Oysters, cooked stovetop or on the grill in a cast iron skillet and tossed in a seasoned garlic butter blend. Crackers are dipped in the butter, topped with oysters and a splash of hot pepper sauce.
Cast Iron Oyster Appetizer
Where's my oyster lovers because trust me on this one. You will want to make this!
It's a great snack for movie night, or as a party or game day appetizer and your oyster loving friends will love it too, although you'll want to increase the recipe two or three times.
The idea came from a local cookbook Cooking on the Coast by the O'Keefe family, contributed by Jody O'Keefe, who got it and named it Oysters A and M Breaux, after friends of theirs from Cajun Country.
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Jody would cook the raw oysters on a sheet pan that was preheated on the outdoor grill until the oysters began to curl. Once that happens, he would pour off the excess water, sprinkle them with a good dose of Creole or Cajun seasoning and top each oyster with a dollop of butter.
To eat them, you would dip a Waverly cracker into the residual butter mixture on the sheet pan, top the cracker with an oyster and, to quote Jody, "you have to back off and let somebody else have a chance at 'em."
I wish I could direct you to a current online link for the cookbook, but it appears to be available mostly locally, so next time you're on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, stop by the Biloxi Visitor's Center gift shop or downtown Ocean Springs at Hillyer House or Poppy's to check for a copy. There are two editions, but this recipe is in both of them along with lots of local recipes.
Y'all. I can't even begin to tell you how delicious these oysters are!
I made a few adjustments in the process of course, primarily because I didn't really want to crank up the outdoor grill, so I decided to cook them in the house, but in a large cast iron skillet, which you can certainly also put on the grill. That's how I do my blackened catfish.
I considered using my indoor griddle, but then realized I would lose most of the butter if I did, so cast iron seemed the most reasonable tool.
I also went with a garlic and herb butter mixture rather than using plain butter.
Here's what you'll need to make my version of these Cast Iron Oyster Appetizer:
I'm using fresh, local 100% wild-caught reef oysters, straight from our own Pass Christian, Mississippi Gulf Coast USA.
They are packed in water with their juices, so you'll want to drain them well for this recipe.
Raw oysters aren't the prettiest thing in the culinary world but y'all... and I've tried oysters from several areas of the country, but I find that our South Mississippi oysters are the best tasting, hands down. I love them every way that you can make them, though I've turned away from eating them raw much these days.
Mix up the ingredients for the seasoned butter. I'm using a stick of butter with parsley, basil, garlic, lemon juice, salt, pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of the Creole or Cajun seasoning.
Blend that all together well and set aside.
Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil and 1/2 tablespoon of the butter mixture.
Swirl butter around until melted. You're only using a little bit of the butter blend for flavor because once the oysters are cooked, you'll be pouring the excess liquid off that accumulates.
Add oysters in a single layer and cook until edges begin to curl, about 3 to 4 minutes, cooking in batches as needed. They will continue to accumulate a good bit of water as they cook.
When the edges of the oysters begin to curl up, they're done!
Drain off the excess liquid.
Melt the remaining garlic butter mix in the hot skillet.
Return the oysters to the skillet. Sprinkle Creole or Cajun seasoning all over oysters to taste and toss.
To serve, brush crackers on both sides with the garlic herb butter. This is an important step in this appetizer!
Top crackers with oysters.
Sprinkle with hot sauce if desired and offer lemon wedges on the side.
Generally, there are about 2 to 3 servings in a single pint of oysters, depending on the size of the oysters so increase the recipe as needed!
For more of my favorite oyster recipes, check out this collection on my Pinterest page!
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- 2 pints raw oysters, drained
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Creole or Cajun seasoning, or to taste, divided
- Club or saltine crackers
- Lemon wedges
- Hot sauce, for garnish, optional
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
I'm using fresh, local 100% wild-caught reef oysters, straight from our own Pass Christian, Mississippi Gulf Coast USA.
They are packed in water with their juices, so you'll want to drain them well for this recipe.
Raw oysters aren't the prettiest thing in the culinary world but y'all... and I've tried oysters from several areas of the country, but I find that our South Mississippi oysters are the best tasting, hands down. I love them every way that you can make them, though I've turned away from eating them raw much these days.
Mix up the ingredients for the seasoned butter. I'm using a stick of butter with parsley, basil, garlic, lemon juice, salt, pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of the Creole or Cajun seasoning.
Blend that all together well and set aside.
Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil and 1/2 tablespoon of the butter mixture.
Swirl butter around until melted. You're only using a little bit of the butter blend for flavor because once the oysters are cooked, you'll be pouring the excess liquid off that accumulates.
Add oysters in a single layer and cook until edges begin to curl, about 3 to 4 minutes, cooking in batches as needed. They will continue to accumulate a good bit of water as they cook.
When the edges of the oysters begin to curl up, they're done!
Drain off the excess liquid.
Melt the remaining garlic butter mix in the hot skillet.
Return the oysters to the skillet. Sprinkle Creole or Cajun seasoning all over oysters to taste and toss.
Transfer oysters along with the butter to a platter. Lay a pastry brush in the platter.
To serve, brush crackers on both sides with the garlic herb butter. This is an important step in this appetizer!
Generally, there are about 2 to 3 servings in a single pint of oysters, depending on the size of the oysters so increase the recipe as needed!
For more of my favorite oyster recipes, check out this collection on my Pinterest page!
Unable to view the printable above on your device? Tap/click here for a backup printable.
Thank you for supporting my work! Please note that Images and Full Post Content including photographs and recipe ©Deep South Dish. Recipes are offered for your own personal use only and while pinning and sharing links is welcomed and encouraged, do not copy and paste post or recipe text to repost or republish to any social media (such as other Facebook pages, etc.), blogs, websites, forums, or any print medium, without explicit prior permission. Unauthorized use of content from ©Deep South Dish is a violation of both the federal Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and copyright law. All rights reserved.
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