How iconic are Hugo Ortega’s wood-roasted oysters? Iconic enough for Texas Monthly to put the dish on the cover of our December 2016 issue, which features a photograph of the Houston chef on the beach, grilling a dozen Gulf Coast bivalves over a small barbecue pit. Wearing an apron around his waist and wielding a pair of tongs, Ortega displays the grin of a prospector who has just struck gold.Which, in a way, he did. The James Beard award–winning chef presides over five acclaimed Houston restaurants—Backstreet Cafe, Caracol, Hugo’s, Urbe, and Xochi—but his irresistible ostiones asados have become his signature dish. Inspired by a beach cookout in Acapulco, Ortega slathers a chipotle-infused butter over raw oysters, sprinkles them with seasoned breadcrumbs, and grills them in…