What is a "Chicken Oyster"?

[whiner]

Title says it all. Is it part of a chicken? A type of oyster? What does it taste like? Thanks!

[ricepad]

Anatomically, I believe it's the gluteus.

[JonasOftoronto]

The main reason to get a rotisserie chicken to your kitchen & carefully disjoint the bird hot is to flip over the carcass, lift the skin on the lower back and get those two oysters while they are melting with fresh flavor.

These twin delicacies are two well-nourished muscles that get very little work. Do not feed to pets, toss them out or lose them in the indifferent stock pot. Chicken Oysters are a ritual tradition.

[spm]

My mother, one of the best, if not THE best chef I have ever encountered said that the back was her favorite part of the chicken because of " those two lovely dollops of goodness".
In my house those little pockets tend to go missing quite often.

[FoodFuser]

If you're looking to find them on the bird, or on leg quarters, these may help:

Diagrammatically:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Huhn-Pfaffenschnittchen.png

Pictorially:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pfaffenschnittchen.jpg

http://bp2.blogger.com/_ObEm_r9QGqk/R9Lcb1SzVMI/AAAAAAAAACk/DWaYPPkNJCU/s320/IMG_2283-XMarksTheOysters.jpg from essay:

http://yeschefnochef.blogspot.com/2008/03/oysters-on-chicken.html

Embedded videos of oyster separation during butchering (ctrl f for oyster)
http://laocook.com/2006/11/

[alkapal]

i looked on wiki for so long for a diagram. you had to go to the german version, huh? i couldn't understand why nobody had the chicken diagram!

[Veggo]

They should be the chef's reward, without apologies, subterfuge, or skulduggery.

[SweetIndulgence]

so now i know what those tasty little morsels are called. too bad there are only two to a chicken/turkey.

[alkapal]

oops, now you've given an idea to the mad food scientists ;-).

a chicken made entirely of chicken oysters.

"datz one fuh-nny lookin' chicken out there!"

[chowser]

I'm surprised I haven't seen an appetizer or dish made with these. Or, even packages of them, like gizzards. I'm sure they'd be a hit--the best bite.

[DeppityDawg]

I've seen packages of turkey oysters at the supermarket, and recipes on line. Someone must be hoarding the chicken ones.

And there are lots of restaurants called "Le Sot L'y Laisse" in French-speaking countries; I suppose some of them must serve oyster-based dishes.

Check out this photo: ten oysters on a skewer!
http://shop.label-one.com/Chicken-oys...

[alkapal]

hmmmm, turkey oysters! i'll ask my butchers. those would be good braised, served with some fresh egg noodles, i'd bet.

[thinisnotin]

Sot L'y Laisse is French for Chicken Oyster and roughly translates to "the idiot leaves it" -- meaning it's so good you'd have to be nuts to let it go.

[madkittybadkitty]

they are on either side of the lower spine, dark, flavorful, and oyster-shaped.
nobody in my family knows they exist... no chicken on my dinner table has the oysters in it.
:D

[chef chicklet]

I know how to get them after they are cooked, just suppose I'll need to look at the raw chicken a little better, and see if I can rescue them.

[alkapal]

rescue them if you were going to throw them away, for sure.

one of the reasons i think they are so succulent is that they are nestled in a little quasi-pocket of the backbone/hip?, and when roasted, they take goodness from being nestled there against the bone.

[chef chicklet]

As everyone else has said, the lower area along the sides of the spine.
Glad you asked this, because, usually I remove the spine (for more even grilling or roasting) and I don't know how to save the oysters when cutting away. Or can I?

[fourunder]

CC.

If you look at my post earlier in this thread, there is a link that somewhat shows how to debone a leg & thigh and pinpoints the oyster removal. I'm sure if you search Google or You Tube you can find a better illustration or video to guide you through the process.

[chef chicklet]

ah, thank you forunder I missed that, will do!

[jfood]

You have the geography now.

And they are usually eaten over the sink with the fingers next to the cutting board while no one is watching. The oysters NEVER make it to the table at casa jfood.

[cstr]

Called a chef's snack!

[FoodFuser]

The crafty cook does indeed develop several maneuvers for claiming this cook's prize and ingesting the oysters on the sly.

In the past these have included:

- sending the gang to the video store
- waiting for the goal-line moment in a tied super bowl game
- wiring a button in a secret place in the kitchen that rings the doorbell

Triggering the smoke alarm is not effective, as the gang expects YOU to be the one who resets it.

ANY method is acceptable if the cook really wants those oysters.

But when I buy leg quarters, I become more benevolent as I prep the 5 pound bag. I reserve some of the oysters (pounded and shredded) for killer gravy, with neck meat and ground gizzards.

[jujuthomas]

they never do at my house either! :) my favorite chicken part, hands down.

[John Manzo]

THANK YOU for asking this! Amelie is one of my favourite movies but I never got the part about the fellow who "likes to eat the oysters" of his weekly roast chicken.

[ChrisOC]

Next to the gizzard, the oysters are the best part. The turkey oysters are even better

[chromacosmic]

Next to those crispy bits of stuffing that poke out of the front of a roast turkey, a chicken/turkey oyster is my favorite cook's treat. On one of those days when I am weak and buy a rotisserie chicken and am smothered by the aroma in the car on the way home, the first thing I do when I get home is slip one (or both) oysters out of the bird and into my mouth.

[fourunder]

The oysters(two) are located on the back and considered mighty fine eating.

http://yeschefnochef.blogspot.com/200...

[alkapal]

it's a part of the chicken that looks like an oyster, and it's slightly dark meat and the sweetest meat on the chicken. it is fat-oyster or rugby ball shaped, firm but tender and juicy, and is right next to the curved bone section adjacent to the thigh (which bone i have to look up).
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_43_40/ai_n16832629/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_oyster
http://chezchristine.typepad.com/chez...

they are not the testicles!