Description
This Roast Oysters and Tomato Butter recipe offers a delightful start to any festive meal, combining freshly roasted tomatoes blended with butter and shallots to create a glossy, flavorful topping for broiled oysters. Perfectly suited for an appetizer, this dish highlights the natural briny sweetness of oysters paired with a rich, buttery sauce, and is sure to impress guests with both its taste and elegant presentation.
Ingredients
Scale
Oysters
- 12 oysters, small to medium sized (such as Island Creeks or Matunucks)
- Rock salt, enough to hold oysters cup-up on baking sheet
Tomato Butter
- ½ cup tomatoes, whole peeled (juices drained and saved for soup)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick), warmed to room temperature
- 2 tablespoons shallot or red onion, finely chopped
Instructions
- Roast the Tomatoes: Heat the broiler to high. Place the tomatoes in a small roasting dish or toaster pan and roast on the highest rack for 10 to 12 minutes until they are blackened in spots.
- Prepare the Oysters: Spread a layer of rock salt on a baking sheet to stabilize the oysters. While tomatoes are roasting, shuck each oyster by holding it securely with a dish towel, inserting an oyster knife into the hinge, and twisting until the shell opens. Detach the oyster from the bottom shell and nestle each oyster liquor-retaining shell into the rock salt.
- Make Tomato Butter: With the broiler still on high, blend the roasted tomatoes with the room temperature butter using a blender, food processor, immersion blender, or vigorous hand mixing until a mottled, glossy mixture forms. Stir in the finely chopped shallots.
- Broil the Oysters: Place a ½ teaspoon dollop of tomato butter on each oyster. Broil the oysters on the baking sheet until the tomato butter melts and the oysters begin to darken and curl around the edges, about 8 to 12 minutes.
- Serve: Remove from the oven and serve the oysters very hot immediately for the best flavor and texture.
Notes
- Shucking oysters requires practice and technique, so watching video tutorials multiple times can help build confidence.
- Rock salt not only stabilizes the oysters for broiling but also helps retain their liquor inside the shells during cooking.
- The tomato butter mixture will appear mottled and rustic before broiling but will melt to a glossy finish atop the oysters.
- Serve immediately after broiling to enjoy the oysters at optimal temperature and texture.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Broiling
- Cuisine: American, French
Keywords: broiled, cooked, cooked shellfish, oysters, sauce, appetizer, tomato butter
