Baked Oysters
30 oysters in the shell Butter Salt and pepper Wash the oyster shells thoroughly by scrubbing with a brush. Place with the deep shell down in a baking-pan in a very hot oven, bake until the shells open, remove the upper shells, add a little butter, salt and pepper to each oyster, and serve in the undershells.
A three-ingredient recipe that lives or dies on the oysters themselves. Everything here depends on buying shellfish you trust and cooking them the day you get them.
- "A very hot oven"In period usage this means roughly 450-500F. The point is to shock the shells open quickly rather than slowly steam the meat, which toughens it.
- TimingThe original gives none. Depending on size, oysters in the shell begin to gape in roughly 5-8 minutes at that heat. Pull them as they open rather than waiting for the last stragglers; overcooked oysters shrink and turn rubbery.
- Deep shell downThis is the hinge of the recipe. The cupped half holds the liquor, which is most of the flavour, and tipping it out leaves you with a dry oyster. Steady them on a bed of coarse salt or crumpled foil in the pan.
- BuyingUse only oysters with tightly closed shells, or shells that close when tapped. Discard any that are gaping before cooking and any that fail to open during it.
- ScrubbingWorth doing properly, as the recipe insists, because you will be serving and eating from the shell. A stiff brush under cold running water, no soap.
- Butter and seasoningAdd the butter after the shells open and the top shell is off, while the oyster is still hot enough to melt it. A little lemon or cayenne is a period-appropriate addition if you want one.
- YieldThirty oysters serves five as a first course, or three as a light main. Serve on hot plates; they cool fast in the shell.
- Raw-shellfish cautionAnyone pregnant, immunocompromised, or with liver disease should avoid oysters that are only briefly heated, as the short bake may not reach a temperature that kills Vibrio.