Oysters are amazingly delicious, but not easy to get in to. It can be intimidating to open an oyster, particularly after seeing the professionals use special chain-mail oyster-shucking glove and knife. After our jaunt to New Orleans in March, we decided not to be intimidated by oyster opening anymore. Plus, we really wanted to recreate the chargrilled oyster recipe from Acme Oyster house.
What you’ll need: An oven mitt, a flat-head screwdriver and a pairing knife serve as a low-cost alternative to the traditional tools.
First set the Oyster flat side up. Second, near the hinge, insert the flathead screwdriver between the shells. Then twist to pop the oyster open.
It might take a few tries. 
Use the screwdriver to twist and pry the oyster all the way around if it doesn’t just pop open. 
Eventually, you’ll see the oyster flesh. 
Scrape the oyster from the top shell. Then lift the top completely off. Take the paring knife and release the oyster from the bottom shell. Now, you’re ready to move on to the recipe.
For the Chargrilled oysters, we adapted this recipe from Food.com to mimic the dish we had at Acme Oyster house.
When the oyster liquor starts to bubble, spoon 1 tablespoon of sauce on top of each, then top with 1 tablespoon of Romano cheese. Let the cheese melt. When oysters begin to slightly brown at the edges, remove from grill and place on a heat proof plate or tray. Top each oyster with an additional tablespoon of the butter sauce and serve immediately with slices of French bread for dipping. Garnish with minced Parsley. Serve while still sizzling with Lemon wedges and fresh bread.
Note: It stormed the day we made this and there was no way we were going to grill, so we just made use of the broiler on high in our oven. It worked perfectly. Just make sure to keep an eye on the dish while it is under the broiler, you can go from perfect to burnt pretty quickly.
My opinion:
The only thing missing was the family-style tables and neon signs.
Oyster shucking at home and chargrilled oyster recipe
- 12 in fresh shucked oysters (on the half shell (we found these whole at Lucky’sour town))
- 1/2 pound unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 bunch green onions (finely chopped)
- 10 garlic cloves (pureed)
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1-1/2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme
- 1-1/2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh oregano
- 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
- 1 ounce white wine
- 1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
- Place in a baking dish (we used a pie pan) filled with ice cream salt (to keep the oysters steady) with the meat up.
- Melt half the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Add your lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, green onions, and all herbs and seasonings.
- Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, and then stir in the wine.
- Keep stirring and remove from heat as soon as the green onions wilt. Let cool for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add the rest of the butter and stir until completely incorporated.
- Heat grill to 350 degrees and place oysters without the sauce on the grill.
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