My love of raw oysters began in 1988, when an 8-year-old me spent a warm summer evening on Cape Cod tipping back raw oysters with my dad on the back porch of a family friend’s house.
For years — well into my 20s — I had difficulty understanding why anyone would ever cook oysters when they were so clearly superior consumed raw.
I first had my eyes opened when I worked at Uni, Ken Oringer’s restaurant in Boston, then a sashimi bar, where he had us cook oysters over a coal-fired Japanese binchotan grill until they were just barely warmed through. They were finished with a kabayaki-style glaze (the soy and sake glaze you’d typically find brushed over grilled freshwater eel) enriched with butter. The low heat of the binchotan and the classic Japanese pairing of seafood with a sweet and savory sauce made for an experience that added flavor, while still allowing the delicate brininess of the oyster to shine through.
Later, my appreciation of grilled oysters was cemented at Cristiano Ristorante in Houma, La., where I watched as the chef Lindsay Mason placed a half-dozen Gulf oysters on the half shell directly on the cast-iron grates of an open grill, letting them come to a simmer before ladling a garlicky mixture of roasted red peppers, butter and Parmesan over them. The butter overflowed, igniting as it dripped into the fire, engulfing the oysters in a billowing flame. There was absolutely nothing delicate about their flavor, and I downed all six and immediately ordered a half dozen more. (At home, I’ve riffed on these flavors, replacing the roasted red peppers with store-bought harissa paste, which pairs surprisingly well with Parmesan and shellfish.)
If you still need persuading, as I did, grilling oysters can be a matter of safety in warmer climates during the summer. Saltwater bacteria called vibrio proliferate in the warmer months and can become concentrated inside oysters, resulting in about 80,000 cases of food poisoning and 100 deaths in the United States annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Grilling is an effective way to destroy this bacteria.
Even with oysters from colder northern waters, which are lower in vibrio, there are compelling reasons to consider grilling them in the summer. I spoke with Justin Stang, the wholesale manager at Hama Hama, an oyster farm in the Pacific Northwest, who explained that, as weather and water warm up, oysters reproduce. Leading up to this time, oysters get “spawny,” their liquor turning milky and opaque. The oysters’ edible body mass decreases significantly after they release eggs, until they start to regain weight in the fall, making them less-than-ideal for raw consumption. But they’re easily improved with a rich, flavorful sauce and some smoke from the grill. (These days, this phenomenon is largely relegated to wild-harvested oysters; most modern farmed oysters are bred to be sterile and do not go through the typical spawning cycle. They remain plump and juicy all summer long.)
What about ease? Even with practice and the right tools, shucking raw oysters can be tricky. But that isn’t a concern with grilled oysters. After a few moments on the grill, most oysters will open naturally, allowing you to easily shuck them after letting them cool slightly. Unlike raw oysters, which need little more than a squeeze of lemon, grilled oysters do best with a sauce or flavored butter. (Herbs, garlic and lemon zest is a classic combination.) I spoon the melted butter or sauce into the shucked oysters, then place them right back on the grill to heat through.
Virtually any oyster can be grilled, but it pays to be selective. Publicly expressing a preference between clean and briny Atlantic oysters versus rich and minerally Pacific oysters is a surefire way to liven up your social media feed, but the flavor differences are muted when paired with a flavored butter and some smoke from the grill. Instead, the most important consideration is geometric: Look for larger oysters with more deeply cupped shells that stand a far better chance of retaining their juices during the cooking process than flatter, smaller oysters.
This year, I introduced my raw-oyster-loving 4-year-old to the grilled version as she helped me taste test recipes for this piece. Our backyard in Seattle may not have the magic of that beach house on Cape Cod, but starting her this early gives us plenty of years to make some memories with one of summer’s simplest pleasures.
Recipes: Grilled Oysters With Lemony Garlic-Herb Butter | Grilled Oysters With Buttery Soy-Sake Glaze | Grilled Oysters With Harissa-Parmesan Butter
And to Drink …
Grilling oysters is obviously a different operation than shucking and slurping, but the wines that will go best are largely the same: crisp whites with lively acidity that tend toward understated rather than overbearing. The classics — Muscadet, Chablis and Sancerre — are all superb with grilled oysters. Many less obvious choices will be great as well, like aligoté from Burgundy and manzanilla sherry. I had a bone dry, energetic riesling from Australia with grilled oysters recently and it was terrific. I think a dry German riesling would be, too. Albariño from Spain and a host of dry whites from Portugal and Italy would go well. If you want Champagne, try a blanc de blancs. You think red wine won’t go? It was once a vogue in Paris. It’s not the best choice, but you could do worse. ERIC ASIMOV
