Oyster Stew is my family Christmas tradition, but it is an excellent comfort food for serving all year round.  The creamy seafood flavor is truly satisfying as well as easy and quick to prepare.

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When Christmas comes around I always get sentimental and think about my family tradition of oyster stew on Christmas Eve. As a child I did not eat it, until one Christmas Eve my father found a pearl in his stew. From that point on I started eating oyster stew in hopes of finding a pearl. As an adult I eat the stew because I enjoy the creamy seafood flavor. I will eat oyster stew all year round. In the old days you could only get oysters in the months that had an “r”. These days we can buy oysters all year round. I usually find the oysters in a container that have been pasteurized and have a decent shelf life when refrigerated. I prefer the small oysters that are found in the Apalachicola area. But I will eat any size, including the Pacific oysters which can get pretty large.
This is such an easy recipe, with few ingredients. It can be prepared so quickly that it makes a great meal choice for busy days.

Using a large saucepan, melt your butter over medium low heat.

Add the minced onions and cook until translucent. This will release their flavors into the butter.

Next drain the juices from the oysters into the butter and onion mixture. Bring this to a boil and then simmer for 5 to 10 minutes to reduce the liquid.

Lower the heat to medium and add the milk and half and half. We want to heat the mixture but do not want it to boil. If this starts boiling it will curdle the milk. So watch it closely and even reduce to medium low heat if necessary. I watch for small bubbles on the outer edges of the liquid. I also watch to see steam rising from the liquid.

Now is the time to add the seasonings, hot sauce, salt and pepper.

When the mixture has reached the pre-boil stage, add the oysters.

Heat the stew until the edges of the oysters start to curl. This will take about eight minutes. Do not boil.

When the oysters are ready the stew is ready to pour into bowls. Sprinkle with paprika and serve with oyster crackers. Enjoy!

Recipe

Easy and Quick Oyster Stew

Servings: 4
1 pint oysters with liquid
5 tbsp. butter
½ cup onion, minced
3 cups whole milk
1 cup half and half
2 dashes hot sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp. paprika
Oyster crackers

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium low heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Strain the liquids from the oysters into the saucepan with the butter and onion. Bring to a boil and then simmer for five minutes. Lower heat to medium and stir in milk and half and half. Heat to just before a simmer. Do not boil or the milk will curdle. If necessary lower heat to medium low. Add the hot sauce, salt and pepper. When the milk mixture is forming steam, add the oysters. Heat over medium or medium low to prevent boiling until the oysters edges curl. This will take about eight minutes. Pour in bowls and sprinkle with paprika. Serve with oyster crackers.