New York City Oyster Pan Roast

"No, I do not weep at the world - I am too busy sharpening my oyster knife."

- Zora Neale Hurston, Dust Tracks on a Road

 

Oysters possess an amazing power: they can enable individuals and, indeed, entire communities, to overcome the economic, political, and social structures that are built to deprive and marginalize them. This power has been demonstrated, time and time again, throughout the history of the United States. But, perhaps, the one example that can best illustrate the uplifting potential of oysters involves a dish known as the New York City Oyster Pan Roast. 

To truly understand the example, one must go in 1791. In that year, Thomas Downing was born on Chincoteague Island, Virginia, to two African-American parents. At that time and in that State, slavery reigned. And, Downings parents had been slaves. But, their slave master -- Captain John Downing, a wealthy landowner in Oak Hall -- converted to Methodism, which condemned slavery. Captain Downing freed all of his slaves, including Thomas Downing's parents. As freed slaves, his parents were able to buy a small tract of land, where they settled and where Thomas Downing was born in 1791. 

While a part of the State of Virginia, Chincoteague Island provided somewhat of a refuge from the larger world. It was a landscape where Thomas Downing could learn to handle a boat amongst the barrier islands and fish the waters. Those waters were also teeming with oyster beds, providing Thomas with the opportunity to harvest oysters, developing a keen eye for which ones were the best. 

The refuge of Chincoteague Island could not keep out history. As the War of 1812 commenced, Thomas Downing (then age 21) joined the Army and marched north to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he was stationed. After the war ended, Downing stayed in Philadelphia, where he met his wife and started a family that included four sons and a daughter. Downing also got a job working in an oyster bar, and he eventually opened his own bar. During that time, Downing learned that many freed African-Americans went further north to New York City, where they worked on oyster vessels and in the oyster industry. Downing decided to take his family and follow that path.

Census records reveal that Downing made the move to New York City by 1819, where he was registered as an oysterman. But, he was his own oysterman. Downing rented a skiff and plied the waters in the New Jersey flats to harvest oysters, whether by dredging, plucking or tonging. As writer Cameron Oglesby once observed, "oystering was a profession that allowed Black men to act as their own bosses providing a new and liberating sense of self and economic independence from White industrial America." Downing was living proof of that statement at the time.  

More importantly, even though Downing was living and working in the North, where slavery had been outlawed, he still had to endure discrimination and oppression from a white society that did not view him as an equal. Downing had a plan to overcome those obstacles: he would open an oyster bar, or oyster cellar, as they were known in New York City. But not just any oyster cellar. 

Present day location of where Thomas Downing's
Oyster House once stood. (Source: Robt. Wright)

At the time, oyster cellars in New York City had a certain ill repute. Many oyster cellars were rough places, found in basements that could be located with a red balloon flying outside the door. Thomas Downing chose 5 Broad Street in lower Manhattan for his business. That location was just a short walk to the centers of economic power, such as the Merchant Exchange, Wall Street, and the Customs House. While oysters were a food enjoyed by everyone, from the poor to the rich, Downing understood that the wealthy would pay a lot more for the same food. His oyster bar would focus on bringing in that wealthier clientele. 

Thomas Downing opened his oyster cellar in 1825, which could be found in the basement of 5 Broad Street. He used the network of friends that he made while working as an oysterman to procure the oysters for his restaurant. He even used his skiff to go out onto the waters early in the morning to meet those friends and procure the best oysters before they even reached the shore, let alone the market. Downing also utilized print advertisements in newspapers to promote his restaurant, including an ad in the March, 30, 1938 edition of the New York Herald that read: 

Oysters! - Oysters!  - Oysters!

The above article may be had in their prime at Downing's. I take this method of informing my customers that I have a better stock of oysters on hand at present, than I have had this season. The lovers of the above article can (I feel assured) be fully satisfied by calling at my establishment. It is with pleasure that I say that I can give my customers a better Oyster at present, than I could at any time this eason. Strangers who have any doubts as regard to the superiority of the New York Oysters, have only to call and try, and be satisfied.

Thomas Downing, 5 Broad St.

N.B. I have a lot of Pickled Oysters on hand for importation.

Downing also used advertisements to draw in customers for other dishes he served, including "a turtle of rather a singular description." His hard work paid off: he built up a clientele of rich white people who spent a lot of money at his establishment. He was able to expand his restaurant, leasing 3 Broad Street and 7 Broad Street, creating a dining room with fine carpeting, chandeliers, mirrors and damask curtains. He was also able to utilize the steam generated underground to create a "vault" that allowed for oysters to remain fresh until they were ready to be prepared and served. His business only grew from there, with additional restaurants opening in other parts of the city, as well as a growing export business that sent oysters up and down the eastern coast, as well as overseas. By 1857, Thomas Downing had a net worth of $100,000, which would be the equivalent of $3,723,862 in today's dollars. Downing was the richest African American and indeed richer than most white Americans when slavery gripped half of the nation and exploited most African Americans. 

At his fine dining establishment, Thomas Downing served oysters in a variety of ways: scalloped oysters, oyster pie, turkey stuffed with oysters, as well as "oysters roasted on a gridiron over oak shavings."  Yet, the one dish that has survived over time, and for which Thomas Downing is best known, is his New York City Oyster Pan Roast. 

I found a recipe for a Thomas Downing-inspired New York City Oyster Pan Roast, which was adapted from a recipe developed by Albert Lukas, the supervising chef at the Sweet Home Cafe, which is located in the Smithsonian National Museum for African American History and Culture. 

The key to the recipe and, in fact, the entire dish is the sauce. The sauce is prepared with shallots, along with white wine, oyster liqueur (the liquid in the oysters when shucked), Worcestershire sauce, chili sauce, and hot sauce. The butter and heavy cream add thickness to the sauce, along with this relatively white color. The sauce serves as the base in which the oysters are "pan-roasted" only for a few minutes. The goal is to firm up the sides, making them plumper without overcooking them. The dish is completed by portioning the oysters in shallow bowls, ladling some of the sauce over them, and serving them with toasted, buttered bread, which can be used to mopping up the sauce.

NEW YORK CITY OYSTER PAN ROAST

Recipe from the Washington Post

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 12 baguette slices, for serving 
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 of them melted
• 1 medium shallot, minced
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 3 dozen freshly shucked oysters, preferably from the bay
• 1 cup oyster liqueur
• 3 teaspoons chile sauce
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Generous 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

Directions:

1. Toast the baguette slices. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Arrange the baguette slices flat on a baking sheet and brush the tops of each one using the tablespoon of melted butter. Bake on the middle rack for 12 to 16 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool. 

2. Saute the shallots.  Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large saucepan over medium low heat. Stir in the shallot and cook for 5 to 8 minutes until tender, then add the wine. Increase the heat to medium and cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until the liquid is reduced by half. Stir in the oyster liquor and cook just long enough for the mixture to begin bubbling at the edges. 

3. Continue cooking. Add the chile sauce, Worcestershire sauce and cream, stirring to blend well. Cook for two minutes, then reduce the heat to medium low; add the oysters and stir to coat. Cook for 2 minutes, being careful not to overcook them. Gently stir in the Tabasco sauce and the remaining tablespoon of butter with the saucepan until thoroughly incorporated. Remove from the heat.

4. Finish the dish. To serve, place 6 oysters into wide shallow bowls (6 bowls total) and then ladle the chile cream sauce over the oysters in each bowl. Garnish each with 2 baguette slices.

*     *     *

Post Script: While Thomas Downing found his independence, both self and economic, through serving oysters to white America, he never forgot the larger backdrop to his success. Downing offered his Broad Street restaurant as a stop on the Underground Railroad, where he hid fugitive slaves from the 1830s until the end of slavery in the 1860s. He also fought to restore the rights of African American men to vote, which had been effectively taken away when the State of New York passed a law requiring them to be residents for at least 3 years and own at least $250 worth of property. While that effort failed, Thomas Downing continued to be a staunch abolitionist and advocate for African-American rights. 

Downing also continued to be a victim of the white supremacist system and society in this country. For example, in 1840, Downing refused to exit a white's only railroad car. The railroad agents forcibly removed Downing from the car, using considerable violence. According to court records from Downing's lawsuit against the agents, they "struck him under the ear, ..., beat and kicked him, broke his hat and forced him violently from the car." The jury, which was most likely comprised of all white people, found the agents "not guilty." 

The lesson is that there are ways for marginalized and suppressed peoples to find their independence, but the only true way for them to achieve equality with the oppressors is to change a system built upon white supremacy. Since Downing's death in 1866, our country made advancements toward that change, but the problematic system remains intact; and, in recent months, the white supremacists are now reasserting themselves. Our path forward remains unwritten. We can still work toward a diverse, equitable and inclusive society, or the current system, which primarily benefits one group of people, will remain in place. Only time will tell.... 

PEACE.