Lucy Buffetts Oyster Dressing Recipes

LUCY BUFFETT'S OYSTER DRESSING

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by 13-inch baking dish.
• Crumble cornbread into a large bowl. Tear toasted white or wheat bread into very small pieces, add to cornbread, and toss to combine
• Melt 8 tablespoons butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add onion, celery and bell pepper; sauté, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. Cover pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are almost translucent, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove cover, add broth, and cook, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, for 2 to 3 minutes. Continue to cook mixture for 1 more minute, then remove from heat, add to bread mixture, and stir to combine.
• In a medium bowl, stir together oysters, lemon juice, hot sauce, parsley, sage, salt and white pepper. Add to bread mixture and stir well to combine. If dressing seems too dry, add a little oyster liquor and up to 1/2 cup more chicken broth; mixture should be very moist.
• Pour dressing into greased baking dish. Cut remaining 4 tablespoons butter into small pieces and scatter over top of dressing. Bake until top and sides are browned, 40 to 45 minutes.

OYSTER STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
• Trim the crust off the bread. Slice the bread into 1/2-inch cubes. Spread the bread on a baking sheet and toast for 20 to 30 minutes, or until dry, being careful not to develop any color. Set aside.
• Raise the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
• Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter.
• Brush a 2-quart casserole or gratin dish with the melted butter and set aside.
• In a large saute pan, add 1 tablespoon of the butter and melt. Add the spinach and cook over high heat until wilted. Drain the spinach and set aside.
• To the same saute pan, over medium heat, add the remaining 7 ounces butter. Add the onion and the garlic and saute until translucent, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and continue to saute another 5 minutes. Add the oysters, oyster juice, sausage, spinach, dried fruits, and salt and pepper. Cook for 3 minutes and stir until the mixture is well blended. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Add the cream and milk. Stir until well blended. Add the parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. Add the reserved oyster mixture and the toasted bread and mix well. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Transfer to the buttered casserole dish and bake for 45 minutes or until done.

OYSTER DRESSING

Steps:

• Melt butter and olive oil in a large skillet over low heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add onions, celery, and carrots; cook, stirring, for 15 minutes. Add thyme and sage; cook, stirring, for 3 minutes more.
• Place bread in a large bowl. Add vegetable mixture, parsley, oysters and their liquid, and turkey stock; season with salt and pepper. Mix to combine. Keep at room temperature until ready to use.

THE VERY BEST FAMILY-STYLE OYSTER DRESSING

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease 8 muffin cups.
• In a bowl, beat the corn muffin mix, egg, and milk together until moistened; batter will be slightly lumpy. Allow the batter to rest 3 to 4 minutes, stir again, and spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them halfway.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the muffins have risen and are golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin should come out clean. Remove the muffins, let cool, and coarsely crumble the muffins into a very large bowl.
• Increase the oven heat to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Place the biscuit mix into a bowl, and lightly stir in 1/2 cup of water to make a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface, and gently knead 2 or 3 times; pat the dough out 1/2-inch thick. With a 2-inch floured cutter, cut the biscuit dough into rounds, and place biscuits onto an ungreased baking sheet.
• Bake the biscuits in the 450-degree oven until lightly golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove biscuits, allow to cool on a rack, and coarsely crumble the biscuits in the bowl with the muffin crumbs.
• Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C); grease an 11x15-inch baking dish.
• Melt 1/4 cup of unsalted butter in a large skillet; cook and stir the onion and chicken livers in the butter until the onion is translucent and the chicken livers are no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Press a fork into the chicken livers to mash them as they cook. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Place the herb stuffing mix into the large bowl with the crumbs. Melt the remaining 1/4 cup of butter with 1 1/2 cup of water in a saucepan over medium heat. If stuffing mix comes with a separate packet of herbs, empty the herb packet into the saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour the mixture over the dry stuffing mix and crumbs.
• Pour in the turkey gravy and mix in the cooked chicken livers with onions and butter. With a large wooden spoon, begin stirring in turkey broth until the stuffing is moist but not soggy. Stir in sage, thyme, salt, and black pepper, and lightly spoon the dressing into the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes; remove from oven, and gently stir in the oysters and their juices. Cook for an additional 15 minutes. If you need to hold the stuffing for a short while, cook for 10 minutes after stirring in oysters, remove from oven, cover the dish with aluminum foil, and serve as soon as possible.