If you’re serving champagne mignonette, you’ll need the perfect oysters on the half shell recipe to go with it! A mignonette is a dipping sauce, that is highly tied to eating raw oysters. It always consists of vinegar, shallots, and fresh cracked pepper. The flavors of the sauce balance and brighten the taste of the briny oysters. Following this recipe you’ll feel confident serving champagne mignonette alongside your raw oysters, as well as saying it! It’s pronounced “min-yon-et”. The beauty of this champagne mignonette recipe is in its simplicity. And usually, if it’s paired with raw oysters, it’s not to subtract from or blanket the taste of the oysters, but to complement and even enhance it. Here’s what you’ll need to make champagne mignonette:
Champagne: for this recipe, you’ll need ¼ cup of champagne. That said, you can use any kind of sparkling wine to make champagne mignonette. Champagne vinegar: This is a mild type of vinegar made from Chardonnay and pinot noir grapes. The champagne vinegar supports the champagne in this recipe as you’ll only need 2 tablespoons. Shallots: For this champagne mignonette you’ll need 2 teaspoons of shallots, finely minced. Although shallots are in the onion family, they have a less harsh taste than other types of onions. They will, however, still add a sharpness to this sauce. Fresh cracked pepper: you can have freshly cracked black pepper at home using peppercorns and a pepper mill. It’s superior to ground pepper since the pepper mill will give you a coarser pepper overall and it will really add to the taste.
There are some additions and substitutions you can make to this simple sauce, depending on what you have on hand or the flavor profile you’re after. Here are some examples:
Non-alcoholic: you can make champagne vinegar mignonette (and omit the champagne or sparkling wine) to achieve a similar result. Herbs: You can use some herbs in this sauce as well to add another layer of fresh, herby brightness. Popular options are parsley and cilantro. Salt: It’s not unheard of to add salt to champagne mignonette, however, keep in mind that the oysters will be salty by nature. Consider trying the mignonette sauce on an oyster without salt before you add any more. Sugar: The champagne will add some sweetness to this sauce, however, you can add sugar to your taste. or liking. Citrus: Try adding a small splash of your favorite citrus. Lemon, lime, and orange all work very well.
Did you make this?
We love to see what you made! Tag @theendlessmeal or hashtag #theendlessmeal!
