St. George Island Roasted Oysters

In 2001, we rented a house on St. George Island which is near the thirty-mile, shallow oyster paradise known as Apalachicola on the Florida panhandle. Dom bought a bail of oysters which we stored in one of the bath tubs with 25 pounds of ice. When we had eaten as many raw oysters as we could, Dom roasted more using bread crumbs made from stale bread, parsley from a sparse herb garden out in front of the rental house and the sorry excuse for garlic that we found at the local grocery store. Even given the field respite ingredients, I still think these were the best oysters I have ever eaten.

  • 1 ½ dozen raw (Apalachicola) oysters, shucked on the half shell
  • 1 cup panko bread crumbs (or freshly grated bread)
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
  • Favorite hot sauce

Preheat convection oven to 400o F. Make mollica by melting butter in a small pan and add garlic. Cook for a minute then add bread crumbs and parsley and stir to mix.

Place oysters on a cookie sheet and add approximately 1 tablespoon of bread crumbs per oyster. Place oysters in the oven and cook until bread crumbs are well browned. Serve with your favorite hot sauce and enjoy!