Herbed Oyster Stuffing Recipe
Herbed Oyster Stuffing Recipe
There's nothing quite like the spirit of Thanksgiving to explore all the different stuffing possibilities. But even if you don't celebrate Thanksgiving in your part of the world, you honestly can't go wrong with the oyster stuffing for your special occasions, be it Christmas, Easter, or any other precious moment when the family gathers for a hearty meal. You might think that oysters won't pair well with the overall theme, or that they'll give off a peculiar fishy taste, but worry not. The flavor is amazingly rich and allows other ingredients to blend even better and taste delicious in their unity. Regardless of what type of roast you decide to go with, be it turkey, chicken, or pork, you better believe that an oyster stuffing will make the whole meal truly flavorful, unique, and downright delicious.
Keep in mind that if you want your roast to be a success, you should work with fresh oysters. Also, ask the seller to have them shucked so that you don't have to deal with the task. It's also possible to use tinned oysters if you're looking for an easy way out. But, when you're preparing a large family meal with a roast, it's common to prepare the stuffing a couple of days in advance. If that's the case for you, too, don't worry, as you can prepare the stuffing sans oysters and refrigerate it up to 2 days. On the day of the roast, you can pull out your stuffing and leave it to thaw to the room temperature, when you'll add your oysters just before it's time to do the baking. You can bake the stuffing both inside and outside the roast. That said, the following is a rather easy oyster stuffing recipe that will be more than enough for, let's say, a 12-14-pound turkey and around 8-10 servings.
To prepare a delicious herbed oyster stuffing, you'll need several different ingredients:
Before anything else, it's important to prep your bread cubes adequately. You can't use fresh bread. So, you'll either have to leave it in the open for about 8 hours to get a bit stale, or you'll have to speed up the process by baking the bread in the oven. In case you opt for the first option, remember to toss the bread cubes every couple of hours. In case you like the latter option better, preheat the oven to around 325 F and bake the bread on baking paper for about half an hour while rotating the baking dish once after 15 minutes. Once the baking is done, it's important to let the bread cool completely. Then you'll be able to place the dried bread cubes into a large bowl.
Regardless of what you've chosen to do with bread, once the bread is done and transferred to a bowl, you should preheat the oven to 325 F to get it ready for the actual stuffing. The ideal baking dish is about 9 x 13" for the amounts discussed in this recipe. Make sure to grease the dish well with butter. You can also use a nonstick spray if you so prefer.
With that done and out of the way, it's time to cook the bacon. Ideally, use a 12" heavy skillet for this task. It's more than enough to cook the bacon for about 10 minutes over medium heat until the bits become nice and crisp. Then remove the bacon from the skillet with a slotted spoon, leaving it on paper towels to drain. Don't throw away the bacon fat from the skillet as you'll need that for the next step!
Now, this is where you'll need to do a bit of math; if you have less than ¼ cup of bacon fat in the skillet, you'll need to add enough olive oil to fill ¼ cup properly. Do so, and then you can simply toss in the veggies and spices into the skillet. So, add onions, garlic, celery, sage, and thyme, as well as salt and pepper according to taste to the skillet and cook everything for about 10 minutes over medium heat. Remember to stir everything as you cook and check to see whether vegetables have gone soft before you remove the skillet from the stove.
Once you're all finished with this part of the recipe, it's time to transfer the cooked veggies and spices to the bowl holding the dried bread cubes. Then add the bacon, oysters, parsley, and melted butter, and mix everything well. Take the time to pour the chicken stock over the mixture and add more salt and pepper before you continue to mix and toss the stuffing.
Now that you're done with mixing all of the ingredients it's time to transfer the stuffing to the baking dish. It's important to note that you should bake the stuffing covered with foil for the first half an hour, and then remove the foil to bake the stuffing without it for half an hour more. You'll know the stuffing is done once it gets a brown top.
This is one of the easy oyster stuffing recipes that you can master after just one try at the comfort of your kitchen. Even if it seems complex at first, the steps are pretty simple, especially if you already tend to prepare the regular meals for you and your family daily.
Of course, if you're not 100% sold on the idea of herbed oyster stuffing, feel free to try this delicacy at Stiltsville Fish Bar seafood restaurant. We're confident that we'll change your mind about all sorts of seafood dishes, especially the rich oyster stuffing. Pair these hearty yet refreshing meals with a wide selection of drinks that we offer at our restaurant located at the very heart of Miami's Sunset Harbor to complete the experience. As you enjoy the amazing view of the harbor and the sunset, you can choose between different seating areas – indoor dining tables and outdoor hammock chairs – to match the atmosphere to your liking. If you're interested in delicious seafood and a soothing environment, you're bound to love our Stiltsville Fish Bar. We invite you to check us out and take a look at what we have to offer.
Herbed Oyster Stuffing
To prepare a delicious herbed oyster stuffing, you'll need several different ingredients:
- Cut 2 loaves of Italian/French bread into ¾" cubes, which would total to about 12 cups
- Cut about ½ pound of bacon into ½" bits
- Prepare around 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- Chop 2 medium-sized onions
- Chop around 3 stalks of celery so that you have 1 ½ cups
- Set out 1 tablespoon of minced garlic
- Use 3 tablespoons of chopped fresh thyme or 1 tablespoon of dried thyme
- Use 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh sage or 2 teaspoons of dried sage
- Prepare around half a teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper
- Chop parsley to fill 2/3 of a cup
- Melt 1 stick of unsalted butter
- Drain and chop about 18 shucked oysters
- Prepare 2 ¼ cups of chicken stock/broth
The Preparation Process
Before anything else, it's important to prep your bread cubes adequately. You can't use fresh bread. So, you'll either have to leave it in the open for about 8 hours to get a bit stale, or you'll have to speed up the process by baking the bread in the oven. In case you opt for the first option, remember to toss the bread cubes every couple of hours. In case you like the latter option better, preheat the oven to around 325 F and bake the bread on baking paper for about half an hour while rotating the baking dish once after 15 minutes. Once the baking is done, it's important to let the bread cool completely. Then you'll be able to place the dried bread cubes into a large bowl.
Regardless of what you've chosen to do with bread, once the bread is done and transferred to a bowl, you should preheat the oven to 325 F to get it ready for the actual stuffing. The ideal baking dish is about 9 x 13" for the amounts discussed in this recipe. Make sure to grease the dish well with butter. You can also use a nonstick spray if you so prefer.
With that done and out of the way, it's time to cook the bacon. Ideally, use a 12" heavy skillet for this task. It's more than enough to cook the bacon for about 10 minutes over medium heat until the bits become nice and crisp. Then remove the bacon from the skillet with a slotted spoon, leaving it on paper towels to drain. Don't throw away the bacon fat from the skillet as you'll need that for the next step!
Now, this is where you'll need to do a bit of math; if you have less than ¼ cup of bacon fat in the skillet, you'll need to add enough olive oil to fill ¼ cup properly. Do so, and then you can simply toss in the veggies and spices into the skillet. So, add onions, garlic, celery, sage, and thyme, as well as salt and pepper according to taste to the skillet and cook everything for about 10 minutes over medium heat. Remember to stir everything as you cook and check to see whether vegetables have gone soft before you remove the skillet from the stove.
Once you're all finished with this part of the recipe, it's time to transfer the cooked veggies and spices to the bowl holding the dried bread cubes. Then add the bacon, oysters, parsley, and melted butter, and mix everything well. Take the time to pour the chicken stock over the mixture and add more salt and pepper before you continue to mix and toss the stuffing.
Now that you're done with mixing all of the ingredients it's time to transfer the stuffing to the baking dish. It's important to note that you should bake the stuffing covered with foil for the first half an hour, and then remove the foil to bake the stuffing without it for half an hour more. You'll know the stuffing is done once it gets a brown top.
This is one of the easy oyster stuffing recipes that you can master after just one try at the comfort of your kitchen. Even if it seems complex at first, the steps are pretty simple, especially if you already tend to prepare the regular meals for you and your family daily.
Of course, if you're not 100% sold on the idea of herbed oyster stuffing, feel free to try this delicacy at Stiltsville Fish Bar seafood restaurant. We're confident that we'll change your mind about all sorts of seafood dishes, especially the rich oyster stuffing. Pair these hearty yet refreshing meals with a wide selection of drinks that we offer at our restaurant located at the very heart of Miami's Sunset Harbor to complete the experience. As you enjoy the amazing view of the harbor and the sunset, you can choose between different seating areas – indoor dining tables and outdoor hammock chairs – to match the atmosphere to your liking. If you're interested in delicious seafood and a soothing environment, you're bound to love our Stiltsville Fish Bar. We invite you to check us out and take a look at what we have to offer.