Aw Shucks! Broiled Oysters

I recently discovered the Maine Avenue Seafood Market in the District. My life will never be the same. Inspired by the fresh catches of the day, I decided to embark on a seafood cooking adventure of (slightly) epic proportions. I haven't done much in the way of fish to be honest. Most of my previous attempts at fish have been pan frying tilapia, making fish tacos, or possibly baking some salmon. Time to branch out. And that brings us to the oysters.

The seafood market had fresh Bay Oysters for cheap, so I got inspired and decided to do something fun with them. They are fresh, tasty, versatile, and fancy. To get the full experience, you have to shuck your own. I invested in 24 oysters, and then realized I had no idea what to do with them. This Deadspin article will tell you basically everything you need to know about eating raw oysters.

Shucking is not exactly easy and definitely takes some technique. Get the oyster knife. It helps, and will cut down on gnarly oyster-shucking injuries that are fairly embarrassing to explain to the ER docs. Just be careful, please!

My husband and I both tried our hand at shucking, and I am the shucking champion. I shucked like a boss. I bet if I did it more often, I could probably shuck a whole bushel of oysters in no time. Probably not. Those little buggers are pretty resistant to shucking but if you are persistent, you will eventually win. I just want to say "shucking" a few more times. Shuck. Shucking. Ha.


 

I did eat some raw ones, which are okay, but not my cup of tea. Definitely better if you add a little lemon juice or Tabasco. But, as someone who doesn't really like raw oysters, I decided to experiment with various ways to cook them. I have had them grilled with butter and cheese, but it's cold outside, and I'm out of charcoal so I decided broiling would be the better way to go. After searching the internet, I found multiple broiled oyster recipes from various sources. All of them seemed to have one constant theme: butter. As someone who likes to harden her arteries with butter and garlic as often as possible, I decided to adapt a recipe I found on Food.com. These butter broiled oysters are so easy, but they look super fancy, so you can impress your guests and look like you worked really hard. I used them as a fancy appetizer before having steak, but I think they would probably go better as an intro for scallops or pasta. Great idea for Valentine's. Remember, oysters are supposed to be an aphrodisiac!

Butter Broiled Oysters 
(adapted from Food.com)


 9 Shucked oysters in their bottom shells
3 tbl butter, melted
1/2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 large clove garlic, minced
Pinch of salt
Dash of cayenne
Parsley




Preheat your oven broiler to high. Place your oysters in a large baking dish. Mix together butter, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt and cayenne. Go easy on the cayenne, you don't want it to overwhelm the delicate oysters. Spoon butter mixture over the oysters evenly. Broil for about 5 minutes, or until oysters plump up a little. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.