By Tejal Rao
- Total Time
- 30 minutes (plus time to open oysters)
- Rating
- 4(373)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Oysterscook quickly on a hot grill, the meat poaching in a bubbling compound butter flavored with a vinegar-rich hot sauce, garlic and lemon zest. Ideally, you can assign someone else the job of shucking and focus on the grill, making sure theoystersdon't stay on it much longer than 2 or 3 minutes, so the meat is still plump and juicy. If you're working on your own, open theoystersin advance and handle them carefully, so as not to spill theliquor inside the shells, which combines with the melted butter to create a delicious, briny flavor. To make a whole meal out of them, serve them with some grilled bread and a simple salad.
Featured in: Oysters: A Love Story
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Ingredients
Yield:Serves 4
- 8ounces butter
- 3tablespoons Crystal hot sauce
- 1small garlic clove
- 1lemon, zested, then cut into wedges
- 1anchovy
- 48oysters
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
901 calories; 60 grams fat; 32 grams saturated fat; 2 grams trans fat; 14 grams monounsaturated fat; 7 grams polyunsaturated fat; 31 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 58 grams protein; 959 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
In a food processor, combine butter, hot sauce, garlic, lemon zest and anchovy, and pulse until there are no streaks of hot sauce and the butter is a uniform shade of pale pink. (If you don’t have a food processor, leave the butter out until it’s very soft, then beat the ingredients together with a spoon.) Scrape the mixture into a small bowl, and set aside in the fridge.
Step
2
Put the oysters in a large bowl in the sink, and scrub off any sand or grit. Rinse well, drain and refrigerate until you’re ready to shuck. To shuck: Grip an oyster with a folded dishtowel so the shell is cupped side down, hinge side facing toward you. Push the tip of the oyster knife into the hinge, and twist so it cracks open. Make sure the knife is clean of shell and grit, then use it to release the top shell, and slide it under the oyster meat to release it from the bottom shell. Repeat with remaining oysters, discarding any that are already open or that have a bad smell.
Step
3
Build a fire in your charcoal grill, or set a gas grill to high. Gently crumple a sheet of aluminum foil so its grooves can support the open oysters and keep them from spilling, and set it on the grate. Place 12 oysters on the foil, and top each with approximately ½ teaspoon of butter; use more for especially large oysters, but less for small ones. The idea is to cover the oyster with butter, but not to overfill the shell. Cover the grill, and cook until the butter and oyster juices are bubbling but the oyster is still plump, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Step
4
Use tongs to transfer hot oysters to a platter lined with another piece of foil that will keep the shells upright, and serve immediately with a bottle of hot sauce and lemon wedges at the table. Repeat with remaining oysters.
Ratings
4
out of 5
373
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Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Tim
Instead of shucking them can you put them on the grill for a minute or two to open? I've done this with clams and always wondered whether it would be OK with oysters
Ac
Yes you can! I do this frequently, then pop them on a saltine with some co*cktail sauce
TAR
Really good food writing. Lots of layers to the story. Thanks for wonderful reading experience. I hope we see a lot more from this author.
Michael
Much easier to melt the butter mixture and put unshucked oysters on the grill (yes, rounded/cupped side down). Take them off as soon as the top shell pops open and serve. Pass around the melted butter sauce for each person. We also like a cilantro/rice wine vinegarette with minced shallot, recipe from by Hog Island Oyster Co., in Tomales, CA. Splendid with Sancerre or a lean California Sauvignon Blanc.
Stephen Lamade
Thank you for the love story: a welcome respite from the daily news.
John
On his cooking show on PBS, Jacques Pepin microwaved oysters for a few seconds and their shells opened enough to make shucking easy. Don't recall how he supported them. Not with foil, for sure. I think an empty egg carton would work well.
Mike Davisson
Shucking oysters can be a chore fraught with danger and frustration if you don't have a real Oyster knife. A sharp kitchen knife is a receipt for disaster in shucking. Oyster knives are short, very strong, and dull (on purpose). You can get on them on-line or at any kitchen store. If you are new to this, save time and effort by getting some instruction from your local seafood store or a friend that is skilled at shucking.
Cate
We do this all the time. I roast them in the shell just until they pop open then shuck them. Much easier. In this case, I would add the butter after and just pop them back on the grill for a minute or two to melt the butter.
Shibani
This might just be the most beautiful thing I've ever read about food. And I love oysters, which makes this even better.
susan
Great writing about great food. The only thing that has cheered me since Charlottesville. Thank you.
Glen
Lovely article and a respite from the front page news. I am going to try the recipe while waiting for the sequel.
Eve
We allowed the oysters to pop open on the grill since we didn't have an oyster knife. The butter sauce was delicious and we saved the extra for other uses.
dickie
Oh, what a story -- the language. And about oysters.
Tokyo transplant from NYC
Beautiful piece....
Its very hard not to a get excited about about eating oysters....
There was an article a few years ago about someone who found that their happiness was linearly correlated with how much oysters they ate.... and they became oyster farmers.....another wonderful piece...
Professor X
A fine, whimsical tale that takes me back many, many years to large gatherings of friends on Drake's Beach at Pt. Reyes National Seashore where we would excavate a fire pit, light a fire to ward off the misty chill, and when the coals were just right we would put a grill over them and proceed to cook oysters by the bushel, purchased at the local oyster farm. We would add a dash of white wine, a dab of butter, sing and laugh and be in love with life and one another. A toast to the beautiful bivalve and bittersweet memories of love!
John
On his cooking show on PBS, Jacques Pepin microwaved oysters for a few seconds and their shells opened enough to make shucking easy. Don't recall how he supported them. Not with foil, for sure. I think an empty egg carton would work well.
Walter
So, if making a large number of them, how about shucking all the oysters at once over a large bowl? You can go faster and gather the brine or oyster liquor in the bowl Then it can be strained and re-apportioned into the shells after the shells and oysters have been set on the grill, so there is no spillage and one can shuck at a faster rate.
Eve
We allowed the oysters to pop open on the grill since we didn't have an oyster knife. The butter sauce was delicious and we saved the extra for other uses.
Mike Davisson
Shucking oysters can be a chore fraught with danger and frustration if you don't have a real Oyster knife. A sharp kitchen knife is a receipt for disaster in shucking. Oyster knives are short, very strong, and dull (on purpose). You can get on them on-line or at any kitchen store. If you are new to this, save time and effort by getting some instruction from your local seafood store or a friend that is skilled at shucking.
Brian S
This was a perfect West Coast Labor Day appetizer. Even my daughter, an avowed oyster-hater, tried one and declared it acceptable. I'm definitely keeping this one in the recipe box!
Elle Eldridge
can you specify salted or unsalted butter?
Brian S
Between the anchovy and the briny liquor, you're starting with some salt. I'd go unsalted and sprinkle some sea salt on at the end if you need more.
Michael
Much easier to melt the butter mixture and put unshucked oysters on the grill (yes, rounded/cupped side down). Take them off as soon as the top shell pops open and serve. Pass around the melted butter sauce for each person. We also like a cilantro/rice wine vinegarette with minced shallot, recipe from by Hog Island Oyster Co., in Tomales, CA. Splendid with Sancerre or a lean California Sauvignon Blanc.
J
This is almost exactly the recipe I use for barbecued shrimp, although we don't put them on the grill. Use a pan instead. Yummy!
cathyjspeegle
Rather than fooling around with aluminum foil, invest in a cast-iron oyster roasting pan. Heavy, stable, and you won't lose a drop of the liquor.
Dick
You can have them shucked at the seafood store where you buy them as I have done,the liquid can be saved with the shucked oysters in a container
Professor X
A fine, whimsical tale that takes me back many, many years to large gatherings of friends on Drake's Beach at Pt. Reyes National Seashore where we would excavate a fire pit, light a fire to ward off the misty chill, and when the coals were just right we would put a grill over them and proceed to cook oysters by the bushel, purchased at the local oyster farm. We would add a dash of white wine, a dab of butter, sing and laugh and be in love with life and one another. A toast to the beautiful bivalve and bittersweet memories of love!
Andrew
Any oysters when done wrong can be terrible. Recently, I was in Savannah at a good seafood restaurant and ordered the oyster special. The meal that arrived was a thick hunk of baked cheese crushing something that may have in the past been an oyster, just like it crushed my hopes for a great meal.
Which has nothing to do with your story - which is very nice - but even months later I still need to vent. Sorry ...
M
Outstanding!
Max Entropy
Used to think having oysters any way other than raw was a disservice - until trying grilled oysters on a trip to NOLA. Then my octagenarian dad casually told us about a yearly group activity during the month he spends as a snowbird in the FL Keys: crate of oysters, grilled with a dollop of butter, garlic, and chopped spinach. And lots of pina coladas. We've emulated him several times now - a tray with a shallow layer of rock salt serves in place of foil to keep them from spilling liquid before and after they're grilled. The bars on the grill suffice to keep them from spilling if you take a second or two to find a stable orientation. But we're more inclined toward a crisp Sancerre than pina coladas.
simon.atkinson.
Loved that.writing..Thank you.Love a good Oyster or two.
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