What is oyster dressing/stuffing?

[madcam]

So there is a "green bean casserole" thread on here and a poster mentioned oyster dressing (or stuffing...whichever you like to call it). My mom has mentioned this in passing and I understand that it is dressing with oysters in it.

My question is for those of you who have this at your holiday meal....do you like it or is it just something your family has always made? Do you have a favorite recipe? I love love love oysters but I can't for the life of me figure out how someone decided it went with turkey. In my southern family, we always have a cornbread dressing and many times also a rice dressing. Now that I am in the midwest....people here are all about the non-cornbread kind of dressing. I guess bread dressing would be what it is?? I have to admit I am intrigued by the idea of oysters in the mix. Am I missing out?

 

[Mimi1965]

It is rice dressing-a side dish-not stuffed in the turkey

Rice, onions, bell papper, ground meat, ground pork is Rice dressing
If you add oysters to above its called Oyster dressing

If you add boiled eggplant o it its called Eggplant Dressing-also very popular



(I live in Rice growing part of the South-thats why our dressing has rice)

 

[EMom]

My initial response is, "It is nasty."

 

[ENSOCK]

I grew up with my aunt making oyster dressing every holiday. I asked her for her recipe when my mom was dying of cancer and mentioned that she missed having that. Everytime I make it everyone loves it and I get emotional remembering my mom. Just thinking of this I need to find the recipe to make it for Thanksgiving.

Ours is more like a cornbread dressing with oysters added. Yummy!!!

 

[DMRick]

I call what I make, Oyster pie. We love it. I put a mixture (1-1/2 C of each, divided) of crushed saltines and bread crumbs in the bottom of an oven dish. Add 1-1/2 pints of drained oysters (canned or fresh), put the other half of saltines and bread crumbs on top of the oysters. Beat 2 eggs, then add 2 c. milk and 1/3 c butter, eggs, salt and pepper.
Grease the oven dish, bake in slow over (350 degrees) until slightly browned, about 45 minutes.
Yummy!

 

[powellrj]

I make regular and oyster dressing every year. With the oyster dressing I make it 1/2 regular bread and 1/2 corn bread. With the regular dressing I make it 3/4 regular bread and 1/4 corn bread.

I also like mine more wet than dry so I put lots of broth and add an egg to the mixture.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

So there is a "green bean casserole" thread on here and a poster mentioned oyster dressing (or stuffing...whichever you like to call it). My mom has mentioned this in passing and I understand that it is dressing with oysters in it.

My question is for those of you who have this at your holiday meal....do you like it or is it just something your family has always made? Do you have a favorite recipe? I love love love oysters but I can't for the life of me figure out how someone decided it went with turkey. In my southern family, we always have a cornbread dressing and many times also a rice dressing. Now that I am in the midwest....people here are all about the non-cornbread kind of dressing. I guess bread dressing would be what it is?? I have to admit I am intrigued by the idea of oysters in the mix. Am I missing out?

It sounds ick to me.

However I eat sausage stuffing so maybe not your cup of tea either.

I think stuffing/dressing is cultural and depending on where your roots are determines what goes into your stuffing.

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

MIL make Oyster filling every holiday. It's tradition, I think it is Amish/PA Dutch in origin. Hers is simply jarred oysters and oyster crackers with milk, butter, salt and pepper. It's a side dish, not in the bird.

We usually have this, as well as potato filling (mashed potatoes with bread cubes that are toasted while onions and celery saute in butter).

 

[3 MEN AND A BOAT]

it is tradition in our house, but then we catch/shuck/sell oysters. my grandfather would keal over if their were no oyster dressing on thanksgiving. usually my mom makes it, cornbread dressing with oysters.
every year we have a high demand for the "oyster liquir" or juice that escapes when they are shucked, some people mix this in with their dressing.
i say try it at least once, if you don't like, try a different recipe.
Paul

 

[Chelley00]

My mom's oyster dressing is bread based, not rice or cornbread. She tears bread, adds the oyster liquid, eggs, sauteed celery and onions, salt and pepper, then mixed in the oysters and bakes it.

I pick the oysters out because I can't stand their texture, but I love the oyster dressing.

 

[Christine]

I never make oyster dressing/stuffing but one of my ex-bosses made it for a pot luck one year and it was DELICIOUS. It was bread-based. He was Southern.

 

[jen0610]

Dressing for our family is not the typical dressing/stuffing that most people have. I never had dressing made from cubed bread until, I went to Thanksgiving with DH at the age of 19.

Dressing for our family is made in a 9x11 rectangle pan. Dried slices of bread, with the crust trimmed off the bread, are layered in the pan with a butter and chicken broth that has has been simmering for several hours. The cut off crust is used as the edging around the pan. After you lay down a layer of bread, you basicly soak the bread with the broth mixture.

Before you add the next layer of bread, there are 3 variations - plain, heavy pepper, and oyster. With the plain, you just season the first layer with salt and pepper. The heavy pepper, salt and some much pepper that the layer is covered in black. For the oyster, you places oysters all over the the bottom layer, then salt and pepper. Once you have the first layer done, you place your 2nd layer of bread, agian soaking the bread with the broth. Salt and pepper the tops, very heavy peper on the 2nd option. The pan goes in a 350 degree oven and bakes for 1 hour.

When I was younger and going to grandmas for Thanksgiving, my aunt would make about 4 pans of the plain, 10 pans of the heavy pepper, and 8 pans of the oyster for 17 of us. They liked lots of left overs to eat over the long weekend.

 

[MushyMushy]

MIL make Oyster filling every holiday. It's tradition, I think it is Amish/PA Dutch in origin. Hers is simply jarred oysters and oyster crackers with milk, butter, salt and pepper. It's a side dish, not in the bird.

We usually have this, as well as potato filling (mashed potatoes with bread cubes that are toasted while onions and celery saute in butter).

Would you happen to have the recipe for this? I had it once and thought it was delicious, but I've never been able to recreate it myself.

 

[Tess]

My mom's oyster dressing is bread based, not rice or cornbread. She tears bread, adds the oyster liquid, eggs, sauteed celery and onions, salt and pepper, then mixed in the oysters and bakes it.

I pick the oysters out because I can't stand their texture, but I love the oyster dressing.

I use day old bread of any type and basically do the same as above. I use turkey broth from the cooking turkey and perhaps a bit of chicken stock to make the dressing very moist. I do not stuff the bird, but rather bake the dressing on the side.

It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without it. BTW, I am a Midwest gal with a German heritage. Oyster dressing is .

 

[goodeats]

DH and I like to cook and we did a Thanksgiving just for us last year and made oyster stuffing. It was delicious! It had clam juice in it too. I thought we did stuff it in the turkey, but I might be confused. It was better the first day than as leftovers because it started to taste too salty.

 

[gawrsh2008]

OP, I'm the one who mentioned the oyster dressing. I'l look on my PC to see if I have the recipe. If not, I'll post it for you when I get home from work. My PaPaw's recipe is actually eggplant and day old French bread based. I would faint if we didn't have oyster dressing at Thanksgiving AND Christmas!

It also kills me because I can't get good oysters in the area that I moved to post Katrina. I have to stock up when I go home.

 

[madcam]

OP, I'm the one who mentioned the oyster dressing. I'l look on my PC to see if I have the recipe. If not, I'll post it for you when I get home from work. My PaPaw's recipe is actually eggplant and day old French bread based. I would faint if we didn't have oyster dressing at Thanksgiving AND Christmas!

It also kills me because I can't get good oysters in the area that I moved to post Katrina. I have to stock up when I go home.

Great! I would love a recipe! I do find it a strange sounding dish but like I mentioned, I just adore oysters. I would love to at least try it!

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

I love a good oyster dressing, but it can only be used as a supplement to corn bread dressing if I am going to be around. IMO, a good corn bread dressing cannot be replaced.

 

[Dee & Greg]

My mom's oyster dressing is bread based, not rice or cornbread. She tears bread, adds the oyster liquid, eggs, sauteed celery and onions, salt and pepper, then mixed in the oysters and bakes it.

I pick the oysters out because I can't stand their texture, but I love the oyster dressing.

that's exactly my Grandmother's recipe.. I still make it every year!

 

[wgwtgb]

It's a hit... here on the bayou...LOL But only if you can get fresh oysters out of the brown burlap sack!!!!