Oyster Stuffing

A bare-bones stuffing of the kind magazine kitchens printed as a formula rather than a method. Two things need filling in: how much oyster liquor to keep, and how the stuffing is to be cooked.

• A pint of oystersShucked oysters were sold by liquid measure, so a pint is 2 cups of oysters with their liquor; depending on size that may be anywhere from a dozen to two dozen. The recipe says nothing about the liquor: drain them, keep it, and chop them coarsely unless they are very small.
• Dry bread-crumbsThese are crumbs from stale bread torn or grated, not the fine sandy crumbs sold in canisters for breading. Commercial dry crumbs will pack into a paste; use about 3 slices of day-old bread, crumbled, for the 2 cups.
• Moisture is the hingeAs written the mixture is very dry, and it depends on the oysters and their liquor to bind it. Add reserved liquor a spoonful at a time until the crumbs just hold together when pressed; too much and the stuffing turns to pudding.
• Butter measureA quarter cup is 4 tablespoons, half a stick. "Other fat" in a book of this period would have covered poultry drippings, lard, bacon fat or margarine, any of which still works.
• YieldThis makes roughly 3 1/2 to 4 cups, enough for a small fish, a pair of small chickens, or the neck cavity of a turkey. For a whole turkey you will want to double or triple it.
• Cooking temperatureStuffing packed inside poultry or fish must reach 165F at the centre, and raw oysters make that non-negotiable. Pack loosely and check with a thermometer, or bake the stuffing in a buttered dish at 350F for 25 to 30 minutes and serve it alongside.
• SeasoningA teaspoon of salt assumes unsalted fat and unseasoned crumbs. Taste before it goes into the bird, and consider chopped parsley, celery or a little thyme, all standard in oyster dressings of the period.