Oysters Cocktail

This recipe hails from a collection of early 20th century Mexican manuscript cookbooks, handwritten by women from the Irazoqui-Sánchez family in Durango, 1914. At a time when Mexico was experiencing political and social upheaval, family recipes like this one capture the merging of traditional Mexican ingredients with global influences, such as Worcestershire sauce and the rising trend for raw shellfish served in cocktail style—indicative of cosmopolitan dining trends of the Porfiriato and post-revolutionary era. The inclusion of branded sauces, like 'Lea & Perrins', and the move to serve oysters in individual glasses with crackers, show the impact of European and American tastes filtering into Mexican bourgeois households.

In the early 1900s, preparation would have been simple but elegant: oysters opened with an oyster knife, sauces mixed with a small spoon, and the whole arranged in a glass goblet ('copa') for individual service. Lemon juice would be freshly squeezed by hand, pepper ground with a hand mill or mortar, and everything assembled with minimal fuss at the dining table or kitchen sideboard. Serving with crackers was a nod to both local panadería (bakeries) and imported trends, offering texture alongside the briny oysters.