Oyster Dressing
Oyster dressing is a staple during the holiday season in many homes across America. But because we have such good, inexpensive oysters in Louisiana, the stuffing is particularly beloved. Except by me. I Love oysters (indeed, they're my favorite food), and I like the basic idea of oyster dressing. I just don't much care for them in the presence of turkey. To me, poultry and seafood don't go together well. I tell you this not to act snooty, but in accordance with my strong feeling that you should never trust a recipe that comes from a person--regardless of his skill--who doesn't love the dish. So you are warned.
However, people who do like the dish say that this is not bad. And you can make it as a free-standing baked oyster dish, using bigger oysters underneath the dressing in an au gratin dish, like in the photo.
- 2 Tbs. butter
- 20 sprigs flat-leaf parsley, leaves only, chopped
- 1 bunch green onions, tender green parts only, finely sliced
- 3 ribs celery, chopped
- 1 1/4 cups chopped yellow onions
- 1/2 ripe red bell pepper, chopped
- 4 large cloves garlic, chopped
- 5 dozen oysters, coarsely chopped
- All the oyster water from above, up to 1 1/2 cups
- 1 loaf stale poor boy bread, cut into 3/4-inch cubes, small pieces and crumbs reserved
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp. sage
- 1/2 tsp. tarragon
- Generous pinch filé powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. white pepper
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 Tbs. Louisiana hot sauce
- 2 tsp. lemon juice
1. Heat the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until it bubbles. Add the parsley, green onions, celery, yellow onions, bell pepper and garlic. Cook the vegetables until the onions become translucent and the celery is no longer crunchy. Lower the heat to medium-low.
2. Put the poor boy bread cubes and all the crumbs into a large bowl. Sprinkle the oregano, sage, tarragon, filé, salt and pepper over the bread. Shake the bowl up and down a bit to make the cubes rise to the top. Put the cubes into the saucepan. Reserve the crumbs and small pieces.
3. Mix the oyster water, chicken stock, hot sauce and lemon juice. Add to the saucepan, wetting down the bread cubes. Stir the pan contents with a kitchen fork until the contents are equally moist throughout.
4. Add the oysters to the pan contents. Stir with a kitchen spoon only until distributed throughout. The less you stir, the better.
5. Stick a table knife into the pan mixture and move it sideways a couple of inches. If the resulting trench doesn't close most of the way in five seconds, stir in enough water so that it does. Simmer for three or four minutes. Taste the dressing and add salt, pepper, or hot sauce as needed.
6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spoon the dressing into a large casserole dish. Even off the top surface, but don't press it down to force out all the air gaps. The mixture should be fairly loose.
7. Sprinkle the reserved bread crumbs over the top of the stuffing. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees, until the top is toasty and the center part of the stuffing is steaming hot. Keep it warm throughout dinner.
Serves 12-18.
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