Follow our complete, step-by-step, photo illustrated instructions to learn how to make this old fashioned Oyster Dressing. Printable recipe included.
Oyster Dressing is yet another old Southern favorite. Goes great with that Thanksgiving turkey, but it’s good any time you can get fresh oysters.
Oyster Dressing wasn’t always on our Thanksgiving Day table when I was growing up. But, we did enjoy it a few times as I recall.
As I’ve mentioned before, we didn’t even have Thanksgiving Day meals until I was an older teenager. In my younger years, we often would spend Thanksgiving Day killing hogs. It was a day when my older brother was normally off of work from his grocery store job and he could help us.
Still, we always enjoyed a good meal later in the afternoon on those days. Mama would get some of the fresh meat and prepare a meal for everyone that was helping us on those days.
Daddy was the one that made the Oyster Dressing as I recall. He had a large Sage bush growing out beside a barn that was behind our house, and he loved to pour the Sage to his dressing and to the sausage he would make from the days when we killed hogs.
I’d much prefer just sitting down to a great, hot, home cooked meal for Thanksgiving than the hog killing days. It was always so cold on those days. The work was hard and long, but the rewards were enjoyed throughout the long Winter months ahead.
I’m using shucked oysters from a jar to make this dressing. Fresh oysters would be great if you can get them, but shucking them requires a bit more work. Most grocery stores in my area seem to carry the oysters in the jar, but I can also get them from the roadside vendor that sells fresh seafood every weekend. They have a place just a couple of miles from my home and I like to shop with them when possible.
I realize it might be an acquired taste for many, but I do hope you might give it a try sometime. And, I hope you like it.
Ready to give our recipe a try? Alright then, let’s head on out to the kitchen, and… Let’s Get Cooking!
Oyster Dressing Recipe – You’ll need these ingredients.
I’m using some day old cornbread and a pint of fresh shucked oysters to make this dressing. Two pints of oysters would have been better, they are just too expensive. Smile.
We’ll begin by dicing up 1 cup of celery and 1 medium-to-large sized onion.
Crush one whole sleeve of Saltine Crackers. I just leave them in the pack and bang them on the counter to get them started. Be careful that you don’t break the package open. You might end up with saltine cracker crumbs all over your kitchen. Just saying.
Crumble up 3 cups of day old cornbread into a large mixing bowl.
Add the sleeve of crumbled up Saltine Crackers.
Grab a large spoon and stir the dry ingredients together. Set aside for now.
Place 1 stick of Butter in a cast iron skillet over Medium heat on your stove top. Let the butter melt.
Add the diced celery to the skillet.
Add the diced onions.
Stir these often and let them cook until the celery and onions are tender. About 5 minutes or so.
Add the cooked onions and celery to the cornbread and saltine mixture.
Add 1/2 teaspoon of Salt. Use caution in adding the salt. Keep in mind whether you’ve used salted crackers and salted butter. You don’t want to be adding too much salt. Adjust as needed.
Add 1/2 teaspoon of Black Pepper.
Add 1/4 teaspoon of Nutmeg.
Add 1 teaspoon of Sage.
I like a hint of sage but not too much. Feel free to add a bit more if you like. Daddy always seemed to add a lot when he made it during my younger years. He grew it next to an old barn back behind our house and used it in making sausage after we killed hogs. I’ve just never been able to tolerate a heavy amount of sage. Just me. Smile.
Lightly beat 3 eggs in another small bowl.
Add the eggs to the bowl.
Finally, add the oysters to the bowl. I slightly chopped the oysters before adding them. You don’t have to, entirely up to you. And, as mentioned, I would have liked to have added a few more, but I didn’t have them. Still, a pint of oysters normally contains about 25 small oysters according to the folks where I buy my seafood from.
Add Milk as needed as you begin to stir your dressing. You want it to have enough moisture to hold together, so go sparingly with the milk.
Pour the mixture into a 9×13 buttered pan.
I would probably use an 8×8 inch pan if I made this again. It would have made for thicker slices of dressing, which I prefer. I had to spread it out thin as you’ll see below.
Spread the mixture out evenly in your pan.
Pre-heat your oven to 350F degrees.
Place the pan of dressing in the oven and let it bake for about 45 minutes. It should be fairly set and lightly browned on top and around the edges when done.
This one has lightly browned around the edges of the pan as you can see.
Remove the pan of dressing when it’s done. Place it on a wire rack or folded towel and let it cool for a few minutes prior to serving.
Enjoy!
As you can see, my slices were less than one inch thick. If you’d like thicker servings, use a smaller sized pan. Just keep in mind that it might take it longer to cook if it’s thicker. Serve it along side your turkey and other fixings and dig in.
