Book of Days Tales

Today is the birthday (1876) of John “Jack” Griffith London (born John Griffith Chaney), U.S. journalist, novelist and social activist. London was born in San Francisco to an unwed mother in a working-class neighborhood that was not as impoverished as his later accounts suggested. London’s relationship with the truth was not always cordial. His purported father disowned him and his mother, and for much of his childhood his mother was unable to look after him, and turned over his care to Virginia Prentiss, an African-American former slave.

In 1889, London began working 12 to 18 hours a day at Hickmott’s Cannery. Seeking a way out, he borrowed money from his foster mother, bought the sloop Razzle-Dazzle from an oyster pirate named French Frank, and became an oyster pirate himself. In his memoir, John Barleycorn, he claims also to have taken French Frank’s mistress Mamie. After a few months, his sloop became damaged beyond repair, after which London hired on as a member of the California Fish Patrol.

Geraldine Duncann whose father was a close friend of Jack London has a website that details things he liked to cook, here: http://www.thequestingfeast.com/Article_Jack_London.html This recipe is a good one. I’m a big fan of raw oysters, but I do change things up from time to time with some cooked oysters, and using a wood grill is a worthy enterprise. It is also perfect for Jack London’s lifestyle.

This is another method of serving oysters that my father learned from Jack London.  It also uses Anchor Steam Beer as well as a lot of finely chopped garlic.          

Fresh live oysters in the shell
Finely minced garlic
Anchor Steam beer
Salt and pepper and favorite hot sauce

Scrub the shells of the oysters with a stiff brush under cold running water.  Discard any that are open and do not close when you tap the shell.  Place the oysters, on a rack over the glowing coals of a barbecue.  Leave until they just begin to open.  Using tongs, remove them and with an oyster knife, pry the shells the rest of the way open.  Place the oyster in the deep half of the shell.  Add a pinch of minced garlic and a bit of beer.  Add salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste and return to the barbecue and continue cooking to desired degree of doneness.  SPECTACULAR!