Friday, December 26, 2008

Oyster Stew


Every Christmas Eve for as long as I can remember my family has sat down to a dinner of oyster stew. This year our family wasn't together for Christmas Eve proper. I phoned Mom to find out how to make it so I could share this annual treat with my co-conspirator. It turns out she uses a recipe from a Betty Crocker cookbook. All these years I assumed she had it memorized. The recipe I ended up using is an adaptation of that one and serves two as a first course. It tasted exactly as good as I hoped it would.

Oyster Stew

Gently examine 8-12 fresh oysters in their liquid for bits of broken shell.

In a small saute pan blend together:


  • 2 Tablespoons flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • several grinds of fresh pepper
  • 2 Tablespoons of water to make a paste

    Stir in the oysters and their liquid and start heating the pan over very low heat. Continue cooking and stirring and add small amounts of water if the mixture becomes too thick.

    Meanwhile heat 1 1/2 Cups milk and 1/2 Tablespoon of butter in a medium saucepan. Do not boil.

    When the oysters begin to curl around the edges add them and the cooked flour mixture to the hot milk. Stir in well to dissolve the flour gel and remove from the heat. Allow pan to stand for fifteen minutes off heat.

    To serve return to medium low heat and bring just to a high simmer. Ladle into hot bowls and garnish with a sprinkle of sweet paprika. Serve with crackers.

1 Responses (Leave a Comment):

Fast and Fabulous said...

Many thanks for sharing this recipe! We tried it last nice...the start of a nice romantic meal at home. Ours wasn't as pretty as yours (more gray than white), but had a very nice flavor. Paired with homemade croutons, it warmed our cockles :-)