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Oyster Stuffing (Cup cracker crumbs cup melted)
1 cup cracker crumbs 1/4 cup melted butter 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon pepper 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice 1/2 tablespoon finely chopped parsley 1 cup oysters Add seasonings and butter to cracker crumbs. Clean oysters, and remove tough muscles; add soft parts to mixture, with two tablespoons oyster liquor to moisten.
A wet, well-seasoned cracker stuffing for poultry or a large baked fish. It makes roughly two cups, enough for a 4-5 lb chicken or a whole fish; multiply by three or four for a turkey.
- Cracker crumbsPeriod cracker crumbs generally came from plain soda, water or common crackers, much less salty than modern saltines. Saltines work but reduce the added salt to a pinch; matzo or oyster crackers are closer to the original.
- "Tough muscles"This means the small firm adductor muscle on the side of a shucked oyster, which stays chewy while the rest of the meat softens. Pinch it off with your fingers or trim it with a paring knife.
- Oyster liquorThe two tablespoons of liquor are the only liquid apart from the butter, so strain the oyster juices through a fine sieve to catch shell grit and save them before the oysters go into the bowl.
- Moisture judgmentThe mixture should hold together when squeezed but not pool liquid. Oysters release a good deal as they cook, so err on the dry side rather than adding extra liquor.
- Cook it throughBecause the oysters go in raw, the stuffing has to reach 165F. Take the temperature at the centre of the cavity, not just the flesh of the bird or fish, and allow that a stuffed roast needs longer than an unstuffed one.
- Safer alternativeBaking the stuffing in a buttered dish alongside the roast, about 25 minutes at 375F, cooks it evenly and avoids the long roasting that overcooks the oysters into rubber.
- Do not mix aheadAssemble and cook the same day. Raw shellfish in a moist crumb mixture should not sit in the refrigerator overnight, and it should never be stuffed into a bird before roasting time.