Oysters Rockefeller

By Melissa Clark

Published Dec. 22, 2021

Oysters Rockefeller
Joel Goldberg for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
4(233)
Comments
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In this classic recipe, the Rockefeller name refers to the dollar bill-green color of the sauce — and its richness, as it’s loaded with butter, garlic, spinach and herbs. You can make the butter sauce up to three days ahead and store it in the refrigerator, then drop dollops of it on shucked oysters just before broiling. Watch the oysters carefully as they broil. You want the bread crumbs in the topping to turn golden and the oysters to warm up slightly but not cook through. Serve these with forks on the side; all the hot, buttery sauce makes them too slick for slurping.

Featured in: To Eat Oysters Better, Treat Them Like Wine

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings (24 oysters)
  • 8tablespoons/113 grams unsalted butter
  • ½cup panko bread crumbs
  • 1cup finely chopped baby spinach
  • 1cup finely chopped parsley, leaves and tender stems
  • 1large shallot, finely chopped
  • 2garlic cloves, finely grated, passed through a press or minced
  • Pinch of fine sea salt or table salt
  • 1lemon
  • Coarse, rock or kosher salt, or crumbled-up foil, for the pan (to stabilize the oysters)
  • 24oysters, shucked
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

334 calories; 20 grams fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 18 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 20 grams protein; 614 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the bread crumbs and sauté until they are just a tiny bit golden, about 2 minutes. Stir in the spinach, parsley, shallot and garlic. Cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in a small pinch of salt.

  2. Step 2

    Finely grate ½ teaspoon zest from the lemon and add it to the bread crumb mixture. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze out 1 tablespoon of the juice; mix into the pan.

  3. Step 3

    Heat the broiler to high. Fill a baking pan (or two) with a ½-inch layer of salt or line the pan with crumbled up foil (to steady the oysters so the juices don’t spill). Lay the oysters on top of the salt or foil. Spoon about ½ tablespoon of the sauce mixture on top of the oysters. Broil until just golden, 1 to 3 minutes. Serve hot, with a squeeze of lemon on top, if you like.

Ratings

4 out of 5
233 user ratings
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Comments

Prakash Nadkarni

@Mark: Nonfiction writer William Poundstone (whose "Fortune's Formula" and "Priceless" are must-reads) had a sample of Antoine's recipe analysed for his book "Big Secrets". Anise, as you note, was prominent. However, there WAS spinach. In the classic short "French Rarebit", Bugs Bunny offers to teach a Paris chef how to make "Backbay Bayou Bunny Bordelaise de la Antoine". When the chef asks "You mean Chef Antoine of New Orleans?", Bugs replies "Well, I don't mean Chef Antoine of Flatbush!"

Mark

The original Antoine's recipe, though never actually revealed does not include spinach, though countless versions do. Missing here however is the addition of an anise flavor liquor like absinthe, pernod or pastis, which I consider essential to a proper oysters rock!

Russ

Yes, my mother's recipe always called for Pernod and was made with all frozen spinach, run through the blender. She also added anchovy paste for seasoning. We always had extra sauce left over which was frozen. Another way to serve these is several oysters in a large scallop shell with the sauce on top.

Elizabeth

I didn't have breadcrumbs so made it without and they came out delicious.

my version

I added bacon and shredded Parmesan to the stuffing. (Chefs kiss)

Ken M.

Incredibly good. I've made it twice so far. I left the Pernod out the second time because I couldn't get the bottle open...but it was still a knockout.

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