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Oyster dressing plays up the oysters

By ELIZABETH KARMEL, Associated Press
Published: November 10, 2015, 6:05am

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.

Be forewarned; my oyster dressing is closer to an oyster stew with a bit of breading than to a traditional oyster dressing.

The next time I made it, I made it at my mother’s house, and she said that I used too many oysters. I conceded, and we spent the meal picking the (too few) oysters out of the dressing. That taught me a lesson: If you like oysters as much as I do, use a lot of oysters because oysters shrink as they cook, and bread expands as it cooks.

Thanksgiving Oyster Dressing

Start to finish: 1 hour 20 minutes (30 minutes active); Servings: 12

Most oyster dressings are bread with a smattering of oysters. I find that people pick through the dressing to get a bite with an oyster. Rather than turning this dish into a game of hide-and-seek, I use lots of oysters. Remember that oysters shrink as they cook. It might look like you have too many, but it will be just right.

½ small loaf white sandwich bread (about 8 small slices)

2 sleeves (8 ounces) saltine crackers, crushed, divided

2 sticks unsalted butter, divided

2 large shallots, chopped

3 stalks celery, diced

Kosher salt

½ teaspoon ground white pepper

¼ teaspoon dry thyme

¼ teaspoon onion powder

Pinch of nutmeg

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1½ cups heavy cream

3 pints fresh oysters, drained

Cut or tear the bread into ½-inch cubes and let dry on a sheet pan overnight. Alternatively, dry the bread in a 200 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 2-quart casserole dish with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine half of the crushed crackers with all of the dried bread cubes. Set aside.

In a medium Dutch oven over medium heat, melt 1 stick of the butter. Add the shallots, celery and a pinch of salt. Cook for 5 minutes, or until translucent. Add the pepper, thyme, onion powder and nutmeg. Stir to combine. Add the chicken broth and cream. Bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat. Ladle half of the mixture over the cracker and bread mixture, tossing gently to combine until just moist.

Add the oysters and gently toss to combine. Transfer to the prepared baking dish, then pour the remaining cream mixture over it. Sprinkle the remaining crackers over the top. Cut the remaining stick of butter into small pieces, then scatter those over the top. Bake until the top is lightly browned and crispy, 40 to 50 minutes. Serve immediately.

Per serving: 440 calories; 280 calories from fat (64 percent of total calories); 31 g fat (18 g saturated; 1 g trans fats); 130 mg cholesterol; 440 mg sodium; 29 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 4 g sugar; 12 g protein.

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