Oysters Rockefeller
Briny oysters topped with a rich spinach and herb butter, broiled until bubbling
- 24oysters on the half shell(freshly shucked)
- 4 cupsrock salt(for baking sheet)
- 8 ozfresh spinach(stems removed)
- 0.5 cupunsalted butter(softened)
- 0.25 cupfresh parsley(chopped)
- 2 tbspfresh chives(minced)
- 1 tbspPernod or Herbsaint(anise liqueur)
- 0.5 cuppanko breadcrumbs
- 2 clovesgarlic(minced)
- 0.5 tspkosher salt
- 0.25 tspcayenne pepper
Spinach butter can be made 2 days ahead and refrigerated. Shuck oysters no more than 2 hours before serving. Assemble and broil just before serving.
- 1Preheat broiler to high with rack 6 inches from heat
- 2Blanch spinach in boiling water for 30 seconds, shock in ice water, squeeze completely dry
- 3Finely chop blanched spinach
- 4In food processor, combine butter, spinach, parsley, chives, garlic, Pernod, salt, and cayenne
- 5Pulse until well combined but not completely smooth - some texture is desirable
- 6Spread rock salt on rimmed baking sheet and nestle oysters into salt to keep level
- 7Top each oyster with generous tablespoon of spinach butter
- 8Sprinkle breadcrumbs over each oyster
- 9Broil 3-4 minutes until topping is bubbling and breadcrumbs are golden
- 10Serve immediately on the salt bed
Use a sturdy oyster knife and thick glove when shucking. The rock salt keeps oysters level and retains heat. Don't overcook - oysters should be just heated through, plump and tender, not rubbery. Herbsaint is the traditional New Orleans substitute for Pernod.
Oysters Rockefeller was created at Antoine's restaurant in New Orleans in 1899 by Jules Alciatore, son of the restaurant's founder Antoine Alciatore, who had opened Antoine's in 1840 — making it the oldest continuously family-operated restaurant in the United States. The dish was born from necessity: a shortage of French escargots left Jules without his standard menu preparation, and he substituted locally abundant Gulf oysters, adapting his existing Bourguignonne butter sauce with pureed green vegetables. The name honored John D. Rockefeller, then the wealthiest American, for the sauce's extraordinary richness. The original recipe has remained a closely guarded Alciatore family secret ever since; Antoine's fifth-generation proprietor has confirmed the sauce does not contain spinach, despite spinach becoming standard in the countless restaurant replications produced worldwide. The restaurant's own count places the total number of orders served at close to five million. In the absence of the original recipe, interpretations vary widely — some versions use watercress, celery, parsley, and green onion pureed with butter; others add breadcrumbs, Herbsaint (a New Orleans anise liqueur), or tarragon. What all versions share is the concept: oysters in their shells, topped with an intensely flavored, rich green sauce and baked or broiled until the edges of the oyster just begin to curl.