This easy baked oysters recipe will make you feel like you’re on a beach vacation, treating yourself to the best seafood restaurant!
My series of Maryland seafood recipes are so popular with our readers, that I’m keeping ’em coming!
Baked Oysters Recipe on the Half Shell
Recently, in preparation for making these baked oysters, I asked our Facebook readers for the best place in Frederick to get fresh oysters.
Several great responses later, one of my readers mentioned the Hoopers Island Oyster Co. Pop-Up in Frederick!
Wait….hold on!
There are fresh Chesapeake Bay oysters being driven up to Frederick from Maryland’s Eastern Shore?
Come to find out, at one time, these events took place every Saturday morning.
Being that my hubby and I are total oyster lovers, we had to try them out!
Hoopers Island Oyster Co. Saturday Pop-Up Stores
Luckily for us, Hoopers Island Oyster Co. partnered with Rosedale Ice for these pop-ups, which has a location right here in Frederick!
The Rosedale Ice in Frederick, some people know it as the “Beer Cave”, is located on North East Street.
Hoopers Island Oyster Co. farms and raises millions of the most premium, top oysters, including their signature “Chesapeake Golds” and “Mermaid Kisses”.
Needless to say, these are some good oysters!
We decided to get 20 oysters still in the shell and a pint of already shucked oysters.
How To Shuck Oysters
We were SO excited about getting these oysters, that we didn’t even care if we had never shucked an oyster in our lives!
Needless to say, we ordered an oyster shucking knife set with gloves from Amazon early in the week so we’d have it here when it was time to pick up the oysters and make the baked oysters recipe.
I watched a nice, short, to-the point YouTube video on how to shuck oysters with an oyster knife and it really made it look simple.
My husband didn’t watch the video but he already had a good idea as to how to shuck the oysters.
This is the only good picture I could get of him shucking the oysters.
It was a little stressful at first and he wasn’t in the mood for me hanging over his shoulder with a camera lens.
But, it just took a little practice and he caught on quickly.
After getting through a few oysters, he now has the hang of this shucking thing and is officially an expert oyster shucker!
He removed the whole oysters from the shells and put them on a plate so I could wash out and dry the shells.
How to Bake Oysters On The Half Shell
I found this particular Spicy Oysters with Bacon & Cheese recipe on a site, Maryland Delivered.
They got the recipe from the Dishing Up Maryland: 150 Recipes From The Alleghenies to the Chesapeake Bay cookbook.
The only thing I changed with the recipe is the type of cheese.
They used Colby cheese and I used Gruyere cheese.
Ingredient List:
- Fresh (in the shell) Raw Oysters
- Bacon
- Gruyere Cheese
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Hot Sauce
- Old Bay Seasoning or Creole Seasoning
- Lemon Slices or Lemon Wedges
- Kosher Salt
Baked Oysters Directions
And here are the easy steps:
Step 1: Rinse and Dry Shells and Line Them Up On Baking Sheet
First, place your washed and dried oyster bottom shells on a rimmed baking sheet.
By the way, based on the shucking video above, the bottom shell is the the larger shell with the oyster already nestled inside after you’ve shucked it.
What do you do with the top shell?
Well, you don’t need it in this recipe, so you can either throw them away or wash and dry them and use them for a fun craft!
In addition, that oyster liquid or ‘oyster liquor’ is discarded.
Step 2: Place Rinsed Oysters Into Each Shell
Second, rinse your oysters in a colander and then place oysters into each shell in a single layer onto the sheet pan.
Step 3: Add Ingredients To Top Of Each Oyster
Third, add 2 to 3 drops of Worcestershire sauce to each oyster and then a 1/4 to 1/2 slice of bacon on top.
Note: I followed the recipe with the bacon, but I personally felt that the bacon might overwhelm the taste of the oyster. So you can adjust the amount of bacon based on your preference.
Step 4: Add Hot Sauce and Cheese
Next step is to add 3 to 4 drops of hot sauce to each oyster.
Finally, add a small slice of cheese to each oyster.
I used Gruyere cheese, but you can use whatever cheese you prefer.
Also, you can swap shredded cheese for the sliced cheese.
Step 5: Bake in Preheated Oven for 20 Minutes
Then bake in a 450 degrees fahrenheit oven for 20 minutes until the cheese is golden and bubbly.
After you remove your baking pan from the oven, sprinkle Old Bay Seasoning over top of each oyster sparingly.
Have some sliced lemon available for people to squeeze over their baked oysters.
How They Turned Out
You know when the cook is usually their own worst critic?
Well, after eating one, I immediately felt that the bacon was overpowering the taste of the oysters.
However, everybody else, including my husband, son, Terri, her two sons, and her husband, absolutely love this recipe just the way it is!
I guess whenever you involve bacon, you can’t go wrong!
I would recommend serving these baked oysters with some warm french bread and a nice glass of crisp white wine. Mmm!
Ingredient Substitutions
I LOVE the combo of the ingredients in my recipe above.
However, it’s all based on your personal preferences.
So, here are some ingredient substitutions or add-ons:
- Parmesan Cheese, Romano Cheese
- Sliced Green Onions
- Minced Garlic or Chopped Garlic Clove
- Lemon Zest or Lemon Juice
- Fresh Parsley, Fresh Herbs
- Bread crumbs or Panko Breadcrumbs
- Black Pepper
- Garlic Butter
We had enough baked oysters to reheat the following day.
Needless to say, they were just as good, if not better than they were the day before!
And as for that extra pint of shucked oysters we got, my husband wants to fry those up.
So you might see another oyster recipe very soon!
For more traditional Maryland recipes, click on over to:
Maryland Deviled Eggs with Crab & Old Bay Seasoning
Hot Crab Dip Recipe: A Traditional Maryland Favorite
Maryland’s Grand Prize Cream of Crab Soup Recipe
Baked Oysters with Bacon and Gruyere Cheese
Baked Oysters with Bacon and Gruyere Cheese
Ingredients
- 20 Oysters, fresh in the shell
- 10 strips Bacon, uncooked
- 10 slices Cheese, Gruyere (or your preferred type of cheese)
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Hot Sauce
- Old Bay Seasoning
- Lemon Slices
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Shuck the oysters, reserving the shells.
- Rinse & drain the oyster meat. Clean & dry the shells.
- Place 20 oyster shells on a baking sheet.
- Place 1 oyster in each shell.
- Add 2 to 3 drops of Worcestershire Sauce to each oyster.
- Top each oyster with 1/4 to 1/2 strip of uncooked bacon.
- Add 3 to 4 drops of hot sauce to each oyster.
- Place 1/2 slice of cheese on top of each oyster.
- Place oysters in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until the cheese is golden and bubbly.
- Sprinkle Old Bay Seasoning over each oyster.
- Serve immediately with lemon wedges as a garnish.
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I’m so afraid to shuck them! But I love oysters so much!
I know! It’s kind of intimidating, but if you watch the YouTube video and use gloves and the proper knife, I know you can do it!