Oysters Kilpatrick
Oysters Kilpatrick was invented in San Francisco but popularized in Australia, where it's a pub classic. The dish, in which oysters are roasted with a blend of bacon, worcestershire and garlic butter, is near and dear to the heart of Oyster Saloon Chef Dillon Pennell, who has lived in both places. It's delicious and classic, but relatively rare in the US.
In the Saloon we prepare our Kilpatrick Butter with a base of our housemade garlic butter, which requires 4 hours of roasting garlic – below we’ve adapted it to make less laborious at home. This recipe makes enough butter to roast 3 dozen oysters. Kilpatrick Butter freezes well, so if you have extra, save it for the future.
Ingredients
- 3 dozen grillers (3-4” oysters)
- 4 ounces bacon (about 3 strips thick-cut, or 6 regular)
- 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons minced or grated fresh garlic
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce
- Optional: pinch of ground cloves + pinch of ground allspice
Method
Cook the bacon until crisp (reserve the fat). Mince it finely, then mix the bacon, bacon fat, butter, fresh garlic, garlic powder, salt, Worcestershire, Tabasco and optional cloves and allspice until uniform. (You can do this with an electric mixer or a fork.)
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with crumpled aluminum foil. Arrange the oysters flat side up on the foil (crumpling it helps them stay upright). Roast until the shells start to open, about 10 minutes.
Once the oysters start to open, shuck and discard the top (flat) shell. (Careful, they’re hot.) Add about a tablespoon of butter to each oyster and return to the oven. Roast or broil until the butter starts to bubble and turn golden, 3-10 minutes. Exact timing will depend on your oven and your oysters!