[5] American and British chefs including Martha Stewart and Martin Blunos recognise the distinction between the dishes,[5] and though food writer John Ayto does too, he notes that the names have often been used interchangeably.

[21] Angels on horseback did achieve a certain popularity in the 1960s in Washington, D.C.; Evangeline Bruce, wife of US ambassador and diplomatic envoy David K. E. Bruce and renowned for her "Washington soirees",[22] served them regularly during the Kennedy administration but even there, the name itself was not commonplace, as suggested by the words of gossip columnist Liz Smith: "Sometimes the oysters were raw, sometimes they were grilled and wrapped in bacon.

"[23] As late as the 1980s, the Chicago Tribune published an article calling the dish "intriguing", suggesting it had not yet become commonplace in the United States.

1001 Foods to Die For noted it as an indulgence in North America due to the elevation of oysters to a delicacy status.

[6] According to the classic recipe, shucked oysters are wrapped in bacon which is then broiled in the oven, about three minutes per side.

In Feng Shui Food, it is prepared by rolling a shucked oyster in bacon and skewering it with a cocktail stick, fried and served with a squeeze of lime.

"[29] Myles Bader, author of The Wizard of Food's Encyclopedia of Kitchen & Cooking Secrets, suggests serving angels on horseback on toast with a lemon wedge or hollandaise sauce.