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Grilled Oysters
Clean, drain and dry two dozen large oysters, sprinkle with salt and pepper, fry on hot griddle, allowing two tablespoons butter. Brown on one side, then turn and brown on other. Do not let griddle get too hot. Serve four to each person, on two-inch square of rye cake.
A griddle recipe that lives or dies on how dry the oysters are before they hit the fat. Everything else is a matter of a minute or two of attention.
- Dry them properlyShucked oysters carry a great deal of liquor, and wet oysters steam rather than brown. Drain in a sieve, then blot both sides on paper or a clean towel until the surface looks matte.
- Griddle heatThe recipe's warning not to let the griddle get too hot matters: butter at high heat blackens before the oysters colour. Hold the surface at a medium sizzle and add the butter just before the oysters.
- TimingNo time is given because there is barely any. Roughly a minute a side; pull them the moment the edges ruffle and the flesh turns opaque. Oysters held longer shrink and turn rubbery.
- Two dozen, four eachThat feeds six as a first course. Cook in batches of eight or so, wiping the griddle and adding fresh butter between batches, rather than crowding the surface.
- Butter quantityTwo tablespoons for two dozen oysters is thin coverage if cooked all at once; divide it by batch and add more as needed. Clarified butter browns less readily if your griddle runs hot.
- Rye cakeThis probably means a small firm rye bread or rye biscuit cut into two-inch squares rather than a sweet cake, though the recipe does not say. Any dense rye loaf, crusts off, works.
- BuyingAsk for shucked oysters sold in their liquor, or shuck your own; large or select grade suits griddling because smaller oysters overcook before they colour.