Make the most of oyster season with a simple recipe that never fails to impress.
While everyone else is excited for football season, I am over here excited about oyster season! A must-make dish for any occasion is my baked Dressed Up Oysters. It is a luxurious appetizer that turns any occasion into a special one, especially when paired with some bubbly and a special someone.
Finding fresh oysters is reason enough to celebrate with this recipe.
North Carolina’s Stump Sound, a muddy, 7-mile body of water stretching from Sneads Ferry to North Topsail Beach and really more of a lagoon than a sound, offers some of the area’s best oysters. I prefer to use Stump Sound oysters for this recipe because they taste and smell exactly like the briny ocean. These oysters get their saltiness from their habitat and the conditions in North Carolina’s diverse waters. The salinity is influenced by the tidal exchanges of two inlets and runoff from the land. Oysters eat by swallowing and filtering their surroundings, so each one literally soaks up and reflects its own environment.
Recently I had friends and family over and prepared this dish. They loved the salty flavor of the oyster mixed with the savory toppings, and many were inquiring about how to make these. If you want to switch it up, feel free to use prosciutto instead of bacon or white wine instead of sherry. Kale would also be a unique twist in substitution for the spinach. If you prefer, these can also be finished off on the grill instead of in the oven. Either way, the oyster will be the main appeal.
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| Servings | oysters |
- 2 dozen single Stump Sound Oysters shucked and on the half-shell
- 2 acocado thinly sliced
- 6 slices bacon
- 5 ounces spinach chopped
- 1/4 cup apple juice
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese shredded
- 2 baking sherry quartered
Ingredients
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- Preheat the oven to 415 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Chop the bacon into small pieces and fry in a pan over medium/high heat. When the bacon is about halfway done, drop the sliced shallots and spinach in the pan with the bacon and grease and cook down 2 to 3 minutes. Add the sherry to the mixture and cook while stirring an additional 3 to 4 minutes.
- Spoon the bacon/spinach evenly on top of each oyster until it is all divvied out. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top of each oyster.
- Bake for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Top each oyster with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
- **TIP: Tip: After the oysters are shucked, detach the oyster meat from the shell so it is easier to eat after cooked.
