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Roasted Oysters with Shallots & Herbs

These oysters are topped with little spoonfuls of a shallot-white wine-butter sauce, which mixes with the oyster juices and reduces in the oven while the shallots get crisp.
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Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cooked, cooked shellfish, oysters
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 171
Author: Chef Waldy Malouf
Cost: $40

Ingredients

  • 6 Tbl unsalted butter divided
  • 1 cup shallots thinly sliced
  • ¼ cup dry white wine or dry vermouth
  • ¼ cup verjus * See Recipe Notes
  • Coarse sea salt or kosher salt
  • black pepper freshly ground
  • ¼ cup chicken or vegetable broth or water reduced sodium if canned
  • 1 Tbl chives fresh, snipped for garnish
  • 1 Tbl flat-leaf parsley fresh, chopped for garnish
  • Rock salt to roast the oysters on
  • 3 Tbl black peppercorns
  • 24 oysters
  • Lemon wedges for serving

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 500°F.
  • In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter. Reduce the heat to low and add the shallots, wine, and verjus. Cover and cook until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 4 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add the chicken broth and the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat and stir in the herbs.
  • Cover the bottom of an ovenproof baking dish large enough to hold all the oysters with rock salt. Sprinkle the peppercorns evenly over the salt. Open the oysters, discarding the top shell. Loosen the oysters from the bottom shell, being careful not to spill their juices, and lay them in the baking dish. Stir the shallot mixture and spoon some over each oyster. Roast until the edges of the oyster just begin to curl, about 5 to 8 minutes. Serve on the baking dish with lemon wedges.

Notes

To keep the oysters balanced while they roast, line the baking dish with a layer of rock salt dotted with peppercorns.  The salt and pepper makes a great presentation.  You can buy rock salt at a hardware store.  It is inexpensive and one bag will last you forever.
Verjus is a sour, highly acidic juice made from unripe grapes.  It lends a recipe acidity more gently than a full-on vinegar.  It can be found on Amazon or ordered from vineyards.  The truly adventurous can make verjus at home - directions can be found at honest-food.net
Waldy Malouf is the Waldy Malouf Senior Director of Food and Beverage Operations at the Culinary Institute of America Restaurant Group.  Acclaimed for his work at some of Manhattan's most high-profile restaurants, including the Four Seasons, the Rainbow Room, and Beacon Restaurant in New York City, he has been named a Great Chef of New York many times by the James Beard Foundation. His first cookbook, The Hudson River Valley Cookbook, was nominated for an IACP/Julia Child Cookbook Award.
From "High Heat: Grilling and Roasting Year-round with Master Chef Waldy Malouf" by Waldy Malouf and Melissa Clark, 2003, Broadway Books, a division of Random House, Inc.
Photo Credit: William Meppem

Nutrition

Calories: 171kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 34mg | Sodium: 51mg | Potassium: 267mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 725IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 2mg
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