“This takes me back to working in Australia many years ago—it really works and is utterly delicious. That said, nothing beats a glass of champagne and freshly-shucked oysters au naturel.”

Serves 4
Prep time 20 minutes, cooking time 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS

Allow 3 to 6 oysters per person as a starter, 12 for a main course
150g piece of good air-dried bacon, cut into very small lardons
2 tablespoons of cold-pressed rapeseed oil
3 to 4 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
2 to 3 teaspoons of Tabasco sauce
A twist of pepper
Course salt to rest the shells on

METHOD

Have a go at shucking the oysters yourself. Go online and watch a tutorial, or ask your fishmonger to do it for you. Retain each oyster in half the shell.

Next, add the oil to a solid frying pan and bring to a moderate heat. Add the bacon and fry until just starting to crisp up, keeping it moving all the time. It’ll take 5 minutes or so.

Whilst the bacon cooks, turn the grill on full heat. Top each oyster with bacon and place in an oven-proof dish. To make the sauce, combine the Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco and drizzle over each oyster and place under the hot grill for 3 to 5 minutes until the bacon is crisp and the oysters are just cooked.

Serve at once on plates of course salt alongside a big salad and bread.