Emily's Baked Oysters

Emily Selinger grew up in Freeport, Maine, and from a young age was drawn to the ocean to work and play. She spent her early working years employed as a professional sailor, and worked all over the east coast on traditionally rigged schooners. Emily came home from the sea after a while, though, out of a desire to return and reconnect with her home state. Her search for a means of employment that would allow her to live and work on the sea year round in Maine eventually lead her to oyster aquaculture, and Emily’s Oysters was born. Emily’s Oysters is a small-scale farm, focused on operating in the most socially and environmentally sustainable way possible. It is primarily a direct-to-consumer focused business, and Emily and her oysters can be found locally year round at the Portland Maine farmer’s market, as well as at the Bath farmer’s market during the summer and fall! Photo credits: Steve De Neef

Learn More or place an order at: www.emilysoysters.com

INGREDIENTS

•24 oysters in the shell

•1/3 cup fresh chèvre

•1/2 stick unsalted butter

•3 cloves garlic, minced

•1/2 lemon, juiced

•fresh ground black pepper

•1/2 cup chopped fresh spinach

•bread crumbs for sprinkling

•fresh parsley for garnish, chopped

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat over to 450ºF. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the garlic, lemon juice, and black pepper to the melted butter and continue to cook over low for a few minutes to allow flavors to meld and the garlic to cook. Add the goat cheese and stir into butter mixture until well incorporated. The final cheese mixture should be on the thicker side—add more cheese if it feels runny.

• Next, shuck the oysters and pour off most of the liquid in the shell. Nestle the oysters in your baking pan or dish using rock salt or loosely crumpled tin foil to keep them upright.

• Top the oysters with a pinch of the chopped spinach. Add a roughly teaspoon-sized dollop of the cheese mixture on top of the spinach. It’s important not to go too heavy with the cheese here, or you’ll lose the flavor of the oyster! Good rule of thumb is to only cover the oyster about 2/3 with cheese. If your oysters are on the bigger side, you can go a little heavier with the toppings.

• Sprinkle the oysters with a pinch of breadcrumbs, then bake for 10-12 minutes. You should see and hear a gentle sizzle and browning. The oysters will curl a little around the edges and become firmer when they are done.

• Remove oysters from the oven, give them a minute to cool, then garnish fresh parsley and serve immediately.