A prairie oyster is a traditional beverage consisting of a raw egg, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar and/or hot sauce, table salt, and ground black pepper. Tomato juice is sometimes added, reminiscent of a Bloody Mary. The egg is broken into a glass so as not to break the yolk. The mixture is quickly swallowed. The unbroken yolk causes the drink to bear a texture similar to that of an oyster. The concoction has been referred to as a traditional cure for hangovers, and has appeared in media for decades.
Though considered a traditional hangover remedy, the prairie oyster has not been scientifically proven to treat hangover symptoms. Headache experts say that a prairie oyster will not work as a remedy for a hangover. It has been suggested that the raw egg in a prairie oyster may alleviate the symptoms of a hangover since eggs contain cysteine, an animo acid which helps the body break down acetaldehyde, a by-product of processing alcohol. However, there is no reliable evidence showing that consuming foods with this amino acid relieves hangover symptoms. Furthermore, research shows that amino acids in raw eggs are less digestible than amino acids in cooked eggs. It has also been suggested that a prairie oyster may seem to relieve hangover symptoms by acting as a distraction and a placebo.
In P. G. Wodehouse's 1916 short story "Jeeves Takes Charge", Jeeves cures Bertie Wooster's hangover with his version of a prairie oyster. The drink is not named in the story but it fits the description of a prairie oyster. As Jeeves says, "It is a little preparation of my own invention. It is the Worcester Sauce that gives it its colour. The raw egg makes it nutritious. The red pepper gives it its bite." Jeeves also serves this hangover cure in other stories. It is very effective, and Bertie suspects that there is more to the drink than the ingredients mentioned by Jeeves.
In the 1972 filmCabaret, Sally Bowles regularly makes prairie oysters, remarking that they "work instantly, even on the most sinister hangovers".
In a 1998 episode of the animeCowboy Bebop, the protagonist Spike Spiegel orders a prairie oyster to get over a hangover.
In Season 1, episode 14 “The Harriet Dinner, Part II” of the television showStudio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Jack Rudolph suggests that Kim Tao is given a prairie oyster after drinking too much tequila.
In the 2010 play by Kevin Murphy and Laurence O'Keefe, one of the titular characters, Heather Chandler, requests a prairie oyster, to alleviate the hungover feeling after the party scene.
In the 1993 Addams Family Values, Gomez Addams makes a Prairie Oyster and shakes it up in a bottle to give to his infant son after a night of celebrating Fester's wedding to Debbie.
