Alton Brown's Baked Oysters with Artichoke and Panko Crumbs

Ingredients

• 24 oysters, preferrably blue point
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup finely chopped onion, from about 1/2 small onion
• 3/4 cup finely chopped celery, from about 1 stalk celery
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic, from about 2 garlic cloves
• One 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained, and finely chopped
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest, from about 1 large lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 4 cups rock salt

Directions

1. Move the oven racks to the lower-middle and upper-middle spots, then heat the oven to 420 degrees F. Spread the rock salt across a sheet pan. Open the oysters with an oyster knife, remove the flat top shells, and loosen each oyster from the lower shell. Leave the oyster sitting in that shell, saving as much of its liquor as you can. Tuck each filled shell into the salt so it sits level and the liquid does not spill.
2. Place the butter in a 12-inch sauté pan over medium-low heat. Once it has melted, raise the heat just a bit and stir in the onion, celery, and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook until the onion turns translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until it smells fragrant, about 1 minute.
3. Turn the heat down to low, then stir in the artichoke hearts, bread crumbs, lemon zest, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, black pepper, and oregano. Continue cooking for 3 more minutes, until the mixture is deeply aromatic. Remove the pan from the heat.
4. Spoon the bread crumb mixture evenly over the oysters. Transfer the sheet pan to the oven and bake for 10 minutes, or until the tops are lightly browned. Serve right away.