Oysters with Citrus Pink Peppercorn Mignonette

If one is not specific in their research, then it could lead to unintended places. Take, for example, a search for the history of the mignonette sauce served alongside oysters. I entered those terms in an online search, but I ended up with the history of a vessel called "Mignonette." As I read that history, I was treatred to the story of sailors taking the vessel from England to Austrailia around the Cape of Good Hope. They never made it ... running into trouble off the coast of Africa. The story gets worse from there, ending in cannabalism as the desperate and hungry sailors ended up eating one of their own. 

(This is not my first encounter with a voyage gone wrong during my research. I previously posted about Captain Crockett's last breakfast, the meal he ate aboard his vessel before being killed by the cook.)

Nevertheless, the desperation and horror aboard a vessel was hardly the story I expected to find as I searched for the history of the mignonette sauce. I honed my research terms and was able to engage in more palatable reading: the history and oritgin of a sauce about which little thought is probably given by those who eat oysters.

With all of that said, the history of the mignonette sauce is a little less clear than what happened to the crew of the vessel. While the term mignonette is obviously French, there are some who believe the sauce originated in England. Regardless of its origin, a mignonette began as something completely different that its present day form. During the 16th and 17th centuries, the term referred to a small cloth satchel of crushed peppercorns and spices that would be added to broths, sauces, soups and stocks. The satchel would flavor the liquid while preventing the cracked spices from making their presence known in the final dish. 

Eventually, the sauce evolved into a mixture of vinegar with minced shallots and cracked black pepper. That evolution took place at some point during the nineteenth century. The sauce eventually became a popular condiment served alongside oysters in the late 1800s, especially among the upscale dining establishments in the United States and across Western Europe. The term, mignonette, means "small and sweet," which is an obvious reference to the oyster given the sauce consists of bitter and acidic ingredients. The combination of bitter and sweet helps to round out the experience of eating oysters.

That is pretty much the history of a mignonette sauce, small and sweet. 

This particular recipe takes a twist on the standard mignonette recipe. It uses rice wine vinegar, which is milder and sweeter than white wine vinegar or regular vinegar. It adds back in some acidity through the use of lemon juice and lime juice. It also provides a subtle pepper note through the use of cracked pink peppercorn, as opposed to the traditional tellicherry black peppercorn. This sauce is perhaps my favorite mignonette recipe because it tracks the traditional recipe but in creative ways. 

OYSTERS WITH CITRUS PINK PEPPERCORN MIGNONETTE

Recipe from Hama Hama Oysters

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup rice wine viengar
• 1 lemon, juice & zest
• 1 lime, juice & zest
• 1/4 cup finely minced shallots (or substitute red onion)
• 1 teaspoon pink pepper corns, coarsely ground

Directions:

Stir all ingredietns together and chill for an hour to infuse.

PEACE.