Serving oysters on a bed of salt is a widespread culinary practice among chefs and caterers, which involves lining a dish with a layer of coarse salt and nestling the raw or cooked oysters on top. Oysters on a bed of salt offer a beautiful presentation that works with all kinds of preparations.

You can use rock salt (which has the most rustic aesthetic), pretty pink Himalayan salt, or artisanal salts like Le Guérande sea salt or Celtic gray salt that evoke damp sand. It's an easy, restaurant-worthy presentation you can whip up in your home kitchen, and the heavy salt holds oyster shells in place, keeping them from spilling their precious briny liquor and thus preserving flavor and freshness.

When the salt heats up, it helps convey the energy to the whole oysters, enabling them to cook quickly and making them easier to shuck. Many cooked oyster recipes can be attractively served on salt, and after you've laid out the rock salt and oysters in a baking pan or skillet, broil them for three minutes, bake them at 450 F for around 10 minutes, or grill them for five minutes.