Smoky Grilled Oysters

Sacrilege?

Long-time advocates of Seafood will think of this next experiment (grilled oysters) as sacrilege but as I believe many people, like me, struggle with the notion of ‘shooting back’ raw oysters.  I wanted to try another method of preparation so at least I could try them.

On the Beach

From this trial in my kitchen I couldn’t get over the amazing smell from the grill as I cooked these, if I closed my eyes I could swear I was standing beside a smoky barbeque on the beach – not sheltered inside from the rain!

Top Tip

Practice is required when shucking (opening) oysters and you can’t be too careful. Despite watching several YouTube videos I still managed to cut my hand – not my finest moment! I recommend using a thick or folded towel to protect the hand holding the oyster and to give more grip. Also use the flat edge of a small knife, not the cutting edge.

Method

• Place your shucked oysters on a baking sheet or grill pan and be careful not to lose too much of their internal water and ‘juice’ in the process;
• In a dish, prepare a cheese, mayo and smoked paprika mix. I used a mix of cheddar and mozzarella but you could use any melting cheese including parmesan. The paprika gives good flavour, colour and smell with the mayo used to lightly bind them all.
• Place a teaspoon of mixture on top of each oyster and grill on a medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes until golden and bubbling.

Some people say it’s easier to shuck oysters once they have been on the grill for a while and boiled up inside.  You may want to try that first, but warning, these shells get HOT even after a minute or so under the grill.

This recipe was developed by Foodie Nicola (Nikki) Reid, you can get her on Twitter here.  If you would like your recipe featured on our website get in touch.