Oysters on the Half Shell
Cold half-shell oysters arrive with lemon wedges and a spicy cocktail sauce, a simple raw bar spread built for sharing outdoors.
This version keeps things closer to a backyard raw bar than a formal one, with a punchy cocktail sauce standing in for a mignonette. Horseradish and hot sauce give the ketchup base real bite without much work. Set everything on a big platter and let people build their own bite.
Ingredients
Method
Tap a number to mark a step doneStir the ketchup, prepared horseradish, hot sauce, and a squeeze of lemon juice together in a small bowl to make the cocktail sauce.
Refrigerate the cocktail sauce for at least 15 minutes so all the flavors have time to settle together.
Spread a thick, even layer of crushed ice over a wooden serving board or a large, chilled platter.
Hold each oyster steady in a folded towel and insert an oyster knife into the hinge, twisting to pop the shell open.
Cut the oyster free from the top shell and loosen it from the bottom shell, leaving it sitting in its own liquid.
Arrange the opened oysters carefully over the crushed ice so each one stays level, cold, and full of liquor.
Set the cocktail sauce and lemon wedges in the center of the board within easy reach for everyone.
Serve everything right away while the oysters are still ice cold and at their very freshest quality for eating.
Kitchen note
Scrub the shells well under cold water before shucking, since any grit on the outside can easily fall into the oyster liquor once the shell is opened.
