Broiled oysters, with their sweet centers and almost-crispy browned edges, are a wonderful way to serve oysters, especially for those who may find the idea of raw oysters a tad… much. Serve these with some crusty bread to soak up any extra garlic butter.

Serves 4

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

1. Peel and mince the garlic. Put the garlic in a medium bowl with the butter. Zest or microplane about 1 teaspoon of zest from the lemon into the bowl (remove only the bright yellow zest, leaving the bitter white pith underneath alone). Cut the lemon in half and squeeze about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into the bowl. Set the remaining lemon aside.
2. Remove the leaves from the parsley stems. Mince the leaves and discard the stems. Add the minced parsley to the bowl. Add the cayenne and black pepper, too. Use a fork to mash everything together and set aside.
3. Shuck the oysters.* Discard the top shells and keep the oysters in the deeper bottom shells. Place the shucked oysters on a rimmed baking sheet or in a baking dish (you can fill it with rock salt to help keep the shells steady or use bits of tin foil to the same effect). Dot the butter mixture evenly on the oysters.
4. Heat a broiler. Broil the oysters, about 5 inches from the heat, until the edges of the oysters begin to curl and butter is bubbly, 5 to 7 minutes. Serve hot.

* If you haven’t shucked oysters before, worry not! It’s not that tricky. Buy a few extra to practice on. If you want to try and shuck them yourself, start by looking at the oyster. The vast majority of oysters are going to have a cupped side and a flatter side. Hold the oyster with the flatter side up (protect your hand with a rag or old oven mitt). You may prefer to set the oyster on a flat working surface, hold it steady, and insert the knife. Try both ways and see which way feels easier, safer, or more natural to you. The cupped side will hold the oyster and its liquid while you shuck. Now look for the hinge – that point where the shells are joined in a more serious way that just being held together by the muscle that is the oyster. Some people jab the knife—an oyster shucking knife is ideal but any thin-edged strong instrument will work (a screwdriver isn’t a terrible choice)— in right at the hinge. It's often easier to insert the knife between the shells near the hinge. Get the knife into the hinge and "pop" it open by twisting the knife blade. Sometimes just twisting the knife after you put it in between the shells will do it, other oysters are more stubborn and you'll need to work the knife fairly far in to be able to angle it to be able to get enough leverage to "pop" that hinge. Still sound like too much? Go ahead and ask your fishmonger to shuck them for you