Recipes

[Bridgegal]

I don't remember there ever being an oyster in our house growing up but my Dad liked them so I'm not sure why we never had them.  I think Mother may have eaten them too.  Not sure.

So, we/I never had them for Thanksgiving.   I love them now, raw on the 1/2 shell with a good hot cocktail sauce but I don't like them fried.   Weird because many people are just the opposite. 

[Mj12]

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@Sheila P-Burg wrote:

My mother also made "oyster dressing" with saltines, butter and Carnation milk. Have never been able to find the recipe.

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Could it be this or similar?

https://www.cooks.com/recipe/jn2gs19z/scalloped-oysters.html

My husband grew up having oyster dressing each Thanksgiving and really likes it once a year, so he makes it and I make the regular stuffing. 

[vabreeze]

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@KingstonsMom wrote:

I'm a southern girl and love oyster dressing, but ours was actually your regular cornbread stuffing with oysters added and either stuffed in the bird or baked in a casserole dish.

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@KingstonsMom   That's the way I like [them also], uh-huh, uh-huh!!!

[AFWIFE]

We have what we call baked oysters for the holidays.  As others have mentioned its crushed saltine crackers, canned oysters (all we had growing up in the midwest)...layered several times in a corning ware dish, lots of butter on top then drenched in whole milk.  Season to taste and then bake until the top crackers get a bit browned and the milk is all absorbed.  

I still serve this for my family although no one will even look at it.  It is just a great memory for me on those days. 

[vabreeze]

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@KatieB wrote:

I was just reading an email I get from "Our State' magazine here in NC.  There was an article on Oyster Dressing, which I thought may be of interest here:

• t dishes, such as in the crust of the iconic Harkers Island lemon milk pie. And anyone who’s slurped down the oyster-bar standard known as a rooster — a single saltine topped with a freshly shucked oyster, horseradish, and sliced jalapeño — can attest that crackers are a proven vehicle for transporting gleaming oysters from shell to lips.

Oyster Dressing
Yield: 8 servings.

Butter for the dish
4 cups coarsely crumbled saltine crackers
12 tablespoons butter, melted
3 pints shucked oysters, drained with the liquor reserved
½ cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
¾ cup cream
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon hot sauce, or to taste
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Position a rack in the upper third of the oven. Heat oven to 400°. Butter a deep 10-inch pie plate or shallow 2-quart
baking dish

In a medium bowl, toss together crackers and melted butter. Stir in parsley.

Spread one-third of the crumb mixture over the bottom of the prepared baking dish.

Add half of the oysters and sprinkle with 3 tablespoons of the reserved oyster liquor.

Cover with one-third of the cracker mixture.

Add remaining oysters and sprinkle with 3 tablespoons of reserved oyster liquor.

Whisk together cream, salt, pepper, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and nutmeg. Pour slowly and evenly over the dish.

Cover evenly with remaining cracker mixture.

Bake until the top begins to color and the juices are bubbling around the edge, about 25 minutes.

If the top is too pale, broil until golden brown, about 5 minutes more. Serve hot.

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Thank you @KatieB for taking the time to post this recipe.  It seems easy enough to make so I am going to attempt it.  I may divide it in half and use some type of spicy or bacon flavored Ritz-type cracker and make the remainder according to the recipe (using saltine crackers).  I am familiar with and love oyster dressing that's incorporated with cornbread dresing-- it's moist and so flavorful.  I'm looking forward to the comparison!

[PA Mom-mom]

@ECBG  I think our Thanksgiving and Christmas meals would be boycotted if oyster filling was not on the menu. It is traditional in PA Dutch (German) meals. I took my Grandmother's and mother's recipes and tweeked them just a little:

Ingredients:
2 containers of fresh shucked oysters and their juice (2 dozen)
1 can of Bookbinder's oyster stew
2/3 cup milk and extra oyster juice to make a total of 2 cups liquid.
1 loaf king-size white bread (approx.) cut into cubes
1 egg beaten
1/4 cup each finely diced onion and celery
whole sprigs of fresh sage, rosemary and thyme
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/3 cup butter plus 2 tablespoons
salt and pepper to taste
turkey or chicken broth

Directions:
Melt 1/3 cup butter in a small skillet and gently saute covered celery, onion and herbs for 10 min. or until very soft. Remove herb sprigs but leave in the onion, celery and parsley. Allow the butter mixture to cool slightly.
Drain oysters and reserve the juice. Strain out any sand with a cheesecloth or other filter. Carefully remove the adductor muscle located near the edge of the oyster. It feels like a hard disc.
Put the cubed bread into a very large mixing bowl. Add the egg, the oyster stew, the milk or juice and the butter mixture. Breifly mix the these ingredients to moisten the bread. Here's where you will decide to add more liquid or more bread cubes. The mixture should be a bit soggy, but the bread should still be intact and slightly firm. At the end add the oysters and mix to combine. Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper.
Pour the mixture into the casserole dish you will use to bake the filling. Cover and place the filling in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight. This is an important step for oyster filling. The flavors have to be allowed to blend. Before you bake the filling make sure to bring it out of the refrigerator for at least a half hour to warm up. Dot the top with butter and pour turkey broth or chicken broth over all so that it soaks down. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until the crust is golden. The filling will puff up slightly as it is baking, so make sure your casserole dish can handle the volume. I use a round, 2 quart dish.
You can easily make this filling the day before your event and heat it up in the oven the next day. On Thanksgiving I reheat my fillings while the turkey is resting. Just heat it at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.

[ECBG]

@PA Mom-mom Thank you so much!  That looks over the moon yummy!!!!!

[cherry]

I bought a small carton tonight. I am going to fry them  for   tomorrow's lunch

[Harpa]

My uncle used to own a restaurant and catering business. His specialty was seafood. My father was adept at fixing seafood, as well. So, I grew up with it.

But one year my brother fixed oyster dressing for the turkey. It was, I think, one of the grossest things I ever ate.

I could eat them now, cold on the half shell, or fried in butter. Just not w/ turkey!

[Warrior2022]

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@PA Mom-mom wrote:

@ECBG  I think our Thanksgiving and Christmas meals would be boycotted if oyster filling was not on the menu. It is traditional in PA Dutch (German) meals. I took my Grandmother's and mother's recipes and tweeked them just a little:

Ingredients:
2 containers of fresh shucked oysters and their juice (2 dozen)
1 can of Bookbinder's oyster stew
2/3 cup milk and extra oyster juice to make a total of 2 cups liquid.
1 loaf king-size white bread (approx.) cut into cubes
1 egg beaten
1/4 cup each finely diced onion and celery
whole sprigs of fresh sage, rosemary and thyme
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/3 cup butter plus 2 tablespoons
salt and pepper to taste
turkey or chicken broth

Directions:
Melt 1/3 cup butter in a small skillet and gently saute covered celery, onion and herbs for 10 min. or until very soft. Remove herb sprigs but leave in the onion, celery and parsley. Allow the butter mixture to cool slightly.
Drain oysters and reserve the juice. Strain out any sand with a cheesecloth or other filter. Carefully remove the adductor muscle located near the edge of the oyster. It feels like a hard disc.
Put the cubed bread into a very large mixing bowl. Add the egg, the oyster stew, the milk or juice and the butter mixture. Breifly mix the these ingredients to moisten the bread. Here's where you will decide to add more liquid or more bread cubes. The mixture should be a bit soggy, but the bread should still be intact and slightly firm. At the end add the oysters and mix to combine. Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper.
Pour the mixture into the casserole dish you will use to bake the filling. Cover and place the filling in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight. This is an important step for oyster filling. The flavors have to be allowed to blend. Before you bake the filling make sure to bring it out of the refrigerator for at least a half hour to warm up. Dot the top with butter and pour turkey broth or chicken broth over all so that it soaks down. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until the crust is golden. The filling will puff up slightly as it is baking, so make sure your casserole dish can handle the volume. I use a round, 2 quart dish.
You can easily make this filling the day before your event and heat it up in the oven the next day. On Thanksgiving I reheat my fillings while the turkey is resting. Just heat it at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.

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Thank you for posting this.  My mother made this every Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Been looking for the recipe.  I even have the special dish she made it in.