14 April 2009

Barbecued oysters


I've had raw oysters and broiled oysters, but until last week I had never enjoyed them barbecued.  I'm not sure I will ever fix them another way again!  They were not only delicious, but downright easy!  In a previous post on broiled oysters with lemon zest,  I discussed how to shuck a raw oyster.  Usually, this takes a lot of force and for me, time.  But when you barbecue oysters, you put them on the barbecue whole and the steam from the inside of the oyster opens them up.  Do you see how some of them are opened?  You still need to shuck them to remove the top shell, but they were almost a joy to shuck they were so easy.  I also was able to retain the juice that collected in the oyster cup which is obviously the perfect accompaniment to oysters with a couple of drops of hot sauce.

You will need a barbecue that is old and rusty, or one that is devoted entirely to cooking oysters (as it will become rusty from the salt water).  Fortunately, a friend of mine had an oyster barbecue and let me borrow it!  You will also need charcoal briquettes and of course, oysters.

Barbecued Oysters by Joie de vivre with thanks to Melissa and Patrick

Ingredients:

Oysters (count on 6-7 a person if served with a salad and crusty bread)
Hot sauce (we have a nice Thai chili sauce that tasted the best)

Directions:

1.  Light the charcoal briquettes and wait 20 minutes or so until they are fully ignited and all white.  In the meantime, scrub your oysters under cold water with a scrub brush.  Discard any opened oysters or any oysters that don't close when you press on them.  These are already dead and cannot be eaten.
2.  When the charcoal is ready, lay your oysters on the grate of the barbecue, cup side down.
3.  Cover the barbecue and grill the oysters for 9 minutes.  Some of your oysters should be open.  Remove all of them at this time using tongs.  (even the ones that aren't opened yet)
4.  Using a towel or an oven mitt to protect your hand, place the oyster in the oven mitt and then using your other hand, place an oyster knife in the hinge of the oyster.  Wiggle the knife up and down to break the hinge on the oyster.  
5.  Place the shucked oyster on a plate filled with salt to keep the oyster from tipping over.
6.  Eat your oysters with a drop or two of hot sauce.
7.  Comment back on this post to let me know how awesome the oysters were.

43 comments:

Tatieva said...

Oh, des huitres au barbecue ? Je ne connaissais pas... Ce doit être trés bon... toujours avec du citron ?
From France,
Tatieva

Heather S-G said...

What a great idea! I bet they were amazing on the barbie! I just threw out a somewhat old & rusty grill during my move :( if only I'd known!

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

What an interesting way to do oysters. I also like the Thai hot sauce touch. I can almost taste these as I write. Great idea.
Sam

Donna-FFW said...

OMG! This sounds like an awesome idea. I never would have thought of it. Simplicity at its very best. MMM

Trish said...

Now, living near the ocean this is something I should learn to do. How embarrassing to admit then, that being a prairie gal...I have difficulty still in cooking some seafood....oysters, any shellfish really...sigh. Got to learn. The boys love it....even if I don't.! This looks easy enough for a prairie gal though, right?

Sarah said...

I've had barbecued oysters before and they are delicious!! Now I need to find a good source for the locally

Angie's Recipes said...

Large sized oysters are not very common in China, at least from where I come from. My mom usually bought those "pearl oyster" and cooked with leeks, or made some oyster pancakes, oyster and angel hair soup, many other local specials. Since I moved to Cologne, a city with very few seafood varieties, and my husband doesn't eat seafood at all, therefore oyster has become kind of a memory.

Jaime and Jen DISH said...

Wow!!!! I'm totally impressed. We love oysters and I have never thought to put them on the grill. I can't wait for my hubby to come home and check out your post. He loves oysters so much he might run out and buy a little grill just for that very purpose. Where do you get your oysters from?
Jaime

Jaime and Jen DISH said...

Oh girl, you're after my heart! I love oysters, in fact, I actually blogged fried oysters (check it out)- anyway, these look amazing, they look all cozy on the grill. I bet they tasted SO good!! Bravo!! I must try this next time I buy fresh oysters.

I'm droooooooling!

Jenifer
J&J DISH

Bob said...

I've never heard of cooking oyseters this way before, it's pretty cool! I still don't like them, but I can appreciate the method. ;)

Wandering Coyote said...

How totally excellent! I love oysters, and that you don't have to shuck these is a total bonus!

Heather said...

i've never even heard of bbqed oysters! what a cool idea! i love raw oysters, but i'm sure i'd love them bbqed too!

James said...

Oh shucks it's an oyster revolution!

Jaime and Jen DISH said...

Oh man, you're so lucky you have a "hook up" on getting the oysters...I can't even imagine how fresh they must be. I don't trust the Oysters shipped into Arizona, I'm just asking for some type of poisoning there!
Jaime

The Duo Dishes said...

A friend had these in New Orleans, and she said it was the best thing she's ever had!

Chef E said...

When I saw BBQ and oysters in the same title I felt a little weak in knees, so glad I was sitting...

YUM! is what I am going to say...and the fact that I had to shuck 1500 oysters one night at a rather large catering event, with only one other person who volunteered to help me at that station, so I have a great appreciation and respect for others who take on a few dozen! :)

Now you have given me an idea for a dinner party coming up, and I thank you dear!

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

This is a great way to prepare them.

Jenn said...

Ooooo.... I've never had oysters that way. Really great way to have them. Now I wish I had a grill, even a small one.

Sam said...

I've never tried oysters before -they're incredibly expensive here- I really want to try them though, especially after seeing this!

Tina said...

Perfect - we have an old big kettle grill that we are going to use for this. Actually, we are planning to dig a hole and put the kettle in the ground so we can have fires out back. The legs are about to collapse and we just can't get rid of it!

This will be perefct for your oyster recipe!

Cathy said...

I love bbq'd oyzters....it's been a few years but I think I may need to do this when I'm on the coast this summer.

Reeni said...

I've never had an oyster!! But if I did this would be the way to go!

Kim said...

I've never had an oyster myself, but I just may try this! BTW, did you redesign your blog? It is beautiful, it looks different from the last time I was here!

Le laquet said...

I have had grilled oysters as an amuse bouche at a restaurant in Narbonne, Languedoc and was very underwhelmed. They'd been sprinkled with gruyere before grilling and there was no BANG (lemon/tababasco/anything) to bring out the lovely ozoney (I so know that's not a real word) flavour. I will have to try these this summer!

Le laquet said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Varsha Vipins said...

Oh..That sounds great..i remmeber almost fainting one day,seeing a lady having raw oyster..:P

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

I've never eaten oysters, but I'm sure they taste fine when cooked over the BBQ! I know that I'd prefer them that way rather than raw...

Cheers,

Rosa

Anonymous said...

how fun!!! :)

Lori said...

They sound wonderful. The grill is such a great thing. I so love that my husband can take care of cooking when the grill is out.

Anonymous said...

barbequed oysters! that's a new concept I've never heard of! sounds really smoky and amazing!

Anonymous said...

Wow, barbecued oysters sound really delicious! Great idea!

Tangled Noodle said...

I must confess that I love my oysters deep-fried but barbecued sounds great, too! I'd love to try this although we will have to rustle up an old grill - I don't think Mr. Noodle will let me use his Weber.

Dragon said...

These babies definitely desserve their own barbeque. :)

Joy @ Joy Of Desserts said...

Interesting. Never had them this way.

Don't forget about Vintage Recipe Thursday. Mine is up if you want to link early.

Joy
http://joyofdesserts.blogspot.com

Lainie Petersen said...

Must.try.very.soon.

Never thought of barbequed oysters, but gosh, that looks delicious!

T.W. Barritt at Culinary Types said...

I just love oysters. I can only imagine the wonderful, smoky flavor of this dish!

Alicia Foodycat said...

That is incredible! I don't like raw oysters, but I do like them cooked and I think those are perfect. A splash of tabasco, a squeeze of lemon and a big glass of white wine!

Elyse said...

I've never had barbecued oysters, but man, do they sound delicious. I can't wait to try out this recipe--especially after your rave review!

taste traveller said...

This sounds really good - what a great idea! I'm planning a grocery trip to France soon, and it's BBQ season - I'll definately try these out!

Kat said...

oh, this sounds fantastic. absolutely fantastic.

amy said...

I love your redesign too, and oysters are my absolute favorite! I was just recently scouring the web for good at-home oyster roast ideas, but this looks perfect. I can't wait to grill up some Rappahannock oysters, dipped in tabasco and butter. Great post.

Peter M said...

Love it...surely they (oysters) get a little smoky and that's worth it!

gaga said...

How perfect for summer! I love oysters, both raw and cooked and especially BBQ'd.

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