defrosted in the refrigerator, and never on the counter. You should cook a chicken thoroughly, which takes approximately an hour at 350 degrees for a whole chicken. You should also carefully wash your hands and any utensils that come in contact with raw chicken to prevent cross contamination.