5 limes
3 pink grapefruit
4 oranges
24 oysters on the half shell, preferably Malpeque or Wellfleet
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
salt and cayenne pepper
seaweed
(blanched for 2 minutes in boiling water and reserved in ice water), optional

Preparation

Peel and section the fruit over 3 separate bowls to catch the juices. Place a lime section on each of 8 oysters, a grapefruit section on 8 oysters and an orange section on each of the remaining 8 oysters.

Place each remaining fruit and its juice into 3 separate small non-aluminum saucepans and heat over a medium flame. Divide butter into 3 equal parts and whisk one part into each saucepan’; continue whisking until thick. The fruit sections will disintegrate as the sauce cooks. Season with salt and cayenne pepper.

Spoon the warm citrus butter over the oysters, each sauce corresponding to the fruit on the oysters.

Preheat the oven to 475° F. Bake oysters for 5 minutes. Decorate with blanched seaweed, if available, and use under shells to hold shells in place. Serve immediately.