Grilled Oysters with Fennel Crumbs is a modern South African recipe for a party dish of lightly-grilled oysters served topped with a blend of breadcrumbs with fennel, tarragon, garlic and Tabasco sauce. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic South African version of: Grilled Oysters with Fennel Crumbs.
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Last year my husband bought some frozen oysters on the half-shell for New Year’s breakfast. He cooked them lightly as you should, but I was not very happy with the result. This time, I’ve cooked them longer and finished with a fennel crumb topping and I was much more pleased with a result. For a little indulgence pair with a dry Cap Classique champagne-style wine.
Ingredients:
24 rock oysters on the half shell (thaw if frozen)
For the savoury butter
125g (1 1/8 cups) unsalted butter, softened
1 small garlic clove, crushed and mashed to a paste
2-3 sprigs tarragon, leaves only, finely chopped
1 tbsp fennel fronds, finely chopped
3-4 shakes of Tabasco
oyster liquor
For the fennel crumbs:
40g (1/3 cup) fresh white breadcrumbs
½ tsp ground fennel seeds
olive oil or olive-oil spray
Method:
Pre-heat your grill (broiler) until hot.
Pop the oysters and their juices (strained, to catch any stray bits of shell) into a small pan and warm through over a gentle heat until just stiffened (about 3 minutes). Lift out with a slotted spoon and put to one side. Reserve the juices.
For the savoury butter, simply whisk all the ingredients (including the reserved oyster juices) together until smooth. Spoon out onto a small piece of foil, roll it into a thick-ish sausage (about 3cm thick) and put in the freezer to firm up.
To assemble, place an oyster on each half-shell. Remove the butter from the freezer and remove the foil. Using a small sharp knife, cut off thin slices and place one atop each oyster. For the breadcrumbs, mix together the breadcrumbs and fennel seeds then add a glug of olive oil and mix well.
Line an oven tray with slightly crumpled foil and arrange 12 oysters upon it. Evenly sprinkle the breadcrumbs over each oyster and trickle a little olive oil over each one (truly, however, for best results, an olive-oil spray will deliver the most even crust to each oyster, once cooked). Grill for 6-7 minutes, or until the oysters are golden crusted and bubbling around the edges. Leave for 5 minutes before eating, to avoid burnt tongues. Repeat with the remaining 12 oysters.
