Whitstable Grilled Oysters
Fresh Whitstable oysters topped with garlic herb butter and crisp breadcrumbs, grilled quickly until sizzling, golden, and wonderfully tender.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 5 min
- Total
- 25 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
- 160 kcal
Equipment
- •Baking tray
- •Oyster knife
- •Small mixing bowl
- •Clean tea towel
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 160 kcal
- fat
- 11 g
- carbs
- 8 g
- fibre
- 1 g
- protein
- 7 g
- calories
- 160 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Preheat your oven grill to high.
- 2
Spread the rock salt across the base of a baking tray to form a level bed.
- 3
Hold an oyster flat-side up in a tea towel to protect your hand.
- 4
Shuck (pry open with a dull knife) the oyster hinge, severing the top muscle and discarding the flat shell.
- 5
Slide the knife under the oyster meat to loosen it from the deep shell, keeping the natural juices inside.
- 6
Arrange the shucked oysters securely upright on the bed of salt.
- 7
Mix the softened butter, garlic, parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, cayenne, and black pepper in a small bowl.
- 8
Dot a teaspoon of the seasoned butter directly onto each raw oyster.
- 9
Scatter the breadcrumbs evenly over the buttered oysters.
- 10
Place the tray under the hot grill for 3 to 4 minutes until the breadcrumbs turn golden and crisp.
- 11
Serve immediately straight from the tray with fresh lemon wedges.
Chef's tips
Take care not to discard the natural liquor (juice) inside the oyster shell when opening, as it provides immense savoury depth. Work quickly under the grill so the breadcrumbs brown without overcooking the delicate oyster meat underneath. If opening oysters is tricky, ask your fishmonger to shuck them on the half-shell shortly before cooking.
Ingredient substitutions
- fresh white breadcrumbs → panko breadcrumbs
- unsalted butter → plant-based block butter
Storage
Cooked oysters must be eaten immediately and should not be stored as leftovers.
Reheating
Reheating is not recommended as the delicate oyster flesh will quickly turn tough and dry.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Overcooking the oysters until they turn rubbery and tough.
- •Spilling the natural oyster brine while opening the shells.
- •Placing shells directly on a flat tray without salt, causing them to tip and spill butter.
Serving suggestions
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