Maple & Oysters: A Roasted Oyster Recipe Inspired by Maine Maple Weekend
Spicy, Smoky, and Sweet. This delicious compound butter featuring local Maine maple syrup, chipotle chilis, and a touch of lime zest will give your roasted oysters a lovely and complex flavor profile. This recipe is delicious on other ingredients as well, from salmon, to shrimp, to pork chops.
The 2021 Menu from the Annual Sugar Shack menu at Tops’l Farm. This year, Chef Ken whipped up a delicious, and down-to-earth, menu focusing on the flavors of Maine maple syrup—from pork cretons to maple-braised duck breast, with wine and beer pairings compliments of Maine Beer Co.
In honor of this year’s Annual Maine Maple Sunday, and inspired by a delicious weekend Sugar Shack dinner at Tops’l Farm, I set out to try my own maple syrup-themed recipe featuring one of my favorite ingredients ever – the oyster. A little bit sweet and a little bit salty, this maple syrup and chipotle chili compound butter tastes absolutely delicious on some roasted oysters. Plus, I had to top off each bivalve with a tiny piece of syrup-glazed prosciutto just to sweeten the deal. This is a recipe I cannot wait to make again, and a wonderful commemoration to a yearly Maine tradition.
What is Maine Maple Sunday?
Maine Maple Sunday is a day on which more than 80 sugarhouses welcome residents and visitors to showcase their Maine syrup. This year was particularly important to the industry, as last year’s festivities were interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. The maple industry brings $27 million a year into the state, and at least half of that is from selling syrup and other maple products on Maine Maple weekend.
Deliciously sweet amber maple syrup is available year-round in Maine, but the fourth weekend in March is when sugarhouses kick their syrup production into high-gear. As the spring weather slowly begins to creep in throughout New England, sap begins to flow from local maple trees. Once it flows from the tree, sugar houses must process the sap within a few hours, or it will spoil. Much of the sap is still gathered the old-fashioned way, in buckets hung from trees, and boiled down to syrup over wood fires.
A fun fact—Maine is the third-largest maple producing state in the country after Vermont and New York. Wisconsin and Michigan make up the rest of the top five.
The Inspiration: A Trip to Maple Syrup and Hot Toddy Heaven with Tops’l Farm
This past Saturday, my lovely significant other and I had the opportunity to indulge in a five-course lunch inspired by all things maple syrup at Tops’l Farm in Bremen, Maine. Tops’l Farm is a camp and farm retreat, situated on 83 gorgeous acres of Maine woodlands, near the banks of the Medomak River. Tops’l Farm is an adorable, luxury A-frame cabins and luxury canvas tents are nestled in the woods. The farm also showcases a series of seasonal lunch and dinner series, featuring local ingredients.
This year, Chef Ken whipped up a delicious, and down-to-earth, menu focusing on the flavors of Maine maple syrup—from pork cretons to maple-braised duck breast, with wine and beer pairings compliments of Maine Beer Co. And what maple syrup event would be complete without featuring the sensually sweet ingredient in some hand-warming hot toddies around a campfire.
After lunch, owner Sarah Pike chatted with us while we sipped our remaining cocktails about some local sugar shacks to pick up some freshly concocted Maine maple syrup to craft our own recipes. Inspired by the sensational culinary adventure we just experienced, I began crafting my own seafood-centric maple syrup menu on my drive back down the coastline.
Our Outing to Cooke’s Maple Farm
After an inspiring Sugar Shack-themed lunch at Tops’l Farm, I set out to craft a maple syrup-inspired recipe for some bivalves. To do so, I needed to get my hands on some authentic Maine maple syrup. Luckily, I discovered a maple syrup farm a short ride from my home. George and Kate Cooke are the proud owners of Cooke’s Maple Farm, a small farm in Brunswick, Maine, where they have been handcrafting maple syrup for years as a hobby. The couple also specializes in selling maple equipment and supplies for hobbyists and small commercial producers.
After a delicious sampling of some fresh Maine maple syrup taffy, and a COVID-friendly tour of the farm, I had to purchase samples of both of Cooke’s Maple Farm’s featured syrups – the Amber Rich and the Dark & Robust.
We stopped by Cooke’s Maple Farm during Maine’s Maple Weekend to pick up some of the seasonal syrup offerings. In Maine, the maple industry brings $27 million a year into the state, and at least half of that is from selling syrup and other maple products on Maine Maple weekend.
The team at Cooke’s Maple Farm in Brunswick, Maine, creating Maple Syrup Taffy by pouring boiling syrup onto a chilled piece of metal. As the syrup cools, it hardens, and is rolled onto a stick for guests to enjoy as they shop for syrup.
George and Kate Cooke are the proud owners of Cooke’s Maple Farm, a small farm in Brunswick, Maine, where they have been handcrafting maple syrup for years as a hobby. The couple also specializes in selling maple equipment and supplies for hobbyists and small commercial producers.
Maple Syrup and Oysters: Yes You Can
I have a weakness for easy seafood recipes featuring a little bit of spice and a touch of sweetness. One of my favorite weeknight dinners is a super easy honey, soy sauce, and sriracha-glazed baked salmon—the (good) fattiness of the salmon serves as the perfect vessel for the heat and the sweetness of the glaze so that they are perfectly married and one flavor profile does not dominate.
With the right ingredients and proper ratios, I knew I could incorporate some delicious local Maine maple syrup into an oyster recipe.
My initial thought was to craft a compound butter combining maple syrup and a chipotle pepper to saturate a perfectly plump roasted oyster. Cooked oyster recipes are generally something a bit more accessible to a wider audience who may be hesitant to dive head-first into a raw oyster. Plus, a successful compound butter recipe could be re-purposed for other dishes as well – from baked salmon, to sautéed shrimp, to pancakes. The best part – home chefs can adjust the maple syrup to chipotle pepper ratio as they like, should they want to impart a little bit more sweetness or more heat.
A Note: As the compound butter roasts, the sweetness of the maple syrup and heat from the minced chipotle chili will lessen. Thus, if you do a little taste-test before dolloping on your oysters and find the mixture to be too sweet or too spicy, this will likely change during the roasting process, as the ingredients meld with the butter, which will cut some of the heat and spice. If you like the heat, don’t be afraid to increase amount of chipotle chili in the recipe!
Not Comfortable with Shucking Yet? Not a problem! The great thing about roasted oysters is that you can prepare this recipe without having to shuck your own oysters. The process of roasting an oyster unshucked will actually cause their top shells to pop naturally. All you need to do is carefully remove the top shell while wearing oven-proof gloves, and slice the bottom muscle with a knife. My recipe features both techniques below!
Just a few simple ingredients to make our delicious Roasted Oysters with Maine Maple Syrup and Chipotle Chili Butter.
I love throwing on a little piece of maple syrup-glazed prosciutto before serving my oysters. It adds another layer of saltiness and sweetness.
Dolloping a delicious teaspoon of Maine Maple Syrup and Chipotle Chili Butter onto our oysters before roasting them. This butter tastes delicious on anything - from roasted salmon to morning pancakes.
Dolloping a delicious teaspoon of Maine Maple Syrup and Chipotle Chili Butter onto our oysters before roasting them. This butter tastes delicious on anything - from roasted salmon to morning pancakes.
Roasted Oysters with Maine Maple Syrup and Chipotle Chili Butter
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°.
- Shuck your oysters (ensuring that you cut their adductor muscles), and arrange on a baking tray.
- Use an electric mixer (or a wooden spoon and a lot of grip strength) to combine the butter, maple syrup, chipotle, lime zest, and salt into a smooth paste.
- Dollop each shucked oyster with a half-teaspoon of compound butter, and place in the oysters in the oven for roughly 7-10 minutes. You’ll know your oysters are cooked when their bellies swell, and their gills pull away from the shell edges.
- If you're enjoying your oysters with some prosciutto or bacon, I like to brush some pure maple syrup onto the prosciutto before donning each oyster with a piece while in the oven. The prosciutto will crisp up nicely as the oyster cooks. You can also prepare the glazed prosciutto separately, and garnish each oyster at the end.
- Use tongs or oven-proof gloves and plate to serve!
- Preheat the oven to 450°.
- Use an electric mixer (or a wooden spoon and a lot of grip strength) to combine the butter, maple syrup, chipotle, lime zest, and salt into a smooth paste.
- Use tongs or oven-proof gloves and plate to serve!
