20 oyster dressing recipes

20 ways to dress oysters

Delicious when naked, even better when they're dressed.

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Topped oysters make top oysters. These sea-salty bivalves make good friends with fresh and zingy dressings, smoky bacon, and gentle heat from horseradish and chilli. And as always, butter, especially Analiese Gregory’s seaweed butter, makes everything better (oysters included).

Buy a dozen or more of the most popular varieties this festive season and shuck on.

A brass plate with two oysters in their shells made Rockefeller style. — Photo: Chris Court

Warrigal greens Rockefeller

Warrigal greens Rockefeller

Leigh Street Wine Room’s oysters with pepperberry mignonette

Leigh Street Wine Room’s oysters with pepperberry mignonette

Sean Moran’s freshly shucked oysters with tarragon dressing

Sean Moran’s freshly shucked oysters with tarragon dressing

Barbecued oysters with finger-lime mignonette

Barbecued oysters with finger-lime mignonette

Bennelong’s oysters with lemon-pepper granita

Bennelong’s oysters with lemon-pepper granita

Over the top shot of six shucked oysters, arranged in a circle, on a bed of salt. Each oyster is topped with a pomegranate dressing and tiny green herb leaves. — Photo: Ben Dearnley

Oysters with pomegranate dressing

Oysters with pomegranate dressing

Oysters with two sauces

Oysters with two sauces

Analiese Gregory’s grilled oysters with seaweed butter

Analiese Gregory’s grilled oysters with seaweed butter

Raes on Wategos’ oysters with lemon-aspen vinegar, anise-myrtle oil and finger lime

Raes on Wategos’ oysters with lemon-aspen vinegar, anise-myrtle oil and finger lime

Oysters with spicy fennel

David Chang’s oysters with spicy fennel

Grilled oysters with lemongrass creme fraiche, fried garlic and lime

Grilled oysters with lemongrass creme fraiche, fried garlic and lime

Curtis Stone’s oysters with Champagne and caviar

Curtis Stone’s oysters with Champagne and caviar

Beau Clugston’s grilled oysters with tapioca

Beau Clugston’s grilled oysters with tapioca

Freshly shucked oysters and mignonette

Freshly shucked oysters and mignonette

Roast oysters with horseradish

Roast oysters with horseradish

Barbecued oysters with bacon-chilli-tamarind sauce

Barbecued oysters with bacon-chilli-tamarind sauce

Lightly steamed XO oysters with bacon crumbs

Lightly steamed XO oysters with bacon crumbs

Oysters Rockefeller

Oysters Rockefeller

Oysters with wasabi nori and lime dressing

Oysters with wasabi nori and lime dressing

Oysters two ways, with cucumber-lime dressing and cabbage-ginger tsukemono

Oysters two ways, with cucumber-lime dressing and cabbage-ginger tsukemono

The Gourmet Traveller Team

Gourmet Traveller is Australia’s trusted authority on food, travel and luxury lifestyle, bringing the latest news and trends to life through quality journalism, enticing recipes and evocative photography. For more than 55 years, it has been inspiring and informing Australians with the best in cooking, dining, travelling and shopping. Our critics bring the expertise of years of critical eating, drinking and writing to the table. Plus, as the country’s leading title in the luxury sector, Gourmet Traveller works closely with Australia’s leaders in the travel and hospitality industries to give our readers exclusive access. The Gourmet Traveller legacy is one of trust, prestige and relevance.