Oyster Stuffing

A one-line formula of the kind Mrs. Wilson used for dishes she assumed every cook already knew. It works, but it leaves the proportions, the quantities and the cooking to you.

• Read "equal parts" as volumeMeasure loose dry crumbs and drained shucked oysters cup for cup, not by weight. Oysters are far denser, so weighing them equal would give a wet, heavy stuffing.
• Drain, then use the liquorShucked oysters carry a lot of brine. Drain them, chop them coarsely if large, and moisten the crumbs with a few spoonfuls of the reserved liquor rather than dumping it all in.
• Crumbs, not soft fresh breadDry, slightly stale white bread crumbs absorb the oyster liquor without turning to paste. Fresh commercial sandwich bread collapses.
• Butter quantityThe recipe gives no amount; about 4 tablespoons melted butter per quart of crumbs is a reasonable starting point.
• Oysters need almost no cookingWhatever heat the stuffing gets is more than enough for them. Do not saute the oysters first, or they will be twice-cooked and rubbery by the time the bird is done.
• If you stuff a birdPack loosely and check that the center of the stuffing reaches 165F, which usually means the bird itself runs a little past done. Baking the stuffing separately in a buttered dish at 350F for 30-40 minutes avoids that problem entirely.
• YieldRoughly a quart each of crumbs and oysters will fill a 10-12 lb turkey; halve it for a large roasting chicken.