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I'll never forget the first time I visited Hog Island Oyster Farm in Marshall, California, just up the coast from San Francisco. I had eaten at the Hog Island restaurant at the Ferry Building in San Francisco, but I had never been to the farm before, so I was super excited when I managed to score a picnic table reservation during a Sonoma wine country road trip with my parents and my new pup. It was a gorgeous January day - perfect picnic weather - and we headed up the coast with some wine and snacks toward Tomales Bay.
Now, I'm usually a raw oyster girl, especially with a good mignonette (or the Hog Island Oyster Company version, which they call Hog Wash), but the BBQ oysters at Hog Island had me at hello. They use an absolutely fantastic Chipotle Bourbon Butter, the recipe for which you can find here, and although I love their take, I have adapted it slightly to use my Good on Everything Rub instead of their brown sugar and chipotle.
While this butter is obviously amazing on grilled oysters, you wouldn't go wrong putting a pat of it on a good steak, rubbing it on some grilled corn, or melting some into a baked sweet potato. In other words, it'll go with your whole summer meal.
Let's get cooking, shall we?
Bourbon BBQ Butter Grilled Oysters
Makes about 1/2 cup - enough for 2-3 dozen oysters, depending on their size
Ingredients:
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon Bourbon
1 teaspoon minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
1 tablespoon Good on Everything Rub
2-3 dozen freshly shucked small to medium raw oysters
Directions:
Preheat grill to medium-high.
In a medium bowl, mix together the butter, Bourbon, garlic, and Good on Everything Rub until fully combined.
Place a small pat of butter on top of each oyster, enough to cover the meat. Arrange oysters on a perforated grill skillet if you've got one. Otherwise, the oysters can be grilled directly on the grill grate. Using a grill skillet just makes it easier to remove them from the grill without spilling all the deliciousness.
Grill the oysters, covered, until the butter is nice and bubbly. Serve immediately.
Refrigerate or freeze any remaining butter for other uses.