REEF |
Houston, Texas |
The coastal culture of the South is a part of who I am as a person and as a chef. If it swims in the Gulf of Mexico, I’ve caught it and cooked it, and that goes for oysters, too. Some of my earliest memories are of my father taking me fishing out in the Gulf, off the coast of Texas. As we fished, we would eat raw oysters by the dozen, with a dash of hot sauce.
For a lot of people, though, oysters are a little (or a lot) special. You order them at steakhouses or have them in seafood towers. With a martini, maybe. I’m all for that, but roast some at home and you’ll get a little closer to understanding everyday life in a fishing community.
I think people need to understand the impact of the water where the oyster lives. Oysters are the most sustainable food because they truly are what they eat—right down to the mineral content, the salinity, and the temperature of the water pumped through their gills. Don’t let the difference in their size and shape throw you; from Maine on down to the Gulf, all native East Coast oysters are the same species: Crassostrea virginica. What distinguishes them is their watery home. Oysters from colder water are firmer, with a flinty, mineral-like taste, perfect for eating on the half shell. But Gulf oysters are sweeter and meatier, with deep-cup shells and more liquor, so they don’t dry out when you apply heat. (I like to showcase local seafood at my restaurants, and I’m especially proud of the oysters from the newly revitalized Galveston Bay. But if you can’t get your hands on Texas oysters, you’ll also get good results roasting larger cold-water oysters, like Blue Points.)
We roast more oysters at the restaurant than you can imagine, and our method also works at home. To help keep the oysters moist, we roast them on a bed of hot rock salt that allows each oyster to cook with equal heat from above and below, steaming in its own juices without drying out. Whether you’re roasting oysters or just eating them on the half shell, serving them on a bed of rock salt keeps the oysters level, so they don’t tip over and lose any of their liquor—that’s pureflavor. At this point, a martini is optional. I usually crack open a Shiner Bock.
SERVES
6
LEVEL of DIFFICULTY
WORTH THE EFFORT |
REASONABLE |
EASY |
COCKTAIL SAUCE*
One 12-oz/340-g jar Heinz chili sauce
3 tbsp grated fresh horseradish, or more if you are stout-hearted (you can also use prepared horseradish, available in refrigerated jars at the supermarket)
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
6 to 8 cups/840 g to 1.1 kg rock salt
36 oysters, preferably Texas Gulf or large cold-water varieties
Hot sauce, such as Crystal, for serving**
1. TO MAKE THE COCKTAIL SAUCE: In a medium bowl, stir together the chili sauce, horseradish, and Worcestershire. Place the bowl in the refrigerator to chill until ready to serve.
2. Crank the oven to 425°F/220°C. Fill a roasting pan halfway with the rock salt.
3. Rinse the oysters, scrubbing them free of mud and sand, and set them aside. Do not dry—in the hot oven, the excess moisture will create steam that loosens the hinge muscle, making the oyster easier to open.
4. Put the roasting pan in the oven and heat until the rock salt is crazy hot, about 15 minutes. Nestle the damp oysters, deep-cup-side down, in the hot rock salt. (Don’t overcrowd, as they need air circulation.) (a) Return the pan to the oven and roast until the tension on the hinge seals is released and the oysters open slightly, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from the oven. Discard any that do not open at all.
5. (b) Working with one oyster at a time and using a folded kitchen towel, hold each oyster level (so you don’t lose any liquid) and open with an oyster knife (or, in a pinch, we’ve used a paring knife, with care). (c) First, hold the knife curved-side down, tracing the upper shell, cutting the adductor muscle, and removing the top shell. (Discard the tops.) Then go curved-side up along the bottom, again severing the adductor, to loosen the meat from the shell. Many oyster knives are gently curved in order to follow the shape of the shell. It is an easy process.
6. (d) Leave the oyster sitting in the bottom shell and arrange the shucked oysters back in the pan of rock salt. Serve immediately with the cold cocktail sauce and a drop of hot sauce.
* Serve the sauce in small portions, keeping backup containers in the refrigerator so it is always fresh and cold. (Small ramekins work well. They are often sold in multipacks at kitchen-supply stores and are also useful for individual servings of jam, syrup, and salt.) This recipe makes about 11/2 cups/360 ml and will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
** Louisiana Crystal Hot Sauce is mild enough to let the flavor of the oysters shine through, or try Sriracha.