Baked Oysters with Garlic Butter Recipe

close up angled shot of garlic butter baked oysters

Baked Oysters with Garlic Butter Recipe

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Keyword: baked oyster recipe, easy baked oysters, garlic butter baked oysters, oven baked oysters, oyster topping, parmesan baked oysters, seafood appetizer

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 10

Total Time: 30

Servings: oysters

Calories: 76kcal

Author: Jessica Formicola

Briny oysters baked in a punchy garlic lemon butter and topped with nutty cheese. A fancy appetizer that comes together in a snap!

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Equipment

coarse pink salt or rock salt , optional but helps with the oysters rocking (and it looks pretty!)

Ingredients

12-16 raw oysters in the shell
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3-4 cloves fresh garlic
1 tablespoon flat parsley , minced
1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 fresh lemon
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese , freshly and finely grated
crusty bread , optional for serving and for mopping up butter

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Arrange coarse pink salt, rock salt or aluminum foil on a rimmed baking sheet to prevent the oysters from rocking.
Clean and shuck the oysters, tipping out half of the oyster liquor, but reserving the rest in the shell with the shucked oyster meat. Arrange on the prepared baking sheet. Set aside.
In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the 1/2 cup unsalted butter, grated or finely minced 3-4 cloves fresh garlic, minced 1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper, 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika and the zest of 1 fresh lemon. Reserve the rest of the lemon. Stir over low heat until the butter has melted and the garlic pulp looks like a spread, approximately 4-5 minutes.
Evenly spoon the butter mixture, making sure to get some of the garlic and parsley, into each oyster well. You might have some leftover depending on how big the shells are, this can be used on roasted veggies, basted on another protein or used on garlic bread.
Bake the oysters for 7-8 minutes and then turn on the broiler for 1 minutes, watching closely to brown, but not burn, the butter. While baking, cut the reserved lemon into wedges.
Remove from the oven and immediately spritz with fresh lemon juice from the reserved lemon and sprinkle evenly with the 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese.
Serve hot or with crusty bread to soak up the remaining butter in each shell.
If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or star ratings!

Video

Notes

Make Ahead

While I do not suggest making the whole dish ahead of time, you can prepare the elements and fire when ready. Oysters can be shucked and kept chilled for up to 6 hours in the refrigerator.

The butter mixture can be prepared up to 5 days ahead of time and remelted. In fact, the garlic intensity can grow with the fats infusing with garlic flavor.

Leftovers

I do not suggest saving any leftovers, just do yourself a favor and eat the rest.

Nutrition