Char-Grilled Oysters

You’re not going to believe how good these things are. Really. I mean that. Whew, I’m getting hungry just thinking about them!

Oysters. Those ugly little things that, once opened, yield such soft delicious goodness. They bite too. Well, the cocktail sauce that Char and I prepare and use when eating raw oysters… that bites. But it is oh-so-good.

Next to raw oysters, these are our favorites. Char-grilled oysters. You’ve got to try them to believe it!

INGREDIENTS

• 4 sticks of butter
• 4 or 5 cloves of garlic, minced (or crushed & beaten in a mortar & pestle)
• Raw oysters – Lots of ‘em. You can get them un-schucked in a sack, or shucked in a bucket filled with oyster liquor. How many? Well, that’s up to you. The more you get, though, the more of the other ingredients you need to have on hand.
• Fresh ground black pepper – to taste
• Tabasco or Crystal Hot Sauce – to taste
• About 1/4 to 1/2 cup of Parmesan Cheese (we love lots on our oysters!)
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
• 12 oyster shell halves or a metal muffin pan

DIRECTIONS

1. Make a sauce with the butter, minced garlic, and the black pepper in a sauce pan over medium-low heat. Cook only until the butter is melted and starts to bubble. Cut the heat and remove. We also add Tabasco or Crystal Hot Sauce to the pan while cooking. Add it to taste.
2. Fire up the grill. Heat to about 350 – 375.
3. Put oyster shells or muffin pan on the grill and spoon some of the garlic-butter sauce, just enough to coat the bottom of the shells / pan.
4. Add oysters to the shells / pan (if you are using a muffin pan you can add two (or three, depending on size) oysters in each cup. Spoon a bit more garlic-butter sauce over the oysters, careful not to cover completely.
5. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over each oyster. It could be just a pinch (but we like lots!). Then sprinkle a bit of the chopped parsley on the oysters.
6. Grill for about 3 to 5 minutes. You are looking for the oysters to curl around the edges and “puff up” a bit.
7. Serve immediately!

I must confess that we often stand around the grill with our little seafood forks and attack the oysters as soon as they are ready. Those yummy little oysters often never make it to the plate! If desired, you could serve these is small, individual-sized glass bowls.

And then… Bon appetit! Enjoy!

***Photo courtesy of queenkv***