Southern Culinary Arts: Oyster Dressing Casserole

Welcome to my online cooking school! In this version of my online cooking classes, we'll be making oyster dressing casserole.

This is a great recipe for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any time you want to enjoy the unique flavor of oysters. This casserole is simple to make, and because it uses only a few ingredients, the natural taste of the oysters really comes through.

If you prefer the taste of cornbread dressing, substitute packaged dried cornbread stuffing crumbs for the crushed saltine crackers. Also, you can use select oysters, but the smaller standards work better. If you want to reduce the amount of saturated fat in the recipe, substitute Smart Balance margarine for the butter. Some people use milk instead of half and half, but the results won’t be nearly as good!

Ingredients:

2 pints standard oysters, with liquid

5 cups crushed saltines

1 ¼ cups melted butter

1 ½ cups half and half

½ cup oyster liquid (you might need a little more)

1/4 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Garlic salt

Black pepper

Ground red pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drain oysters well, reserving the liquid. Mix cracker crumbs with melted butter. In a large buttered casserole dish, layer one-third of the crackers. Top with half the oysters, hald the onions, and half the celery. Sprinkle the oysters with the garlic salt and red and black pepper. Make another layer with another third of the cracker crumbs. Place the rest of the oysters, onions, and celery next. Sprinkle the spices on the oysters. Top with remaining cracker crumbs. Mix together the half and half, the oyster liquid, and the Worcestershire sauce. Pour evenly over the casserole. If the casserole is too dry, add a little more oyster liquid. Bake for 50 minutes. Serves 8.

for a more traditional oyster dressing, simply add oysters with a little of their juice to your traditional dressing before cooking. Actually, I sometimes make a half-and-half dressing because some family members like oysters, while others don't. I make a large pan of cornbread dressing and place some oysters in one end before cooking. Everyone's happy!

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