A Baked Dressing Is The Absolute Best Way To Use Up Canned Oysters

There's one dish without which the Thanksgiving table is never complete. Whether you call it stuffing or dressing, make it with wheat bread or cornbread, stuff it in the turkey, or bake it on its own in a casserole dish, every family has a favorite recipe. And one that's usually found on Southern tables and along the North American East Coast is oyster dressing. From Louisiana to Alabama, the Carolinas, and New England, oysters are abundant and mostly inexpensive. But if you don't have access to fresh oysters where you live, or they are too expensive, a super easy and tasty alternative is to use canned oysters. 

Smoked and canned oysters are a versatile ingredient that can enhance many recipes, and oyster dressing is no exception. Canned smoked oysters will give your dressing more taste for less money. With the recent popularity of tinned seafood, canned oysters are widely available in most supermarkets and can cost as little as $2.50 depending on the brand. They are available natural packed in water, but, more commonly, they come smoked in oil and sometimes seasoned with a bit of chile, which will give your dressing a unique spicy and smoky flavor. 

Adding oysters to stuffing (as they say up North) or dressing (the Southern version) came into fashion in the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Oysters were ubiquitous on the Northeast coast and practically everyone ate them, so adding them to stuffing was just another way to enjoy them. When refrigerated trains started arriving inland, oysters were deemed a pricy luxury item; therefore, adding them to cornbread dressing became a status symbol for some. Either way, the tradition took root across the country, and many families today consider it a holiday tradition passed through generations. 

You can add canned or smoked oysters to any dressing recipe. For instance, leave out the sausage in this sourdough sausage stuffing recipe and swap for oysters. If you prefer cornbread dressing, just add the oysters to this from-scratch cornbread dressing recipe. Food historian and chef MM Pack suggests using the oil from the can to sauté the veggies along with the butter, adding the oysters at the end after mixing with the bread and stock. "They're already cooked and will cook more in the baking," she told Tasting Table. "Now I'm imagining a savory bread pudding or cornbread pudding with smoked oysters, caramelized onions, and maybe sun-dried tomatoes." If you like smoked oysters, chances are you will love adding them to your holiday dressing as a new tradition.