Grilled Oysters

When the July 2010 issue of Bon Appetit arrived, the timing was good. One of my favorite grocery stores had fresh oysters begging me to take them home.

My husband is a huge fan of oysters on the half shell, so we tried this new backyard barbecue recipe from Bon Appetit.  With a special thanks to the award-winning chef Bryan Caswell!

We cut the recipe in half, and then used half of the seasoned butter. The bacon and cayenne butter freezes well for a month and will be great on burgers.

You will find the original recipe from Bon Appetit here.

Grilled Oysters with Bacon and Cayenne Butter - adapted from Bon Appetit

2 slices hickory-smoked or applewood-smoked bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide strips

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

1 1/4 tablespoons dry white wine

1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Rock salt

12  freshly shucked oysters (such as Malpeque or Bluepoint), on the half shell

Preparation

Cook bacon until crisp. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a food processor. Add butter, garlic, Italian parsley, cilantro, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and coarse salt. Blend until smooth, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. With machine running, gradually add white wine, then fresh lemon juice and continue to process until blended.

Place large sheet of waxed paper on work surface. Drop butter by heaping tablespoonfuls onto paper in long log. Using paper as aid, shape butter into 2-inch-diameter log. Wrap to enclose; chill butter until firm, at least 2 hours. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.

Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Spread 1/2-inch-thick layer of rock salt on large rimmed baking sheet. (I have an old cookie sheet that I use on the grill)

Place baking sheet on grill rack and heat 20 minutes. (Note: our rock salt started popping when it got hot, so be cautious)

Transfer hot baking sheet from grill to heatproof surface. Nestle oysters in hot rock salt. Top each oyster with slice of cayenne butter.

Return baking sheet with oysters to grill. Close grill and cook until butter melts and starts to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. I served them on a platter while they were still sizzling. 

With a salad, this was a perfect Friday evening meal.
 
Thank you for stopping by!
Debbie