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Broiled Oysters, in the Shell (or on the Half-Shell)
Wash off the outside of the shells and dry them. Open and remove the upper shell, lay them on a broiler and broil over a clear, hot fire, or under a gas flame. As soon as done put small bits of butter on each one, dust with a little salt and pepper, and serve in the shells with quarters of lemon.
A recipe of five sentences that assumes you already know how to shuck an oyster and read a fire. The two things it leaves unsaid are how to keep the shells level and how to tell when an oyster is done.
- The hinge: do not overcookAn oyster is done the moment its edges curl and the liquor bubbles at the rim of the shell \to about three minutes under a hot broiler, five over coals. Past that the muscle tightens and turns to rubber, and nothing recovers it.
- "A clear, hot fire"Charcoal burned down to grey ash with no flame and no smoke. Under a domestic broiler, preheat on the highest setting for a full ten minutes and set the rack about four inches from the element.
- "Broiler" here is the rack, not the appliance"Broiler" here is the grid, not the appliance -- in this period a broiler is a gridiron or wire grid held over the coals, sometimes hinged. The recipe's alternative of "under a gas flame" shows fixed broiling apparatus was in use too. A grill grate or a heavy sheet pan does the same job; the oysters sit on it in their deep bottom shells.
- Keep the shells uprightThe recipe says nothing about this and it decides the dish. Spread a half-inch bed of coarse rock salt or crumpled foil on the pan and nest each shell in it, so the liquor stays in the shell instead of hissing into the fire.
- Save the liquorShuck over a bowl, and when you free the muscle from the bottom shell, tip any spilled juice back in. That liquor plus the butter is the whole sauce.
- Shucking and shell safetyDiscard any oyster already gaping that will not close when tapped. Use a proper shucking knife and a folded towel, not a paring knife, which snaps.
- Butter and seasoningThe recipe says only "small bits": a small knob per oyster, a teaspoon at most, added off the heat so it melts in the residual warmth rather than burning. Salt lightly -- the liquor is already saline.
- YieldThe recipe gives none; six oysters per person is the usual first-course allowance, a dozen for a light main. Serve immediately, as they cool very fast off the heat.