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| Photo by Cris Watson |
Momma made this stew every Christmas Eve for the family to share when we gathered at her house. She was a great cook and loved cooking for her family. Special memories. Cris
NOTE: the stew must be cooked slowly over a low to low-medium heat. Higher heat can cause the milk to scorch and ruin the taste of the stew. Be patient!
You will need a LARGE (at least a 10 quart) stock pot to combine and cook the stew. You will also need a spatula or wooden spoon with a long enough handle to reach the bottom of the stock pot (a metal spoon will scrape the bottom of the stock pot).
Slow, steady moving of the stew while it cooks keeps it from sticking to the bottom and scorching the milk.
Ingredients:
3 quarts of fresh, raw, Select oysters - DO NOT DRAIN
3 quarts of Half and Half (hold out 1 cup to dissolve the corn starch and
keep it cold)
3 sticks of unsalted butter (margarine doesn't give it the same rich flavor as butter)
½ teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper (more or less to taste)
1/3 to ½ CUP of Old Bay Seasoning (more or less to taste)
To thicken the broth you will need:
1/4 to 1/3 cup corn starch (depending on how thick you want the broth to be)
The reserved 1 cup of cold Half & Half
Directions:
Cook the stew over medium-low heat. DON'T use higher heat as the milk could scorch and ruin the stew.
1. In the stock pot over medium heat, melt the butter.
2. Slowly stir in 2 of the quarts Half & Half, butter, salt, pepper, sugar, and Old Bay (start with just the 1/3 cup of Old Bay; you can always add more if towards the end of the cooking if it needs more flavor).
3. If the milk seems to be sticking to the bottom of the pot, LOWER heat to medium-low or even low heat and slowly stir the heating liquid until all of the ingredients are well blended.
4. Slowly add in the oysters and the liquid one quart at a time, stirring to blend with the milk mixture.
5. Continue to slowly stir the stew until the oysters are cooked (the edges of the oysters will "ruffle' when they are done).
6. In ½ of the cup of reserved Half & Half, add 1/4 cup of cornstarch and stir until all of the cornstarch is dissolved.
7. SLOWLY pour the cornstarch mixture into the hot stew, stirring to blend.
NOTE: you do not want the stew liquid to be thin and "watery" but you don't want it to be thick like soft pudding either - but this is entirely to taste; make the broth as thin or as thick as you like it.
If the 1/4 cup of cornstarch does not make the stew broth thick enough, add the remainder of the cornstarch to the ½ cup of cold milk, dissolve it completely, and slowly add to the stew.
8. Continue slowly stirring the stew for another 5 to 8 minutes for the cornstarch to fully cook into the broth.
9. It is now ready to eat! Remove from heat and put a lid on the pot to keep it warm.
If you need to keep it warm for serving, reduce the heat to the lowest setting BUT stir it frequently to keep the broth from sticking to the bottom and scorching.
10. Ladle the stew into bowls, top with Oyster cracker and enjoy!
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| Clipart courtesy of FreeClipart |
