Instead of red wine vinegar that most recipes use, I make this mignonette sauce with white vine vinegar for a sweeter, milder, but still sharp and piquant sauce!
It pairs so well with oysters and seafood, but also great in so many other applications too!
Sure, this mignonette sauce is the quintessential accompaniment for oysters – but lately I’ve been adding it to ANYTHING I’m eating! From lots of salads to even as a dumpling sauce!
It’s a perfectly balanced, piquant mignonette that doesn’t overwhelm the flavor of oysters.
Why this recipe works
- The inspiration for this simple recipe comes from James Power from Raspberry Point Oysters (in Prince Edward Island, Canada). He has worked in the oyster industry for over 30 years! He knows oysters more than anyone else I know!
- This is a recipe that you can adapt to your taste. I like my mignonette sauce sharp, but a little sweet too, but you can make yours a little less sweet.
- By using white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar, the vinegar flavor complements the subtle flavors of oyster without overpowering it.
- Freshly cracked black pepper adds a wonderful floral smokiness to the sauce.
- I explain the importance of how shallots are prepared to enhance the flavor.
- This recipe is a slight variation of the classic, but it makes it perfect for fresh raw oysters. But it’s also great in SO MANY other applications!
- I’ve tested this recipe on a group of picky eater friends – from Canadian to Spanish, French, and South Asian, and I can confirm they ALL loved it!😊
The inspiration
My first foray into eating oysters was in 2010 at a work event, and let’s just say that it didn’t end well.
But I’m SO GLAD I never closed the door on them. Over the years, I’ve warmed up to oysters – cooked oysters, baked oysters, fried oysters etc.
But this year, I was so lucky to be invited to visit Prince Edward Island on the East Coast, which is also known as Canada’s food Island!
I got to enjoy freshly shucked oysters, raw, and with a squeeze of lemon, and mignonette sauce, cocktail sauce and hot sauces too! The piquant mignonette sauce was definitely a favorite!
When we toured New London Bay, James Power from Raspberry Point Oysters introduced us to his mignonette sauce. He showed us how to shuck oysters and how to appreciate the nuances and flavors (also called “merroir”) of the various types of oyster.
This mignonette sauce recipe is very much based on this experience and knowledge.
What is mignonette sauce?
Mignonette sauce is traditionally made with red wine vinegar, cracked black pepper, shallots, and seasoning.
But you can use any type of vinegar to make it. It’s served with freshly shucked raw oysters.
The acidity pairs well with the salinity of the oysters, and adds more flavor than a simple squeeze of lemon.
What vinegar works best for this recipe?
Most online recipes use red wine vinegar to make mignonette sauce. But we don’t commonly pair red wine with seafood, so why serve oysters with a harsher red wine vinegar mignonette?
The mignonette sauce that James made was made with equal parts rice vinegar and red wine vinegar (resulting in a kind of rose wine vinegar base).
Instead of a bolder, sharper red wine vinegar, I use a white wine vinegar that is more delicate, but still sharper than rice wine vinegar.
The result is a mignonette sauce that is sweeter, still sharp, but perfectly balanced for seafood such as oyster.
Recipe ingredients
- White wine vinegar – I use champagne vinegar here, but any white wine vinegar will work.
- Rice vinegar – You can use seasoned rice vinegar, but unseasoned rice vinegar will let you better control the sweetness and seasoning.
- Shallots – Make sure to cut the shallots with a sharp knife. It’s important to get clean cuts, as this will not only prevent tearing up, but also preserve flavor!
- Black peppercorns – I use Sri Lankan black peppercorns or Tellicherry black peppercorns. They have citrus and floral aromas and notes.
- Salt – For seasoning. Leave out if you use seasoned rice vinegar.
- Sugar – To balance the acidity. Leave out if you use seasoned rice vinegar.
For this recipe, you can use rice vinegar and any white wine vinegar – including champagne vinegar. Rose wine vinegar can be used as well, but this will have a bolder flavor profile than white wine vinegar.
Avoid strong vinegars, such as sherry vinegar, malt vinegar, red wine vinegar, and balsamic vinegar.
How to make mignonette sauce
Step 1 – Prepare the shallots
Shallots are preferred over onions in this recipe. The flavor in shallots is a mix between onion and garlic, while being more delicate than onions or garlic on their own.
They also have a sweetness to them.
Some shallots may have multiple bulbs, so separate them before cutting the shallots. Remove the outer dry peels of the shallots.
I generally remove the outermost thin layer if it’s partially dried out too. These layers can be slippery to cut cleanly. Then trim the top off the shallot bulbs, but keep the root end intact.
Preserving sweetness in shallots
Just like cutting onions, cutting shallots can also cause tearing up. That’s because crushing the cell walls of these alliums releases sulfuric acid and other enzymes that react together and form an irritant that causes tearing in our eyes.
The sulfur compounds also cause the onions and shallots to have a stronger sulfur smell and taste (when eating raw).
To preserve the sweetness of shallots, it’s crucial to cut the shallots with a sharp knife. A sharp blade cuts through the shallots cleanly, with less crushing / damage to the cells, resulting in the release of less sulfur compounds and irritants.
This also reduces the sulfur flavors, and preserves more of the sweetness and clean flavor, while also reducing tears!
Is this 100% crucial? Not really, but with such a simple recipe – it’s beneficial to preserve as much flavor as possible in the final sauce.
Step 2 – Dice the shallots
Place the trimmed shallot bulb on your cutting board (trimmed side down) and cut in half (top to bottom). Now place the cut half on the cutting board (cut surface flat on the board).
With a sharp knife, make narrow slices (about 2 – 3 mm thick) along the length of the shallot, but do not cut all the way through near the root end (image 1).
Now, finely slice the shallots across to create a fine dice that will result in shallot pieces that are about 2 – 3 mm in size (image 2). Repeat with the other shallot half, and any remaining bulbs.
If you used a sharp knife to cut the shallots (no tears!), the finely diced shallots can be placed in a bowl directly and set aside (image 3).
If the shallots got crushed while cutting with a dull knife, then you can soak the diced shallots in a bowl of ice cold water for 1 – 2 minutes.
Then strain the water out (by pat drying), and place them in a bowl. This can help bring out the sweetness of the shallots.
Step 3 – Prepare the black peppercorns
Place the black peppercorns in a pepper mill in a coarse setting and grind the peppercorns. I prefer to use a mortar and pestle to coarsely grind the peppercorns (image 4).
To bring out more of the peppercorn flavor, you have the option of toasting the peppercorns on a dry heated pan for a few minutes (until it releases the fragrant oils). But this step is optional.
Freshly cracked pepper vs pre-ground pepper
If you use pre-ground black pepper in this recipe, it’ll make the mignonette look grey and cloudy as the finely ground pepper suspends in the vinegar mixture. This can result in an unappetizing mignonette.
But more importantly, pre-ground black pepper will not have as much flavor, as spices lose their volatility and flavor the longer they are stored after grinding.
Whole black peppercorns will keep the flavor compounds for longer, and release them as they are freshly ground. To keep the mignonette from being cloudy, the whole peppercorns are COARSELY cracked here.
Step 4 – Mix the ingredients together
In no particular order, add the shallots, white wine vinegar, rice wine vinegar, and black pepper. Stir to combine (images 5 – 7).
Taste the sauce to gauge the seasoning. If you used seasoned rice wine vinegar, you may not need to add any salt or sugar.
However, using unseasoned rice wine vinegar will let you have more control over the seasoning. Add salt and sugar and whisk well until dissolved. Taste and adjust to your liking.
I like my mignonette sauce a little sweet, so I like to add a little extra sugar.
If you’re serving this mignonette sauce with raw oysters, the salt level can be kept low to account for the salinity of the briny oysters.
Step 5 – Store the mignonette sauce
Place the sauce in a food-safe plastic container or glass container (not metal) (image 8), and cover with an air-tight lid. Let the sauce sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours, preferably at least 8 hours (overnight), or up to 24 hours.
This allows the flavors to mingle and meld well. The resulting mignonette will have a smoother flavor profile too.
Step 6 – Serve
Serve freshly shucked oysters on a platter over a bed of crushed ice to keep the oysters cold. The mignonette can be placed on the platter as well, or on the side along with cocktail sauce or hot sauce.
Using a small spoon, add just a drizzle of the mignonette sauce on the oysters. Make sure to stir the sauce first so you get the pickled shallots and the cracked black pepper as well.
Storage instructions
It’s best to make the mignonette sauce the day before, and let it rest in the fridge until you need it.
The mignonette sauce should last in the fridge for about 1 week if properly stored. I like to use the mignonette sauce for other dishes too, but I always only take what I need and immediately return it to the fridge to avoid temperature fluctuations.
It’s also important to use clean utensils as well to extend the shelf life.
Always check to make sure there are no changes in smell, texture, or color before consuming.
My best tips
- Use a sharp knife to cut the shallots to keep the shallot flavors clean and sweet. The reason why this is more important here is because we are eating the shallots raw, AND this recipe doesn’t contain too many ingredients either.
- If you don’t have a very sharp knife (crying in onion tears!), then you can soak the finely diced shallots in ice cold water for a couple of minutes to improve the sweetness of the shallots.
- Using rice wine vinegar along with white wine vinegar results in a mignonette that has some sweetness, and is still sharp and acidic but with a more delicate flavor profile! Champagne wine vinegar can change the flavor profile slightly as well.
- Better flavored rice vinegar and white vinegar will result in a better tasting mignonette as well, of course.
- The more delicate flavor profile is perfect for oysters and other seafood, because it won’t overpower the merroir (or flavor notes) of oysters, like red wine vinegar would.
- The sharpness or piquancy of this mignonette sauce is crucial, but it can be balanced with a little extra sweetness IF that’s what you like. So don’t be afraid to add a little extra sweetness with sugar. It may not be traditional, but you’re totally welcome to adjust the flavor to your taste.
- Make the mignonette the day before you serve it. This will help all the ingredients meld together to make a more balanced and flavorful sauce! You can adjust the acidity or seasoning just before serving too.
Mignonette sauce variations
- Red wine mignonette sauce – Great to use for dishes with bolder flavors.
- Champagne mignonette sauce – This recipe is made with rice vinegar and champagne vinegar. But you can replace the rice vinegar with all champagne vinegar too.
- Spicy mignonette sauce – Add chopped fresh chili to the mignonette sauce, along with the shallots. The spice will make it sharp and spicy. You can add chopped jalapenos or red cayenne peppers.
- Fruity mignonette sauce – There are many ways to add some fruity notes to the sauce.
- Method 1 – Fresh fruits can be mashed with the vinegar, and then the pulp strained out to add fruity notes to the vinegar base. You can use fruits such as raspberries, blueberries, cherries, peaches, apricot, apples, or pears.
- Method 2 – You can now easily find fruit infused wine vinegars that can be used instead of the white wine vinegar. I really enjoy yuzu white wine vinegar, and it would taste amazing in this recipe. Another very obvious option is to use apple cider vinegar.
- Adding sweetness – White sugar is a great way to add sweetness with no other extra flavors. But you can also substitute the white sugar with honey or maple syrup to add more flavor with the sweetness.
- Herby mignonette sauce – Add chopped herbs to the mignonette sauce with the shallots. It’s important to make sure that the herbs won’t overpower the flavor of the oysters, or any food you serve it with.
- Asian inspired mignonette sauce – So many options here too! Rice wine vinegar as a base, and then adding soy sauce or fish sauce as the seasoning, along with a touch of MSG will give you a simple Asian mignonette sauce.
- But you can elevate this even more by using miso or doenjang to add umami notes, more flavor, and seasoning. Or adding gochujang for additional spice, along with finely chopped chili, spring onions, and toasted sesame seeds.
Recipe
Mignonette Sauce For Oysters
US based cup, teaspoon, tablespoon measurements. Weight measurements are recommended for accurate results whenever available.
Common Measurement ConversionsIngredients:
- 2 medium shallots for 40 g / 6 tbsp diced shallots (see recipe notes)
- 60 mL rice vinegar ¼ cup, unseasoned (see recipe notes)
- 60 mL white wine vinegar ¼ cup (I use champagne vinegar)
- 2 tsp whole black peppercorns you may not need all of it
- ¼ tsp white sugar
- Salt to taste
Instructions:
- Remove the outer dried skin of the shallots. Remove any partially dried out layers as well.2 medium shallots
- Trim the top off with a sharp knife, but keep the root end intact.
- Place the trimmed shallot on a cutting board, and cut the shallot in half top to bottom.
- Now place a shallot half with the cut side down on the cutting board.
- With a sharp knife, make 2 – 3 mm cuts along the length of the shallot making sure not to cut through the root end, so that the shallot remains intact. See pictures in the post for reference.
- Now slice across to create a small dice of shallots. Place the finely diced shallots in a bowl. See recipe notes below about shallots.
- Place the black peppercorns in a small mortar and pestle and grind to form coarsely cracked pepper. A pepper mill set at the coarsest setting can be used as well. If you have neither of these options, place the peppercorns between layers of a cloth napkin and crush them gently with a heavy rolling pin or mallet. Set aside.2 tsp whole black peppercorns
- In a bowl, combine the white wine vinegar / champagne vinegar, and rice vinegar, and shallots. Add the cracked black peppercorns (I add about 1 tsp, but you can adjust the amount to your liking), about ¼ tsp salt, and sugar, and stir until the salt and sugar dissolve.60 mL rice vinegar, 60 mL white wine vinegar, ¼ tsp white sugar, Salt
- Taste and add more salt to taste, and up to another ¼ tsp of sugar (if needed). Keep the salt level low, if you're serving this with particularly briny oysters.
- Place the mignonette in a glass bowl and cover tightly. Store in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours, but ideally at least overnight, or up to 24 hours before serving.
- Serve with freshly shucked oysters with a small spoon so that guests can spoon the sauce over the raw oysters before enjoying them.
Recipe Notes
Note on vinegar
Make sure to use unseasoned rice vinegar if you want to have better control of flavor and seasoning. If you use seasoned rice vinegar, you may not need to add any salt or sugar to the mignonette sauce. So make sure to taste it before further seasoning. You can use any type of white wine vinegar. Avoid sherry vinegar, malt vinegar, or balsamic vinegar.Note on shallots
If you use a sharp knife to dice the shallots, the shallots shouldn’t cause any tears and will taste good. However, if you use a knife with a blunt edge, crushed shallots may cause you to tear up. This also indicates that the shallots may have sulfur compounds and reduced sweetness. If this happens, soak the diced shallots in a bowl with ice water for 1 – 2 minutes. Drain the shallots and gently pat dry. Then continue with the recipe. The soaking will help reduce the sulfur compounds and increase the sweetness.Nutrition Information:
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
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