Oyster stew

E

EricC

Member
Oyster stew has a lot of tradition as a holiday meal. One story is that it originates from Irish Catholic immigrants in the early 1800s, who had a religious practice not to eat "meat" (fish was exempt) on Christmas Eve. Back in Ireland, they would make a Christmas Eve stew out of milk, butter, pepper, and a dried salted fish called ling. Here in the states they couldn't find ling, so they adapted the recipe to oysters, which were popular and plentiful even back then.

Other stories associate it with New Year's Day, dating back to old New Years fertility rites. Y'all have probably already heard of oyster's old-wives-tale association with libido and fertility, but the same was said of beans and lentils, leading to the related tradition of black-eyed peas on New Year's Day.

Regardless, all my life in my family we've had the tradition of oyster stew on New Year's Eve. This year, due to holiday travel, I didn't do it until the 2nd.

There are a lot of variations of this recipe out there, but our family recipe is quite basic and very delicious. Even non-oyster eaters enjoy the broth and crackers.

Recipe calls for sauteeing 2 TB minced onion and 1 tsp minced garlic in 4 TB butter over medium heat until softened. I tend to "up" it a bit, used about 4 TB onion and a large clove of garlic in 4 TB butter with another TB of canola oil. I also wait to add the garlic until the onion is almost done, to prevent it from over-cooking.



Then add 40 oz shucked oysters and their juices. I used 48 oz.



Then add 1 QT half & half. I used the 1 QT h&h + maybe half a cup of heavy cream because I happened to have some.



Now this is the tricky part - slowly heat it over low heat, stirring frequently. DO NOT BOIL. If it gets to boiling, the half & half will "break" and you'll end up with an oily, curdy mess. It's time consuming, like half an hour, but, aside from not ruining the stew, the low heat also cooks the oysters the most evenly. Cook until the fringes of the oysters curl. Salt and pepper to taste.



Turn off heat and serve immediately, topped with oyster crackers. Absolutely delicious, the kids loved it too and we demolished that pot.

 
I just realized what a great improvement in cooking instruction the Internet is. That does look delicious! Thanks for sharing the family recipe.
 
That looks absolutely outstanding, that's one of my favorites. I do one somewhat similar. More of a seafood style, I'll add butter sautéed shrimp and bay scallops.
I like a more heavy cream in mine but that me.

It's been a long time since I made that last. I'll be thinking about that for weeks now.
 
W. Hilditch said:
When mixed with broth I'm good at getting heavy cream to break.

Hilditch
Click to expand...

Really? I'm surprised to hear that - I reduce heavy cream in pan sauces all the time with no problem, it's the extra fat that prevents the breaking.

Which broth are you talking about, and in what ratio broth to cream? Heavily acidic liquids contribute to breaking, and salt also can cause it (another reason to add it at the end).
 
The first one that came to mind had separation upon reheating. No broth, but wine and salt. No specifics at the moment but I remember a couple of recipes that said not to bring to a boil after finishing. I do use bouillon cubes for broth so salt may be the problem. Guessing, things with more broth and other ingredients than cream. I have reduced heavy cream successfully as you indicated without separation but remember problems too.

Hilditch
 
I want to try it with the onion and garlic (ours was without). My family always made this Christmas Morning when I was a kid and I wouldn't touch oysters back then. Can't get enough now! I love those Corning ware "Grab it's" I pick them up at thrift stores all the time and hand them out at family gatherings to my Mom's Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren who remember eating out of them growing up at Grandma's house.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top