We were wandering south along Tomales Bay in Northern California a couple of months ago and stopped in for oysters at a little place called Marshall Store. I ordered up a dozen raw, and an icy Sierra Nevada. And then, just on a whim, I asked them to toss in another dozen oysters barbecued - they're a local specialty.

Barbecued oysters are not the kind of thing I usually order. I've always thought of cooked oysters as something you settle for - what you eat only when the oysters are no longer of the first quality or when you have had so many raw ones you're tired of them (and despite repeated attempts at reaching that limit, I have never come close).

At Marshall Store, the raw oysters were magnificent, as expected; after all, we were eating them no more than five yards from the icy waters where they were grown. But what really amazed me was how great the barbecued oysters were. Freshly shucked, they were lightly brushed with garlic butter, quickly grilled and then finished with a squirt of house-made chipotle sauce.

The preparation was simple, but the result was beguilingly complex.

Curious, I started re-examining old oyster recipes. That's where, as if to rub (sea) salt in my wounds, I came across this quote from James Beard: “Many gourmets, or so-called gourmets, tell you that to eat an oyster in any fashion except directly from the shell is to show ignorance of gastronomic tradition and the rules of good taste. This is nonsense.”

A couple of weeks and scores of cooked oysters later, I've learned that he's right. Cooked oysters aren't better than raw, but they are different - and in a delicious way.

Cooking oysters changes their flavor and their texture. What was once aggressively briny, tasting like cold, clean seawater, is calmed, allowing the mollusks' natural sweetness to shine through. The seductively slippery texture is firmed, turning from wet and wild to soothingly custardy.

The transformation is magical, whether you're gently poaching the oysters in a rich tarragon-scented stew, or roasting them to be served with melting braised fennel or a sprightly chipotle butter.

But let's be clear right from the start that when we talk about “cooking” oysters, we're really talking about something closer to “warming” them. It takes only three or four minutes' poaching and fewer than 10 minutes in the oven.

I found jarred oysters work best in stews and similar dishes. If you want to roast them, arrange the oysters and their accompaniments in small ramekins and cook them that way. If you're cooking oysters in liquid, you'll probably want it to be cream or at least half-and-half. Oysters take to cream like ducks to water. There's something about their flavor that seems to want a little richness to round it out.

Perhaps the easiest and most common cooked-oyster recipe is for stew. Small wonder there are about a million variations. At its most basic, an oyster stew can be nothing more than oysters warmed in light cream. If the oysters are good, this two-ingredient dish can be surprisingly delicious. chopped tarragon (oysters love licorice flavors almost as much as they love cream).

Notice that when you're roasting oysters, you'll want to add a bit of fat to them too. All it takes is a very small amount of butter or cream to add a luscious sheen; any more and they'll be swimming, and that's not an improvement.

That, I think, is part of the magic of the Marshall Store barbecued oysters. That little brush with butter is enough to round out the flavor. The only problem with that preparation is that you have to be a pretty slick shucker to get enough oysters ready for grilling in time.

Trying to duplicate the dish at home, I came up with what I think is an elegant compromise. Make chipotle butter by pureeing canned chipotles and garlic in a blender, then streaming in melted butter. Then, instead of shucking the oysters, brushing them with butter, grilling them, then saucing them, I just give them a brief roast first to loosen the shell, and then spoon on just a dab of the chipotle butter before returning them to the oven to glaze.

Oyster Stew with Leeks and Potatoes

Makes 6 servings

1 tablespoon butter

2 slices prosciutto, cut in thin ribbons

1 medium leek, finely chopped

1 shallot, minced

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 cups half-and-half

Salt, optional

2 dozen oysters, shucked with oyster liquor retained

1 1/2 teaspoons minced tarragon for garnish, divided

Place the butter and the prosciutto in the bottom of a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook until the prosciutto softens and begins to darken, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the leek and shallot, and cook until they are soft and glistening, about 5 minutes. Add the white wine, and reduce to a syrup. (Recipe can be made to this point several hours in advance.)

Add the half-and-half, and bring just to a simmer over medium-low heat. When you see bubbles beginning to appear around the rim of the pan, add the oysters. Cook just until the oysters are plump and firm, about 3 minutes. Season to taste, if desired. Remove from the heat and ladle into well-heated soup bowls. Garnish each serving with one-fourth teaspoon chopped tarragon and serve immediately.

AP-NY-02-04-08 1315EST