Oyster Stuffing: Is it Worth All the Shucking?

We've never had oyster stuffing. Have you? Whoa, it's a lot of work if you're talking about shucking dozens of fresh oysters to chop and bake with your bread cubes. But the payoff (we hear) is that the bread soaks up the oyster liquor, and you get a richness that's beyond what sausage or a little chicken broth can offer. As for the origins of oyster stuffing... it's complicated.

We've read that it comes from the Northeast, but there's ample evidence it's a Southern dish, too, and both make sense. You'd likely find oyster stuffing where you find oysters, and that's in the waters on the East Coast, whether New England, the Lowcountry, or the Gulf. As for why they're in Thanksgiving stuffing, it's the perfect time of year to highlight oysters (tradition dictates you eat 'em in the months that end in "r," after all).

An all-about-stuffing article on Slate points out that cross-country railroads in the 19th century made oysters available—if highly prized—to midwesterners. The article quotes M.F.K. Fisher as saying, "Not every man could buy oysters, God knows, and a Middle Westerner was even prouder than a man from Down East to have those shell-fish on his feast-day."

So, where does that leave us? How about some recipes? Most of these involve using the splashy liquor in the oyster shells to make the stuffing moist and well-seasoned. The one pictured above even uses canned, smoked oysters, so you can skip the shucking.

• Oyster Stuffing, from Saveur.
• Herbed Oyster Stuffing, from Gourmet.
• Oyster Brioche Stuffing, from Martha Stewart Living.
• Smoked Oyster and Bacon Stuffing, from Everyday Food (pictured above).

• Read the Slate article: The Good Stuff.

Who eats oyster stuffing out there? Where do you think the tradition comes from?

(Image: MarthaStewart.com)

Comments (7)

Shucking? No. You buy a little container of oysters already shucked, fresh from the cold case (NOT canned). Even when I was a little girl they came that way. We ate oysters raw from the shell, but if you were cooking them in oyster stew or dressing, they came out of the shell. I live in Boston area and I usually see these oysters only at T'giving & Xmas in my not very good Stop & Shop.

Also--my Southern father insisted on oyster stew on Xmas Eve. That was our family's tradition.

hmmm on our (midwestern) thanksgiving table, oysters (canned smoked ones) are eaten on crackers before the meal. outsiders will never understand.

I agree with Charlotte on the little containers. Oysters are essential to stuffing, it loses so much in flavor and texture without them.

I'm from Louisiana where oysters are practically everywhere (good ones, too!) but the one place I don't know anyone to eat them...is stuffing. Yes, I know of oyster stuffing, but I don't know one oyster fan who makes/ eats it. Oysters are delicious, but not chopped up in my stuffing. Most people I know do shrimp stuffing (we do too)

Xmas Eve we always had Oyster Stew and the next day my dads always changing Oyster stuffing. He always got the Oyster in a container from the cold case..no shucking.

I wish my hubby liked oysters so I can at least make one of these dishes every year

Oyster stuffing is one of the best things about Thanksgiving. Restaurants in my home of Nags Head, NC offer oyster and traditional stuffing on their spreads.

Potential problems with buying pint oysters are shuck dates and locale harvested. Just my opinion, but provenance is important.

My aunt has made oyster stuffing every year for Thanksgiving, for as long as I can remember, and she's born and raised in southern Louisiana.

My mom makes seafood stuffing with shrimp, crawfish, and crab meat, and I much prefer that to oyster stuffing.