New Orleans Oyster Dressing Food

NEW ORLEANS OYSTER DRESSING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375. Spray a 2 quart baking dish with cooking spray.
• In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the celery, onions and green pepper and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until barely softened.
• Add in the chopped oysters and their juice, chicken broth, hot sauce and cajun seasoning.
• Cook for 1 minute more, then stir in the bread until fully coated.
• Taste and then season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Press the mixture into the prepared baking dish and cover with foil. Bake for 40 minutes.
• Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes to allow the edges of the bread to get slightly crispy.

TRADITIONAL NEW ORLEANS OYSTER DRESSING

Steps:

• In a LARGE black cast iron Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat and saute' the smoked sausage, onions, celery, bell pepper, garlic, and green onion tops until all of them are tender.
• The one thing you want to remember is to keep the butter hot, but don't let it burn (and don't let the garlic burn either or it will turn bitter).
• I also suggest that you keep stirring the mixture to cook it uniformly.
• Next, stir in the parsley.
• Then gradually stir in the chopped oysters, the oyster liquor, and the turkey pan drippings. Notice I said to gradually stir. The reason for this is that you do not want to reduce the heat, lowering the cooking temperature will cause excessive water to be released from the oysters and you'll have to add too much bread to the finished dish.
• Now cook the oysters gently over medium high heat for about 4 minutes, stirring all the while.
• And when all the ingredients are well mixed, drop in the poultry seasoning, basil, thyme, seafood seasoning, black pepper and salt. About the salt; taste your raw oysters to see if they are naturally salty before adding the prescribed amount.
• You may have to reduce additional salt if nature has provided her own.
• At this point, cover the pot, lower the heat, and simmer the mixture for about 5 minutes to allow time for the flavors to marry.
• This is one of the secrets to making a really good oyster dressing. Don't rush or skip this step!
• After the simmering process is done, remove the pot from the fire and begin adding the bread chunks a few at a time.
• Note that you do not have to add all four cups.
• If you want your dressing moist, stop adding bread when you get to the texture you desire.
• If you want a drier stuffing, add all four cups, even a little more if your taste and needs dictate.
• Now taste the dressing again and make your final seasoning adjustments.
• The objective is to get the bread to absorb all the pan liquor, thereby binding everything together.
• When, in your estimation, the dressing is ready (it shouldn't be soupy, but it shouldn't be dry either), allow it to cool slightly. Then rapidly stir in the raw egg to tie everything together and cover it for a few minutes to let it set up.
• This is where the richness comes in and it's how the final blending brings out full flavor.
• Oh, and if by chance you've miscalculated and made the mixture a bit too dry, just pour in a little extra turkey drippings.
• The only thing left to do is to transfer the dressing right from the Dutch oven to a buttered casserole dish, generously sprinkle the top with the buttered cracker crumbs, drizzle on a little extra melted butter, and bake it for about 25 minutes uncovered in a 375°F oven.
• Fresh bread chunks are better than dried crumbs in your oyster dressing because they tend to cook up fluffy rather than pasty. So to make fresh bread chunks, just take fresh sliced bread or French bread and pull apart small bite-side pieces.
• To make your buttered cracker crumb topping, simply drop regular saltine crackers into the processor and, while the blades are spinning, pour in a couple of tablespoons of melted butter.

NOT YA MAMA'S OYSTER DRESSING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x9-inch square baking dish.
• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat, and cook and stir the onion and garlic until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the parsley, oregano, thyme, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper until combined, and gently mix in the oysters. Cook, stirring often, until the edges of the oysters begin to curl, about 8 minutes. Stir in the bread crumbs and reserved oyster liquid until the stuffing is thoroughly combined. Lightly spoon the stuffing into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the stuffing with Parmesan cheese.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the top is golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

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.