A Prairie Oyster is a drink consisting of a raw egg, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, salt and ground black pepper. The egg is broken into a glass so as not to break the yolk, which causes the drink to bear a similarity to the texture of an actual oyster. The drink is typically served the morning after a night of hard drinking as a hangover cure.
In Thunderball, James Bond describes his hard-drinking days, temporarily suspended, by noting that, "a month ago there wasn’t a week went by but that on at least one day I couldn’t eat anything for breakfast but a couple of aspirins and a prairie oyster."[1]
In the film version of the Broadway musical Cabaret, Sally introduces Brian to the prairie oyster when they first meet. A song had been written about the drink as an introduction to another song, "Roommates." Both songs were eventually cut, but can be heard on the demo recording.
In the 1936 Frank Capra film Mr. Deeds Goes to Town the title character, Longfellow Deeds, is served a prairie oyster by his butler Walter, the morning after being out all night on a bender. Walter states, "It makes the head feel smaller."
In the 1942 Preston Sturges film "The Palm Beach Story", Geraldine Jeffers orders a prairie oyster while having breakfast with John D. Hackensacker III. Hackensacker then decides to order one as well, but unfamiliar with prairie oysters he asks that his be served "on the half shell". The confused waiter replies that prairie oysters are served "a la carte".
In the 1959 film The Nun's Story, Dr. Fortunati serves a prairie oyster to Sister Luke, played by Audrey Hepburn to improve her health during his treatment of her tuberculosis.
In P.G. Wodehouse's short story "Jeeves Takes Charge," the butler Jeeves' first act for his master Bertie Wooster is to make him a hangover cure very similar to a prairie oyster in description: "It is the Worcestershire sauce that gives it its color. The raw egg makes it nutritious. The red pepper gives it its bite. Gentlemen have told me they have found it extremely invigorating after a late evening." In the television series, Jeeves includes a large cup of brandy, two small tins of clam juice and possibly tomato juice from the red color.
In Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Jack Rudolph and Simon Stiles give viola prodigy Kim Tao a prairie oyster made up of brandy, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, tomato, bitters, pepper and a raw egg yolk to help sober her up, only to discover later that the prairie oyster is in fact used as a hangover cure. Consequently it had the reverse effect, causing her to become increasingly inebriated.
In the Japanese animated series Cowboy Bebop, the main character Spike Spiegel is seen making a prairie oyster to help with a hangover in the episode Heavy Metal Queen. The ingredients are slightly altered when the bartender pours what appears to be a clear liquid from a bottle, which could be either water or gin. A passing bounty hunter bumping Spike's shoulder makes him drop the egg yolk in his lap, which is enough to set him off and partake in a then ongoing barroom brawl.
In the Christopher Isherwood novel, Goodbye to Berlin, (on which the musical Cabaret is based) the character Sally Bowles is mentioned as consuming them on a number of occasions.
In Back to the Future Part III, Dr. Emmett L. Brown drinks a single shot of whiskey to celebrate his departure of the old west and passes out. Shortly after, the bartender is seen making a prairie oyster and then force feeds Dr. Brown the drink to wake him.
In Kalifornia the teenage girl character is seen explaining the recipe before they drive off to go shooting.
In the television show Dallas, J.R. Ewing makes himself a prairie oyster after a long night out with Jeb Ames and Willie Joe Garr in the Season One Episode Bypass.
In Sliders Season 2, Episode 4 The Good, the Bad and the Wealthy, Quinn Mallory is given a can of Prairie Oyster to drink to cure his hangover.
Ingredients for Prairie Oyster, per Esquire:
Crack the egg into a glass, leaving the yolk unbroken. Douse it with Worcestershire sauce, a sprinkling of salt and pepper, and Tabasco sauce.[2]