What's the Dish? | Harris Crab House & Seafood Restaurant
Story and photosby Raye Gilette-Whaley
Traditional Oyster Stew
By Executive Chef Mike Roberts of
Harris Crab House & Seafood Restaurant
Kent Narrows Way, North
Grasonville, MD 21638
410-827-9500
Harriscrabhouse.com
Open daily, 11 a.m.–10 p.m. (year-round)
Oyster buffet every Friday evening
Harris Crab House & Seafood Restaurant opened on the shores of the Chester River in 1981, offering delicacies that made the Eastern Shore famous. After several renovations and additions over the years, Harris’ boasts two large dining rooms with walls of windows and multiple decks to take in the breathtaking views. Executive Chef Mike Roberts has the opportunity to work with the many treasures that are freshly plucked from the restaurant’s surrounding waters. In this recipe, he uses Bayshore oysters that are prepared at the last active shucking house in Maryland, which happens to be right next door.
What’s Up?: How did your culinary career begin?
Chef Mike Roberts: I began as an apprentice at the Yachtsman on Kent Island, working under Executive Chef Susie Grondin, in 1978. Since then, I have worked as a chef in many notable restaurants, both fine-dining and bistro-style, including the Talbot Country Club for many years.
WU: Describe the culinary influence present in your dishes.
CR: The Bay itself is a tradition rich with the foods supplied by it—hard- and soft-shell crabs, soft-shell clams, rockfish, oysters. It seems to me that over time more and more chefs have separated themselves from the earlier methods, recipes, and traditional approaches to cooking that have attracted people to the Eastern Shore and the Chesapeake Bay from the beginning.
WU: How did you come to work at Harris Crab House?
CR: I started here at Harris’ in 1995 when a friend of mine needed help. I offered him a hand and never left.
WU: What do you like the most about your job?
CR: I like that restaurant work is one of the simplest yet one of the most challenging forms of business. To me, the most important aspects of being a chef are: one, what do people want; two, how to make a profit; and three, how to keep the people who work for me motivated. These are challenges that I enjoy facing each day.
WU: What makes this dish special?
CR: I like the simplicity of the dish.
WU: Is this a traditional recipe or have you modified it?
CB: This dish has been made for well over a hundred years. George Washington may have had something comparable on his inauguration day.
WU: How difficult is this dish to prepare at home?
CB: You can prepare this dish in a plain old kitchen, in a gourmet kitchen, in a galley of a boat….
WU: Is there a particular wine or drink that goes well with this dish?
CB: An ice-cold beer or sweet tea will do just fine.
Traditional Oyster Stew (Makes 4 bowls.)
Chef Roberts notes: This is a very quick and easy stew to make. Start the stew, make some sandwiches, pop open a beer, and settle in for a nice precursor to a crab feast.
Ingredients:
1 pint standard oysters (check for shells)
1/4 cup white wine (optional)
1 tbsp. Old Bay Seasoning
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. chopped garlic
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
8 drops Tabasco sauce (or to taste)
1 pint half-and-half
1 pint heavy cream
Directions:
1. Place oysters in a medium-size sauce pan.
2. Add the wine, Old Bay, pepper, garlic, Worcestershire, and Tabasco.
3. Cook over medium-low heat until the oysters curl.
4. Add the half-and-half and heavy cream. Continue cooking until very hot, but do not boil.
5. With a ladle, portion the oysters into bowls and then fill the bowls with the broth.
6. Serve with oyster crackers or saltines.
Oyster Stew
kent Narrows
Grasonville
Harris Crab House & Seafood
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