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.