Do not wash your oysters far in advance of eating them. Washing your oysters hours before you plan on steaming them may kill them: Chemicals such as chlorine and poisons such as lead may leave your oysters tasting less fresh than they might otherwise be.
Oysters are done when their shells open. Discard any oysters that didn’t open during the cooking process.
How do you shuck oysters? Wrap the top of the oyster in a towel or put on heavy-duty gloves for protection. Slide an oyster knife into the hinge (backside) of the oyster. Twist the oyster knife by turning your wrist, like you’re turning on the ignition in your car with a key. [1] X Research source Scrape the blade across the top part of the oyster shell, twisting to open the muscle. Remove the top portion of the shell and loosen the oyster foot from the bottom shell with your knife.
Butter and garlic Butter and soy sauce Butter, shallot, fresh parsley, cheese (Pecorino), cayenne, paprika BBQ sauce
Whole oysters should be checked for opening of the shell. You’ll initially notice a line beginning to separate in the shell. Look for bubbling of the oyster brine inside that small separation. Throw out any oysters that haven’t opened after 5-10 minutes. Oysters on the half shell need to be vetted before and during the shucking process to ensure they’re safe to eat. If the oyster is already open prior to shucking, or it doesn’t put up any resistance during shucking and pops right open, throw it out. Oysters on the half shell will tighten slightly when cooked; their liquid will bubble and help cook them over the course of 5-10 minutes.
Again, wash your oysters immediately before you plan on roasting them. Washing oysters too early before cooking can kill them, making them inedible. Oysters from a purveyor are often washed when they are harvested, but it won’t hurt to give them a once-over. You’re better safe than sorry.
Place four cinder blocks at the edge of your fire, positioned rectangularly so that they’ll easily support the sheet metal when fitted over the fire. Once the fire begins to die down, place your sheet metal on top of the cinder blocks and wait for it to get hot. (Of course, make sure your sheet metal is properly washed beforehand. ) If splashing a couple drops of water onto the sheet metal causes the water to sizzle and disintegrate, the surface is ready to go.
Give the batch of oysters anywhere from 8 to 10 minutes to finish cooking. If you prefer oysters to be less cooked, aim for about 8 minutes. If you prefer your oysters to be more cooked, aim to keep them under the burlap sack for a couple more minutes. Throw away any oysters that haven’t opened 1/4" to 1/2" after 10 minutes.
