Oysters don’t have to be reserved for a special occasion or only enjoyed in a fine restaurant.  They’re quite easy to prepare at home whether served raw or cooked.  I’d also like to share with you a delectable, magical, fantastical sauce made from Hog Island’s hogwash recipe and my own little sumthin sumtthin on top.  This preparation is absolutely the best way I’ve had oysters.
Recipe and how to shuck video after the jump.  I hope I’ve demystified making oysters at home for some 🙂

Oysters usually cost about $2-4 each at a restaurant but they can be found far more cheaply at your local grocery store.  Lucky’s had a sale on oysters for $0.50.  I can usually find oysters at Whole Foods for about $1.25 each.  Not bad!  Saving money is a great reason to try oysters at home.

If you’re storing them in the freezer, make sure to let the oysters thaw for a long time before shucking.

There are lots of tools and gadgets for shucking oysters but all you really need is a kitchen towel and a shucking knife.

How to shuck an oyster: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_YPxcF1ta4

I am sad the San Francisco Hog Island bar is currently closed for construction and expansion.  In the meantime, we can all enjoy the hogwash recipe at home.  This is sauce 1 of my 2 sauce killer combination:

Sauce 1: Hog Island Hogwash Recipe

Hog Wash
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1/4 cup natural rice vinegar
1 large shallot, peeled and finely diced
1 large Jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced
1/2 bunch of cilantro, finely chopped
juice of 1 lime

The food processor speeds up chopping time.  The recipe calls for 2 types of rice vinegar but I just used 1/2 cup of whatever rice vinegar I had.  I forgot to get cilantro so I substituted parsley in the picture below.

Sauce 2: Spicy Cream

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons creme fraiche
• 2 tablespoons salted butter
• 1/2-1 teaspoon Tapatio or your preferred hot sauce

In a small sauce pot over low heat, melt butter and creme.

Once butter and creme are melted, add hot sauce to taste, stirring with a spoon to mix.

Ta-da!

The spice cream sauce can congeal at room temperature.  To warm it back up again, just microwave for 10-20 seconds until it liquefies again.

Now, combine Sauce 1 and Sauce 2 to make some magical on grilled oysters.  Both condiments work well alone and combined on raw oysters as well.

If you don’t have an outdoor BBQ, you can cook oysters in a sauté pan.  Shuck oysters, line them up side by side in a medium or large sauté pan, turn the heat up to medium.  Then, spoon sauce 1 and sauce 1 on each oyster.  Cover with a lid or aluminum foil to allow the juices to steam.  Cook for about 5-7 minutes.