Oyster dressing is a traditional Thanksgiving side dish in the South. It also is pretty darn controversial.
People either love it, or they hate it. I love oysters, so I love oyster dressing, even though I grew up with sausage dressing. The only problem is that most classic oyster dressing recipes call for mostly white bread, cornbread and vegetables. Where are the oysters? Even worse is that many recipes call for chopping the oysters, which is sacrilege.
I like a purer oyster experience, so I created my own version that is heavy on oysters and light on breading.
The first time I made this dressing, it was so good that I had to make it again the next day. I was hosting a friend’s Thanksgiving weekend, and by my guests’ request, I made oyster dressing to take to a potluck dinner. The dressing was gone in no time, and my friends begged me to make it again the next day. Since I had riffed on the dish based on what I liked about oysters, I had to re-create my steps to develop a recipe.