Why I Chargrill My Own Oysters

Please welcome Passionate Cook Ursula Whistler to the Cafe!

Download Passionate Cooks today for this and other great recipes by today’s hottest authors.

My husband is cheap. That’s one reason that I decided to learn to chargrill oysters. We live in New Orleans, where a person can get oysters at any old time at some of the most sought after places in the French Quarter or right near the convention center where thousands and thousands of people pass through every year. But, my husband hates the prices of the chargrilled oysters that I prefer to have.

See, I wasn’t always an eat ‘em raw kind of gal. My daddy ruined me by handing me an oyster on the half shell and a cheap beer when I was a young girl. Gross, and I didn’t know whether the beer or the oyster was the worst. It took a long time before I would touch either of them. I have my husband to blame or thank (depending on how one views it) for my love of both beer and oysters.

Now, from October to April I will sling back a raw oyster topped with a squeeze of lemon and dash of hot sauce. No crackers, please. Yet, sometimes I really want the bubbly, buttery sauce swimming with herbs and spices on top of a warm, chargrilled oyster. Except, the cheap husband.

“You should learn how to cook those yourself. You’re a good cook,” he said one day.

“I need a fire pit to do it right, and I don’t see one of those around.” I can’t say my retort was that great. It was just true. We gave up our grill years ago as we rarely used it. Even at our fish camp in southern Mississippi, we didn’t have one.

“I can build you one.”

I shrugged, thinking that he’d put it on his ever-growing list of things to do. Three hours later, he’d built a solid fire pit complete with grill for outdoor cooking at the camp. I stared at it, mouth truly agape. “You were serious.”

“Of course, I was. I like chargrilled oysters, too. I even know where I can get a sack.” He grinned, and it warmed my heart. He might be cheap, but a sack of oysters meant a gathering of friends, lots of beer, and tons of laughs.

“Alright, I’ll get to figuring out how to cook them.” I did. I futzed with the amount of butter, the types of herbs, the type of alcohol to mix into the sauce, and how to get the superbly hot shells off of the grill without dropping an oyster or burning any part of my body.

I figured it out, and my husband and I celebrated in fine style my new recipe for Aphrodisian Chargrilled Oysters. You can find it in the appetizer section of the Passionate Cooks recipe book by All Romance eBooks. Be brave. Try it. I’m pretty sure you’ll love it.

Filed Under: Cafe News

Tagged: guest blog, Passionate Cooks