Philadelphia Style Oysters

A one-pan dish that lives or dies on the butter and the clock. Two dozen shucked oysters and their liquor will feed two people generously over toast.

• Cook them brieflyOysters need only until their edges curl and plump, roughly one to two minutes in hot butter. Held longer they tighten into rubber and weep out the liquid that makes the sauce.
• "Butter burned nut brown"This is beurre noisette: butter melted over medium heat until the milk solids toast and it smells of hazelnut, about three to five minutes. Pull it the moment it turns amber, since the step from nut brown to black and bitter takes seconds.
• Half a glass of liquorPeriod recipes are inconsistent about a 'glass', but it was often reckoned at about a half-pint, which would make this roughly 4 fl oz (½ cup) of oyster liquor; judge by the pan rather than the measure. Strain it through a fine sieve or a coffee filter first to catch shell grit.
• Buying the oystersShucked oysters sold in tubs come with their own liquor and suit this dish well. If you shuck your own, hold the deep shell level and save every drop of the liquid.
• SeasoningThe recipe says only 'season'. Salt, black pepper and cayenne all appear with oysters in cookery of this period and suit the dish; the liquor is already saline, so salt at the end. A squeeze of lemon at the table is not in the original but is not out of place.
• Getting the sauce rightLift the oysters out with a slotted spoon once they curl, let the liquor reduce for a minute in the pan, then return them to warm through and pour the lot over the toast.
• The toastThin, dry toast holds up better than thick, soft bread, which turns to paste under the liquor. Warm the serving dish so the butter does not congeal.