Poached oysters are very easy to make and they open the door to a great number of recipes for very elegant appetizers to great main dishes. First, you may ask why poach them and not open them with a knife. Because it is quick and easy while perfectly cooking the oyster setting them up for other recipes. You can also just eat them hot right out of the poacher with butter, fabulous.
Place the oyster in a pan with a very tight fitting lid. Put a half an inch of water in the pan, no more. The oysters will immediately start adding there own juices to the boil. Place on stove and when it starts to steam good. Turn off and DO NOT REMOVE THE LID. Let them stan for ten minutes. Open and start removing the oysters to a bowl when they are cool enough to work. Save the bottom cupped shells. Toss the flat top shell. Some oyster may not have opened because they were too closely packed or on the bottom. Don't worry an unopened is not a bad oyster (seafood myth, a dead oyster is open before you cook them, closed they are still holding on to their roof.) Use an oyster knife to open them. Pour the liquor over the oysters filling the bowl. You can now store them in the refrigerator to cool them off. You want them cold if you are going to make one of the numerous recipes for broiled stuffed or sauced oysters. You can't make Oysters Rockefeller with them, you can try but I will tell you why in the Oysters Rockefeller recipe why not.
You can place the cold oysters back in the shell and cover them with any of your favorite sauces. For instance Ginger cream sauce and sprinkle with a small amount of fine bread crumbs. Now to reheat and toast the top without overcooking the oyster (yuke, they turn real chewy and hard). Take a baking pan a put an 3/4 of water in it. Place two kitchen towels in the water like a rug and make sure that the water covers the towels to prevent them from charring. Place the oysters on top of the towel. The towel will hold the oyster upright and the water will prevent the oyster from cooking more. If water is too high and enters the oyster remove some water. Put under the broiler until the sauce browns, a few minutes. Done
You can try this trick with any number of sauces, stuffings, herbs. But when using stuffing dribble a tablespoon of oyster broth through the stuffing before broiling.
When removing the oysters pick them up individualy from the pan still in the oven using tongs of a glove to prevent water entering the oysters. If you tim the pan you will make a mess of some of the oysters.
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