Oysters Kilpatrick With Maple Dressing

Ingredients 

• 12 fresh oysters 

• 60 ml Worcestershire sauce 

• 45 ml pure maple syrup (preferably amber) 

• 2 dashes Tabasco sauce 

• 3 slices smoked streaky bacon 

• 500 g rock salt 

Method 

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. 

1. If the oysters are not already shucked, open them with an oyster knife and discard the top shell. Rinse the oysters under cold running water, removing any shell and grit. Drain excess liquid. 

1. Sit the oyster in the bottom cup-like part of the shell, loosening it if attached. 

1. Mix Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco together; set aside. 

1. Finely chop the bacon into thin strips. 

1. Warm a small frying pan and cook the bacon until just starting to crisp. 

1. Nestle the oysters in the salt to keep them level. 

1. Spoon roughly 5 ml of the sauce over each oyster, then top with a few pieces of bacon (exactly how much depends on the size of the oyster). 

1. Place the oven dish with the oysters in the oven for around 8-10 minutes until the sauce is bubbling and the bacon slightly crisped. 

1. Once cooked, serve the oysters in the shell with a slice of lemon on the side. 

1. Transfer oysters in their bottom shell to a bed of rock salt or crushed ice, keeping the shell level.