New Orleans Charbroiled Oysters with Garlic Herb Butter, Parmesan, Lemon and Crusty Bread

Make the garlic herb butter: combine all butter ingredients in a bowl and beat with a fork or electric mixer until completely uniform and fluffy. Taste — it should be intensely garlicky, herby, buttery, and mildly spicy. Adjust cayenne to preference. This butter can be made up to a week ahead and refrigerated, or frozen for months. Bring to room temperature before using so it spreads easily over the oysters.

Ingredients

• For the garlic herb butter (make in advance):
• 225g (1 cup / 2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 8 garlic cloves, minced to a fine paste
• 3 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, very finely chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped
• 2 tsp dried oregano (not fresh — dried oregano has a more robust flavor that stands up to the grill heat)
• 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or more to taste — New Orleans has a warm disposition toward heat)
• 1/2 tsp fine salt
• Zest of 1 lemon
• For the oysters:
• 24 fresh gulf oysters in the shell — Gulf of Mexico oysters (varieties like Gulf Select, Murder Point, or Apalachicola) are ideal for their brininess and size; Pacific oysters work as a substitute
• 100g (3.5 oz) Parmigiano-Reggiano or aged Pecorino Romano, very finely grated
• For serving:
• 1 large loaf crusty French bread, sliced thickly
• Extra garlic herb butter for the bread
• Fresh lemon wedges
• Hot sauce (Louisiana-style Crystal or Tabasco)

Instructions

1. Make the garlic herb butter: combine all butter ingredients in a bowl and beat with a fork or electric mixer until completely uniform and fluffy. Taste — it should be intensely garlicky, herby, buttery, and mildly spicy. Adjust cayenne to preference. This butter can be made up to a week ahead and refrigerated, or frozen for months. Bring to room temperature before using so it spreads easily over the oysters.
2. Shuck the oysters: hold each oyster firmly on a folded kitchen towel (flat side up). Insert an oyster knife into the hinge — the pointed end where the two shells meet. Apply firm lateral pressure and twist to pop the hinge. Slide the knife along the flat upper shell to sever the adductor muscle. Lift and discard the flat top shell. Slide the knife beneath the oyster meat to cut the bottom muscle — the oyster should now sit free in its curved lower shell, bathed in its liquor. Arrange on a baking sheet or grill-safe tray in a single layer. Each oyster must be level so the butter does not spill.
3. Prepare the grill: charbroiled oysters require intense, direct high heat — this is a charcoal grill or gas grill at maximum heat (230°C / 450°F minimum). The signature of the New Orleans charbroiled oyster is the slight char on the shell and the blistering, caramelized butter. A kitchen broiler set to maximum is an acceptable indoor substitute.
4. Butter and grill: place oysters in their shells directly on the grill grates over the hottest part. Drop a generous teaspoon (or more) of garlic herb butter onto each oyster. The butter will immediately begin to melt and pool around the oyster. Close the grill lid for 2 minutes.
5. Add the Parmesan: open the lid. The butter should be bubbling furiously and the edges of the oyster liquor should be caramelizing slightly. Add a generous pinch of finely grated Parmesan over each oyster. Close the lid again for 1-2 more minutes until the Parmesan melts into the butter and the edges of the oyster just begin to curl — this is the signal that the oyster is cooked through but still plump and yielding in the center.
6. Grill the bread: while the oysters cook, brush thick slices of French bread with additional garlic herb butter. Place on the grill for 1-2 minutes until golden, charred at the edges, and thoroughly saturated with the butter.
7. Serve immediately: transport oysters from grill to a serving platter lined with rock salt (to hold them stable). Squeeze lemon over the top. Add a dash of hot sauce to each. Arrange grilled bread around the oysters.
8. Charbroiled oysters were invented at Drago's Seafood Restaurant in New Orleans in 1993 — a dish so immediately beloved that it defined a new category. The heat of the grill, the garlic butter, the Parmesan, and the brininess of the Gulf oyster create a combination of such elemental pleasure that it has become synonymous with New Orleans hospitality. The bread to soak the butter is not optional.