Roasted Oysters on the Half Shell with Shallot and Tarragon for Two
By Lan Lam & Julia Collin DavisonPublished on July 19, 2025
Time
50 minutes
Yield
Serves 2
Ingredients
Before You Begin
You’ll need an oyster knife and a large serving platter for this recipe. Using oysters that are 2½ to 3 inches long ensures that they will cook evenly. Placing the oysters on crumpled foil prevents them from tipping.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Gently crumple and uncrumple aluminum foil and place on rimmed baking sheet. Nestle 6 (2½ to 3 inches long) well-scrubbed oysters, cupped side down, into foil on prepared sheet and bake until oysters open slightly, about 5 minutes. (It’s OK to eat oysters that don’t open.) Let oysters rest until cool enough to handle, about 5 minutes.
- Stir 2 tablespoons softened unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon minced shallot, 1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon, ½ teaspoon whole-grain mustard, and a pinch pepper in bowl until well combined. Shuck 1 oyster, discard top shell, and pour liquid into butter mixture. Return oyster to foil and repeat with remaining oysters. Stir butter to incorporate oyster liquid, then divide evenly among oysters.
- Bake until thickest part of largest oyster registers 160 to 165 degrees, 5 to 8 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving with lemon wedges.
Time
50 minutesYield
Serves 2Ingredients
Ingredients
Ingredients
Why This Recipe Works
Roasting is a great option if you’re nervous about shucking or eating raw oysters or you simply want a new way to serve them on the half shell. Warming them in a hot oven made them easier to shuck, and placing them on crumpled aluminum foil steadied the oysters so that they didn’t tip over. Dolloped with mustard butter after shucking and returned to the oven to cook through, the oysters emerged plump, tender, and dressed with a punchy sauce.
Before You Begin
You’ll need an oyster knife and a large serving platter for this recipe. Using oysters that are 2½ to 3 inches long ensures that they will cook evenly. Placing the oysters on crumpled foil prevents them from tipping.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Gently crumple and uncrumple aluminum foil and place on rimmed baking sheet. Nestle 6 (2½ to 3 inches long) well-scrubbed oysters, cupped side down, into foil on prepared sheet and bake until oysters open slightly, about 5 minutes. (It’s OK to eat oysters that don’t open.) Let oysters rest until cool enough to handle, about 5 minutes.
- Stir 2 tablespoons softened unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon minced shallot, 1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon, ½ teaspoon whole-grain mustard, and a pinch pepper in bowl until well combined. Shuck 1 oyster, discard top shell, and pour liquid into butter mixture. Return oyster to foil and repeat with remaining oysters. Stir butter to incorporate oyster liquid, then divide evenly among oysters.
- Bake until thickest part of largest oyster registers 160 to 165 degrees, 5 to 8 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving with lemon wedges.
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