Angels on Horseback

Angels on horseback are smoked oysters wrapped with bacon and baked till crispy and more-ish. They are soo rich and so good! 

This is one of my very favorite things for Christmas or New Year’s Eve.  I’m not saying that the night would be incomplete without them, but I will say it would not be the same celebration.

If you’ve been reading along for a while, you know that our family Christmas Eve menu is all appetizers.  You may not know that our New Year’s Eve menu is identical. 

I don’t know if it is because we have moved a lot (The moving guys were here to pack up our 500lbs of air freight today and the leader asked how many times we had moved.  “Twelve,” answered my dear husband – and all I could think was, “Really?!” We’ve only been married 25 years – I guess I’ve never really wanted to count, although I can list the countries in succession for you.) but once we start a tradition, we have a hard time varying from it.  

Traditions that remain constant, no matter where we are, ground us and give us a feeling of normalcy in a strange place. Isn’t that why all the immigrants the world over, since time eternal, have tried to keep their traditions in a new and foreign land?  I'm pretty sure it is.

But back to the angels on horseback! These are so easy, so simple, so rich, so delicious. You don’t think you will like smoked oysters because you don’t eat raw ones? Give this a chance. They aren’t the same at all. If you like salty, you will love these.  They do especially nicely with champagne. 

Angels on Horseback

Update: Looking back at this post now in 2024, I'm realizing that my package of bacon overseas was quite narrow compared to the ones I've been buying lately in the United States. They were more like what we call "center cut" here. Depending on your bacon size, you might want to use only 1/3 a slice around each oyster. 

Ingredients

1 can or tin of smoked oysters, or more if you are making these for more than a few people

(Our most recent one had 13 oysters which made counting the bacon slices tricky, but, you’ll be glad to know, I managed the math.)

Half (or a third, see note above) as many slices of smoked bacon as you have oysters

Toothpicks

Method

Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C.  

Cut the bacon slices in half. (Or thirds, see note above.) Put one oyster on the end of a piece of bacon.  Roll up the bacon around the oyster.  Secure with a toothpick.

Bake for about 10 minutes in your preheated oven.  

Turn the angels over and bake for a further five minutes or until the bacon is crispy. 

Okay, stop counting.  Yes, I ate one before I took the final photo.  Do not judge me till you have made these and managed NOT to eat one before serving!  

Drain on a paper towel, then serve.  Enjoy!

P.S. These are also good cold, later Christmas Eve, when all the gifts have been wrapped and you are still drinking red wine and watching reruns on television.  True story.

Smoked Salmon and Avocado Easy Appetizer

As we approach Christmas and too much to do, here’s a simple, yet delicious appetizer that requires little lead time, NO COOKING, and only two ingredients which are a marriage made in heaven.  The salty, flavorful smoked salmon complements the rich, creamy avocado perfectly.

In our house, this is a Christmas Eve staple.  Our tradition requires only appetizer-type food on Christmas Eve, no big meal, no hours in the kitchen.  We eat these salmon and avocado bites, artichoke dip, either angels or devils on horseback (Which ever is the one with smoked oysters, NOT prunes wrapped in bacon.  I can never remember.), caviar, deviled eggs, a selection of cheeses, etc., etc.  And we drink champagne.  And we wrap presents.  And we listen to Christmas music with the fake fireplace video crackling on the flat screen.  Good times. 

Ingredients

150g or 5.25 oz of thinly sliced smoked salmon

2 small to medium just ripe avocados

Sprinkle of fresh ground black pepper (optional)

Method

Cut the avocados in half lengthwise so you have two even halves.

Use your knife to get the seed out.  Do be careful.

Whack the pit with your knife, keeping your fingers well out of the way.

Hold the avocado with one hand and twist the knife and the pit should come out clean.
I couldn't hold mine AND take a photo. 

Hold the avocado half in one hand and, with a sharp pointy knife in the other, carefully cut slices just down to the avocado skin without piercing it.

Using a small spoon, starting at one end, scoop the flesh out of the skin.

Slice your salmon into strips.

Wrap one strip around each piece of avocado.  

That’s it.  Beautiful and delicious.  

You can add a sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper, if you’d like.  Enjoy!