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Chargrilled Oysters With Blue Crabmeat
Ingredients:
- 2 dozen oysters in a shell
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 4 ounces lump blue crabmeat
- Cajun seasoning
- 4 ounces shredded Parmesan
- cheese
- Parsley for garnish
Instructions:
- If you’re using the grill, fire it up! Or, if you prefer to use an oven, preheat it to 400°F and line a sheet pan with foil and set it to the side. Assembly of the oysters won’t take long at all, and neither will the cooking, so it’s best to have everything prepped and ready in order to make the transition easier.
- Next we’re going to make a quick compound butter. Mix together the softened butter and garlic. Set aside.
- Now it’s time to shuck the oysters. Put one oyster shell in your palm, holding it as flat as possible because you want to preserve as much salty liquid as you can.
- While holding the shell with one hand, use the oyster or clam knife and gently run it along the crease of the shell; we’re looking for a natural groove that would be a good place to jimmy it open, like a dip in the crease. Once you find a spot, gently twist the knife in the crease to pop it open. Again, don’t do it too swiftly, always keeping that salty liquid in the shell as much as possible.
- Once it’s cracked, don’t open it all the way just yet. Still holding the shell firmly, you’re going to slide the knife against the inner roof of the shell because the oyster is still attached. You’ll know you’ve gotten it completely off when you feel the shell release. Congratulations! You did it!
- Now that you’ve gotten a groove, get them all lined up, begin to spoon on ½ teaspoon of butter (½ teaspoon or a little less depending on the size of the oyster or how generous you want to be with the crab), sprinkle a little Cajun seasoning and cheese, and top with a little parsley. Repeat until they’re all prepped. The crab is just like crawfish tails—they have to be steamed in order to remove the meat from the shell, so there’s no additional cooking needed.
- Either grill or bake them until the cheese is melted; they will cook super quickly so get ready to use tongs.
Cajun Corn on the Cob
Ingredients:
- 1 cup salted butter, softened,
- more for serving if desired
- 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
- (about 1 clove)
- 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
- 6 ears corn
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Mix the softened butter, garlic, and Cajun seasoning, and set it aside for later. (Congratulations, you’ve probably just made your first compound butter! I’ll explain more later.)
- Remove the husks and silk of each ear of corn.
- Place each ear on a separate piece of foil. Before wrapping each ear in the foil, brush the corn with the butter mixture, then seal it and place it on a baking sheet. The sheet of foil wrapped around will aid in the roasting and the speed of cooking.
- Bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove and add more butter if desired when serving.
Compound Butters
Compounds can make the world go ’round! In culinary school we made compound butters at the top of the semester. I guess you can say that was sort of a needed ingredient on our class supply list. Lemon butter, garlic, Cajun, cinnamon butter… The list can go on. You don’t have to be a culinary student to have these on hand to make cooking easier and tastier. Compound butter is amazing with breakfast bagels!
Now, the formula is pretty easy: just 1 cup (2 sticks) of softened butter and theseasoning or flavor of your choice! Sweet or savory. You can make a compound butter and freeze it for up to 3 months! You can find cool molds online too.
- GARLIC PARMESAN BUTTER: Mix together 1 cup of room-temperature butter,
- 6 tablespoons of shredded or grated Parmesan cheese, and 6 garlic cloves, minced.
- CINNAMON BUTTER: Mix together 1 cup of room-temperature butter and
- 1½ teaspoons of cinnamon.
- SMOKY FETA CRUMBLE BUTTER: Mix together 1 cup of room-temperature
- butter, 1½ tablespoons of smoked paprika, and 6 tablespoons of feta crumbles.
- LEMON PEPPER BUTTER: Mix together 1 cup of room-temperature butter,
- 1 teaspoon of lemon zest, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon of cracked
- black pepper
