Best Low Country Steamed Carolina Cup Oysters With Melted Butter Recipes

SAUTéED OYSTERS WITH WINE AND HERBS

Steps:

• To shuck the oysters, you need a clean kitchen towel and a short sharp knife with a good handle. The towel will protect your hand from the knife and will help you keep the oyster in place.
• Make sure all the oysters' shells are tightly closed. Inspect and discard any oyster that's open or that appears to be open. When in doubt, go the safe route and discard any suspicious oysters. Open oysters can harbor dangerous bacteria.
• With the help of a stiff brush, vigorously scrub the oysters under cold running water. This will help get rid of any debris or sand that might still be attached to their surface.
• Place the oyster on a towel, rounded side down. Holding the oyster in the towel, insert the tip of the oyster knife into the hinge, which is on the flat side of the oyster. Once the knife is in the hinge, firmly twist the knife. The oyster should easily pop open. Continue with the remaining oysters.
• Drain the juice of each oyster out into a small bowl. Scrape the oyster meat from the shells onto a plate.
• Gather the ingredients.
• Melt butter in a skillet over medium-low heat.
• Add chopped onions and sauté until just softened, or about 4 minutes.
• Add the tarragon and wine, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Add oysters to the pan and cook just long enough for them to curl at the edges, 2 to 3 minutes on each side.
• Shake the pan from side to side to keep the oysters coated with the buttery sauce. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
• Enjoy!

ROASTED OYSTERS WITH WARM BUTTER MIGNONETTE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Stir shallot, vinegar, and 1 Tbsp. water in a small bowl; set aside. Line a plate with salt (this will help hold the oysters in place without tipping out their juices) and set aside.
• Rinse oysters, then arrange flat side up on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet. Roast until oysters crack open, 4-6 minutes. (They won't open completely like a cooked clam; the top shell will separate from the bottom with about a 1/4" opening at the rounded end.) Some may open before others-remove from oven as soon as they open. Discard any oysters that don't open after 7 minutes.
• To finish opening oysters: Fold a dish towel several times and hold oyster using towel. Slide a butter knife into opening all the way to the hinge. Turn butter knife perpendicular so top shell pops all the way open. Pull off top shell with your hand, being careful not to tip bottom shell and lose any liquid (this should all happen very easily without much force). Gently slide knife under oyster in bottom shell to release the muscle, then transfer to plate with salt.
• Stir butter into reserved vinegar mixture. Spoon over oysters.

INSTANT POT® FRESH STEAMED OYSTERS WITH SPICY BUTTER

Steps:

• Pour water into a multi-functional pressure cooker (such as Instant Pot®) and set trivet inside. Place oysters on the trivet. Close and lock the lid. Select Steam function according to manufacturer's instructions; set timer for 2 minutes. Allow 15 minutes for pressure to build.
• Meanwhile, stir hot sauce and parsley into the melted butter until well combined.
• Release pressure using quick release according to manufacture's directions, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Carefully open the oysters using a spoon; set on a serving plate. Spoon butter over the top.

LOW COUNTRY STEAMED CAROLINA CUP OYSTERS WITH MELTED BUTTER

Steps:

• Build a hot fire with wood chips. Stack stones or bricks around fire so that the sheet metal sits securely on top.
• Once metal is very hot, place oysters on top, and cover completely with wet burlap. Steam until shells begin to open, checking frequently, 12 to 18 minutes.
• Shovel oysters onto a serving platter, discarding any that do not open, and serve immediately with melted butter, cocktail sauce, and lemon wedges.

ROASTED OYSTERS WITH COUNTRY BACON

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Using a towel, grasp and oyster in the palm of your hand. Press the oyster, rounded-side down, on a firm surface, still holding it with the towel. Shuck the oyster by wedging the tip of an oyster knife (regular knives are too thin-bladed) between the halves of the shell, at the shell's narrowest end. When the knife tip is securely wedged, rotate the blade to pry open the shell. Slide the knife blade along the length of the shell to open completely. Remove the oyster from the shell and reserve, along with its juice. From each pair of oyster shells, save the one that is most concave on the inside, and discard the one that is flatter. Place the concave shells in a pan of cold water and scrub inside and out. Place the clean oyster shells on a cookie sheet and set aside.
• Dip the tomatoes briefly in boiling water to loosen the skins, then in ice water. Peel, cut in half, remove and discard the seeds, and dice.
• Have the remaining ingredients measured and ready beside the stove. When you are ready to begin cooking the oysters, place the cookie sheet containing the oyster shells in the oven. On the top of the stove, melt the butter in a hot saute pan until it begins to foam. Add the shallots, the oysters and their juice and the white wine. Cook the oysters 30 seconds, then add the heavy cream. Bring to a quick boil, then reduce to a simmer just 1 minute more, or until the oysters' edges begin to curl. Add the tomato, tarragon and bacon. Heat another 30 seconds, then remove promptly from the heat.
• Remove the oyster shells from the oven and arrange 6 on each plate. Spoon 1 oyster into each shell and spoon a little of the sauce over each.
• A nice variation of this recipe is to place a "nest" of steamed spinach in each oyster shell before adding the oysters and sauce. Serve with Melba Toast, brioche toast points or toast points of country bread.

GRILLED OYSTERS WITH LEMONY GARLIC-HERB BUTTER

Steps:

• Ignite a full chimney of coals and spread out under one side of the grill once they are fully covered in gray ash, or heat half the burners of a gas grill to high. Cover and let the grill heat for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, cut off a sheet of aluminum foil twice the length of a 13-by-18-inch rimmed baking sheet. Crumple it up so that it fits into the baking sheet. The crumpled foil should be able to support the cupped side of the oysters without allowing them to tip over.
• Prepare the garlic-herb butter: In a food processor, combine the butter, parsley, basil, garlic, lemon zest and juice, a large pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Process until the herbs are finely chopped and there are no large chunks of butter remaining, about 30 seconds total, stopping to scrape down the sides of the processor with a rubber spatula a few times as needed. Transfer the mixture to a small, oven-safe saucepan.
• Using tongs, arrange the oysters over the hot side of the grill, placing them with the cupped sides down, doing your best to set them in the grates so that oyster juices don't pour out of the cups as they open. Cover and cook, checking on them every minute or so, and transferring any oysters that have begun to gape open to the foil-lined baking sheet. After a total of 4 minutes, transfer any remaining oysters to the foil whether they have opened or not. Place the saucepan on the cooler side of the grill.
• As soon as the oysters are cool enough to handle, pry off the top shells with a butter knife or oyster knife, severing through the muscle that holds the oyster to the shell and retaining as much juice in the shell as possible. For oysters that aren't already gaping open, the easiest way to pry off the lids is by inserting the tip of the knife into the joint and firmly twisting it until the joint releases.
• Spoon a generous teaspoon of the garlic-herb butter (which should be fully melted by now) into each oyster, then return the oysters directly onto the grates on the hot side of the grill. Cook, uncovered, until the sauce mixture is bubbling hot, about 1 minute. Return the oysters to the foil-lined baking sheet and serve immediately.

OYSTER ROAST

Steps:

• Charcoal grill method for sausages and oysters:
• Prepare grill for cooking with about 7 pounds of briquets. (You'll need about 15 pounds of briquets total.)
• Prick bratwursts and chorizo in several places with a fork, then grill, covered, turning occasionally, until browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes.
• Scatter about 12 additional briquets over glowing coals and replace rack.
• Fold burlap into a triple layer slightly smaller than grill surface and soak completely with water. Put 3 to 4 dozen oysters directly on grill rack, cover with wet burlap, and roast, without grill cover, until shells just begin to open (about 1/16 inch) or give slightly when squeezed with tongs, about 10 minutes. (If necessary, sprinkle more water over burlap to keep moist.) Serve oysters as they open, removing them with tongs, and roast any unopened oysters a few minutes longer, replacing burlap. Roast remaining oysters in 2 or 3 batches in same manner, adding about 12 more briquets between batches to keep fire hot and resoaking burlap thoroughly.
• Gas grill method:
• Follow the charcoal grill method for sausages and oysters, or use a roasting pan and foil for oysters and follow stovetop-oven method.
• Stovetop-oven method for sausages and oysters:
• Preheat oven to 500°F.
• Heat 2 heavy ridged grill pans or skillets over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then cook sausages, turning occasionally, until browned and cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Heat a 17- by 12-inch roasting pan (2 to 3 inches deep) on bottom shelf of oven until very hot. Remove from oven and quickly fill with 3 to 4 dozen oysters and 1 cup water, then cover pan tightly with heavy-duty foil. Roast oysters until shells just begin to open (about 1/16 inch) or give slightly when squeezed with tongs, about 10 minutes. Serve oysters as they open, removing them with tongs, and roast any unopened oysters a few minutes longer, covered with foil. Roast remaining oysters in 2 or 3 batches in same manner.
• Steam clams while oysters roast on grill or in oven:
• Steam clams in beer in a 6- to 8-quart pot over moderately high heat, covered, until clams open, about 10 minutes (discard any unopened clams after 15 minutes). Transfer clams as opened to a platter. Carefully pour clam broth into cups, avoiding any sediment, for dunking clams if still sandy.