CHARBROILED OYSTERS A LA LEON'S

Succulent browned and bubbly oysters

12 raw oysters, freshly shucked on the half shell

Compound butter:

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped

1 tablespoon lemon juice, zest included

2 ounces grated parmesan cheese, divided in half

rock salt

1 loaf crusty french bread

Note: I make the compound butter ahead of time. You can double, triple…the recipe and keep in the refrigerator for other uses. Combine the butter, garlic, parsley, lemon juice and zest, with half of he parmesan cheese. Roll into a log covered with saran wrap and chill. This makes for easy slicing.

Prepare grill with charcoal to high heat (400°-500°). If you only have a gas grill, set to the highest setting. Soak wood chips for at least 15 minutes before wrapping in tinfoil, poked with a couple of holes, and placed on the fire.

Cover a cookie sheet (that you don’t mind putting on a grill) with a layer of rock salt and place the oysters on the rock salt so that each is level. You don’t want to lose any juice if possible. Top each oyster with a slice of the compound butter.

Set you oven to broil and allow it to heat while you cook the oysters. You can tell that they are done when the curl up and get puffy about 5 plus minutes, depending on the heat of your grill. Do not overcook and let them get dry.

Bring inside; sprinkle the remaining parmesan cheese on top before running them under the broiler. When bubbly and browned, serve immediately! Preferably with some crusty french bread to soak up the juices. Serves 2.

You can certainly play around with the ingredients…add hot sauce, other cheeses, more garlic…but this is the balance I have found to be just right, so as not to overpower the taste of the oyster. Such a grand appetizer, especially for Thanksgiving!