Oyster Stew (Oyster stew)

Overview

Oyster stew is a simple American soup of fresh oysters warmed in milk, cream and butter. Shucked oysters are heated gently in their own liquor with plenty of butter just until their edges begin to curl, then hot milk and cream are added. The soup is never boiled, so the oysters stay plump and tender and the milk does not curdle. It is seasoned only with salt, black pepper and sometimes a pinch of cayenne, celery salt or a dash of Worcestershire sauce, and finished with more butter and paprika. It is served at once with small oyster crackers.

History

Oyster stew has long been popular in the United States. In New England it is often served at Thanksgiving, and in the South it is a tradition on Christmas Eve. One explanation is that before refrigerated transport, the weather was not cold enough to ship oysters inland safely until December, so oysters arrived in markets just in time for the holiday and became a symbol of the season.

Main ingredients

Oysters, milk, cream, butter, oyster liquor, black pepper. The soup is built on milk and oyster liquor and is usually served hot. Diet: pescatarian; not usually gluten-free.

Explore: More soups from United States

Recipe

4Serves

25 min10 prep · 15 cook

~380kcal / serving

EasyDifficulty

Method

1. 1

   Warm the milk and cream in a pan without boiling.

2. 2

   Melt half the butter in another pan, add the oysters and their liquor and heat gently until the edges curl.

3. 3

   Pour in the hot milk and cream.

4. 4

   Season with salt, pepper and cayenne and heat through without boiling.

5. 5

   Serve with the rest of the butter, a dusting of paprika and oyster crackers.

6. ✓

   Serve. About 25 min from start to bowl.

Sources

• Oyster stew (Wikipedia)

Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.