Oyster and Cornbread
Stuffing
For a 14 to 16 lb turkey
8 Tbsp Butter
1 very large
onion - chopped
1 cup celery
chopped
½ pint
mushrooms, quartered (more if you want – I usually saute a lb and eat lots)
1 pint
oysters – drained and reserve liquid
2 hard boiled
eggs, peeled and chopped
1 cup pecans
(or wanuts) Chopped, fairly chunky
1 tsp sage
2 tsp thyme
Salt
Coarse ground
pepper
4 cups
cornbread, broken into chunks (about I box)
3 cups
seasoned croutons
- Melt 4 Tbsp butter in a skillet,
add onion, and celery and sauté until soft. Scrape into large bowl.
- Melt remaining butter in same
skillet and cook the mushrooms until they have given up their juices and
are dry. (The juices absorb back in, it takes awhile. Add them to the
bowl.
- Add everything else to the bowl
and mix thoroughly. Taste for seasoning, and add more oyster juice if you
need moisture. (A little bit adds plenty of taste, so know your audience.)
Stuff turkey, and don’t forget you can put some in the pocket in the back
of the bird. Put into pre-heated oven immediately.
Note: If you
have too much for the turkey, put it in a small casserole, cover with foil and
put in the oven for the last hour of roasting. Baste with turkey pan drippings
if you can, and remove foil for the last 15 minutes of cooking time.
To make ahead:
Wednesday: Finish step 2. Add seasoning to bowl,
and refrigerate. Then bake cornbread, boil eggs, and chop nuts. Store the eggs,
peeled, in a saran covered custard cup (or similar size). Store cornbread,
uncut, at room temp in a partially sealed zip loc (so it stays really dry)
Measure croutons and store in zip loc (so no extra measuring cup to wash in the
AM).
On T-giving AM, chop eggs, break up cornbread, add oysters
and nuts. You will probably need to mix with your hands, and it’s good idea to
let the bowl of sauted things sit out to take the chill off a little first if
possible. It takes a big bowl, and I often use my biggest pot, or largest salad
bowl.