This recipe is a guest post from my husband. All of his recipes begin with “The Best” and they are but, I’m biased.
I grew up with my dad making a version of this every Thanksgiving. I always remember the incredible smell of the sautéing onions and celery. How I spiced it up to become “the best oyster stuffing ever” is by adding the sausage, Old Bay seasoning, red pepper flakes, and garlic. It is incredible – not too dry, not too mushy and tons of flavor. I always make a double batch so that there is plenty left over. It freezes well, also.
The Best Oyster and Sausage Stuffing – Ever!
- 1 pound spicy Italian sausage (ground, not link)
- 1/2 stick (1/4-cup) of butter
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 4 celery stalks, diced
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 pound mushrooms, chopped
- 6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoon poultry seasoning (or 1 teaspoon sage and 1 teaspoon thyme)
- 1 Tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoons Tony’s Lite Seasoning
- 1 jar (8 to 12 ounces) oysters drained, chopped – reserve liquid for later use
- 1 bag of bread cubes (about 8 cups) ([url href=”https://gogingham.com/2015/11/make-bread-cubes-thanksgiving/” target=”_blank”]here’s how to make them yourself – super easy![/url])
- 2 cups chicken broth, heated ([url href=”https://gogingham.com/2013/04/how-to-make-chicken-broth/” target=”_blank”]here’s how to make it yourself – easy and inexpensive[/url])
- Brown the sausage in a large pan and place cooked sausage in a bowl and cover.
- In the same pan used for browning the sausage, melt butter and add olive oil.
- Saute celery, onion, mushrooms, and garlic (in that order – to cook each equally) in the olive oil and butter mixture.
- Add all spices to the pan with the cooked celery, onion, mushroom, and garlic mixture.
- Add browned sausage back into celery, onion, mushroom, garlic, and spice mixture.
- Heat it through and then add oysters and reserved oyster liquid.
- Heat entire contents of pan on medium heat, to gently cook oysters.
- Put bread cubes in a large bowl.
- Add sausage, celery, onion, mushroom, garlic, and spice mixture to bread cubes and stir.
- Slowly add chicken broth to bowl until desired moistness and mix.
- Scoop into a covered casserole dish.
- Place covered casserole dish in pre-heated 350 degree oven for forty minutes.
Getting all the chopping and mincing done first makes this recipe come together quickly.
Notes for this recipe:
- We don’t actually “stuff” this in the turkey at all. As noted in the directions, once combined, just heat it through in the oven. This also allows flexibility for making the stuffing ahead of time or while the turkey is cooking (or a day ahead, for that matter).
- When making our own bread cubes, we use 1 1/2 loaves of campagnolo whole wheat sourdough – for a double batch. Cut bread into 1 – 1 1/2 pieces and then place on baking sheet in oven to toast.
- Adjust any ingredient to your own taste.
- Use fresh sage and thyme if you have them in your garden.
- Serves about six, with leftovers.
Do you have a family favorite Thanksgiving recipe? Have you changed it?
Go Gingham related links:
Celebrate Thanksgiving more simply and enjoy the holidays more
Grilled Thanksgiving turkey from two years ago
Cloth napkins for Thanksgiving that are made from an old skirt
A Thanksgiving tablecloth made with quilting techniques
Pumpkin spice cake would also make a nice dessert at Thanksgiving
Homemade cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving – make it the day before!
Pumpkin and squash soup – it’s easy and delicious!
Go Gingham 
Looks delicious! I’m going to make it for Thanksgiving. One question… when you say it serves 6, is that one batch? (not doubled) Thanks for sharing!
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Hi Shauna-
You will love it. The single batch serves 6 (usually with leftovers), although we like large servings! Once you make it let me know what you think or if you have any changes.
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