It’s Oyster Grillin’ Time!

Monahan's Seafood Market | Fresh Whole Fish, Fillets, Shellfish, Recipes, Catering & Lunch Counter-Ann Arbor, Michigan

As I sit on my deck basking in the sweetness of a perfect spring evening, I’m about to fire up the grill for a nice dinner of Portuguese sardines, sprinkled with a bit of sea salt and grilled whole, served with a squeeze of lemon and a crusty baguette. Sounds good eh?

grilled oystersgrilled sardines

A first coarse of grilled oysters will make it a perfect meal on a perfect night. Grilled oysters are a favorite summertime appetizer around our house. I first grilled oysters back in the early days of our market, 1979, when an old high school buddy who had moved to California shared a recipe with me. He just placed his oysters on the grill and let them poach in their own liquor (juices). He would then shuck the top shell off and baste them with a garlic butter barbeque sauce. I tried the recipe with some nice large Bluepoints (one of a handful of oysters available in ‘79) and was amazed watching the butter sauce, mixed with the oyster’s liquor, begin to bubble and gently poach the oyster. My mouth began to water as the edges of the oyster began to curl and the butter sauce started to burn around the edges. From that moment on I was hooked on grilling oysters.

There are endless possibilities when it comes to oyster recipes. New Orleans style, smothered with herb butter, Cajun seasonings and topped with Parmesan or Romano cheese is rich and decadent. Or just simple herb butter is great. We’ve made Thai style with a compound butter of fish sauce, hot peppers, lime, lemongrass and cilantro that were mighty tasty. I’ve even experimented with hoisin butter and scallions that was great with giant Norumbega oysters from Maine. I always use the largest oysters in the house because the meats shrink when cooked.

Watch Mike’s how to video.

Last night we grilled Johns River oysters using 2 sauces: our San Remo butter, available at the market & Mike’s garlic butter barbeque sauce. Try our grilled oysters with lemon herb butter or grilled oysters with roasted red pepper butter or experiment on your own with any of your favorite flavors.

We have beautiful Norumbega oysters from Damariscotta, Maine & Sunset Beach from Puget Sound, WA coming in this weekend. Both will be great for grilling. Come and get ’em!

 

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Monahan's Seafood

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