June 11, 2025

Grilled Oysters with Herb Butter

Name: Grilled Oysters with Herb Butter
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 4 min
Total time: 34 min
Ingredients: 12 oysters in their shells; 2 tablespoons salted butter (add a pinch of salt if using unsalted butter ); 1 clove garlic (finely minced); 2 sprigs parsley (leaves only, fined chopped); 1 teaspoon lemon zest; Sriracha (optional)

Around 20 years ago my sister and brother-in-law lived in Spartanburg, South Carolina for a short while. I visited a few times while they were there. One of the highlights of the visit (other than seeing Julie and Danny😉) was going to The Hickory Tavern, a dive bar, and indulging in grilled oysters in the half shell with melted butter. I never had grilled oysters before and oh my…they were tasty delights! Grilled Oysters with Herb Butter pays homage to The Hickory Tavern with a sophisticated twist for the butter… because I just can’t help myself!

Jump to Recipe

Organize the ingredients – whole oysters in the shell, butter, garlic, lemon, parsley, and Sriracha.

Cleaning the Oysters

Before grilling, you’ll want to clean the oysters, it’s easy:

Fill a medium-sized bowl with cold tap water and 2 teaspoons of kosher salt and mix them together
Gently place the oysters into the bowl.
Let sit for 1/2 hour, gently stirring the oysters every 10 minutes to help agitate them which promotes the release of any sand or dirt inside the oyster.

After a 1/2 hour, remove the oysters from the water and place on a plate or cutting board. Dirt and sand will have gathered at the bottom of the bowl. Discard the water. If you have particularly dirty oysters, you may want to repeat this step! Lastly, take a paper towel and wipe each oyster to remove any excess dirt or sand on the outside shell of the oyster.

Cleaning the oysters is easy. Fill a medium-sized bowl with cold tap water and 2 teaspoons of kosher salt and mix them together. Gently place the oysters into the bowl. Let sit for 1/2 hour, gently stirring the oysters every 10 minutes to help agitate them which promotes the release of any sand or dirt inside the oyster. After a 1/2 hour, remove the oysters from the water and place on a plate or cutting board. Dirt and sand will have gathered at the bottom of the bowl. Discard the water. If you have particularly dirty oysters, you may want to repeat this step! Lastly, take a paper towel and wipe each oyster to remove any excess dirt or sand on the outside shell of the oyster.

Making the Herb Butter

While oysters are in the water, prepare the Herb Butter Sauce. Place the garlic and butter in a small saucepan on medium heat.

Heat until the butter has melted and is slightly bubbling.

While oysters are in the water soaking, prepare the Herb Butter Sauce. Place the garlic and butter in a small saucepan on medium heat until butter melts and is slightly bubbling. Then add a good pinch or two of the parsley and stir. Remove butter from the heat. (Butter will be quickly reheated once oysters have been grilled.)

Grilling the Oysters

Heat grill on high heat. Gently place oysters onto the grill, flat side up, if possible. Close the lid and let cook for approximately 3-4 minutes, or until the shells have opened slightly. For the juiciest oysters, you’ll want to remove as close as possible to when the shell opens.

For the juiciest oysters, you’ll want to remove as close as possible to when the shell opens. As oysters open, transfer them to a large plate. Allow oysters to cool slightly so you can comfortably open the shells and remove the top, flat shell, keeping the oyster in the deeper part of the shell. Some of the shells will be easy to separate with your hands and others will require a wee-bit more grip so I suggest using a kitchen towel. The goal is to retain as much of the oyster liquid as possible so take your time with the process!

Heat grill on high heat. Once the grill is heated, gently place oysters onto the grill, flat side up, if possible. Close the lid and let cook for approximately 3-4 minutes, or until the shells have opened slightly. For the juiciest oysters, you’ll want to remove as close as possible to when the shell opens. As oysters open, transfer them to a large plate. Allow oysters to cool slightly so you can comfortably open the shells and remove the top, flat shell, keeping the oyster in the deeper part of the shell. Some of the shells will be easy to separate with your hands and others will require a wee-bit more grip so I suggest using a kitchen towel. The goal is to retain as much of the oyster liquid as possible so take your time with the process! Once the oysters are off the grill, reheat the Herb Butter.

Grilled Oysters with Herb Butter

To serve oysters, place them on a plate and spoon a bit of the butter onto the oysters, followed by a dot of Sriracha and a pinch of lemon zest. And then slurp down your oysters.

Print Recipe

Grilled Oysters with Herb Butter

Prep Time30

Cook Time4

Total Time34

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Seafood

Keyword: butter, garlic, gluten free, lemon zest, oysters, Parsley, sriracha

Servings: 12 oysters

Author: GFchow @ gfchow.com

Ingredients

12 oysters in their shells I prefer oysters that run on the meatier side such as Blue Points, Rappahannocks, Standish Shore, Happy Oysters, etc

Herb Butter

2 tablespoons salted butter add a pinch of salt if using unsalted butter
1 clove garlic finely minced
2 sprigs parsley leaves only, fined chopped
1 teaspoon lemon zest
Sriracha optional

Instructions

Cleaning Oysters (it’s easy):

Fill a medium-sized bowl with cold tap water and 2 teaspoons of kosher salt. Mix together.
Gently place the oysters into the bowl.
Let sit for 1/2 hour, gently stirring the oysters every 10 minutes to help agitate them which promotes the release of any sand or dirt inside the oyster.
After a 1/2 hour, remove the oysters from the water and place on a plate or cutting board. Dirt and sand will have gathered at the bottom of the bowl.
Discard the water.
Lastly, take a paper towel and wipe each oyster to remove any excess dirt or sand on the outside of the oyster.
Now the oysters are ready for grilling.

Herb Butter

While oysters are in the water soaking, prepare the Herb Butter Sauce. Place the garlic and butter in a small saucepan on medium heat until butter melts and is slightly bubbling. Then add a good pinch or two of the parsley and stir. Remove butter from the heat. (Butter will be quickly reheated once oysters have been grilled.)

Grilling the Oysters

Heat grill on high heat.
Once grill has preheated, gently place oysters onto the grill, flat side up, if possible. Close the lid of the grill and let cook for approximately 3-4 minutes, or until the shells have opened slightly. Open the lid after 3 minutes to see what’s doing. For the juiciest oysters, you’ll want to remove the oysters as close as possible to when the shell opens. As oysters open, transfer them to a large plate.

Opening the Oysters

Allow oysters to cool slightly so you can comfortably open the shells and remove the top, flat shell, keeping the oyster in the deeper part of the shell. Some of the shells will be easy to separate with your hands and others will require a wee-bit more grip so I suggest using a kitchen towel. The goal is to retain as much of the oyster liquid as possible so take your time with the process!
Please note: Some shells may not open at all (no worries, it’s normal!) and others may take more or less time to open. Generally speaking, you should always buy a few more oysters than you actually need in case a few don’t open.

Final Assembly

Once the oysters are cooked and open, reheat the butter.
To serve oysters, place them on a plate and spoon a bit of the herb butter onto each oyster, followed by a dot of sriracha and a pinch of lemon zest. And then slurp down your oysters.

Notes

Oysters shells should be tightly closed and when bought should be placed in an open bag which allows them to breath. You never ever want to seal the bag! Place oysters in the open bag in the refrigerator until ready to grill.

If any shells are broken, discard the oyster.

Want to keep it simple, just pair the oysters with plain melted butter. You can never go wrong with melted butter!

Recipe by me and inspired by The Hickory Tavern in Spartanburg, SC. This item unfortunately is no longer on their menu.

If you like this GFchow recipe, you may also like these other recipes. Creamless Corn and Clam Chowder with Crispy Chorizo, Zoodles with White Clam Sauce, and Tomato Fish Chowder with Fresh Herbs and Lime.

GLUTEN FREE DISCLAIMER

The recipes you find here are considered by me to be gluten free. However, it is up to you to make sure the ingredients you use are gluten free. Whenever possible, I will list specific brands of ingredients that I use, but always be sure to check the labels yourself to verify the item is gluten free.