At the GO we believe strongly in the tradition of oyster dressing at Thanksgiving. Just consider the beauty of this pairing — a bite of perfectly roasted turkey topped off with oyster-cornbread goodness. It’s quite simply surf-n-turf at the Thanksgiving table — what a beautiful thing!
We offer you the option of picking up this deliciousness from the GO (just place your order by this Friday, November 16; click here for full menu!) Or if you happen to be a little more DIY (that’s do-it-yourself for non-acronym users) then here’s our recipe below. This comes straight from our cookbook, Glass Onion Classics, and so there is just one difference from our current restaurant version. At the time of publication, we had yet to fully embrace that our GO sausage, Belle’s Country Links, simply make most dishes better (including Oyster Dressing!) So, feel free to substitute one Belle’s Country Link for the bacon that our original recipe suggests.
We sell Belle’s Country Links at the GO, on our website, and through Callie’s Biscuits website.
And once again, don’t forget if you would like to let the GO alleviate some of your holiday stress — feel free to order starters, sides and sweets from us by this Friday, November 16. Just call 843-225-1717. Click here for full holiday menu, and don’t forget the oyster dressing!!
Oyster Dressing
Although my partner and I grew up in different Southern states with varied culinary traditions, we both have fond memories of oyster dressing at Thanksgiving. We each had our different takes on the dish. But here we took the best of all our memories and created an oyster dressing that we proudly sell at the GO for Thanksgiving pickup!
Softened butter, for pan
1/2 cup finely chopped bacon (about 4 1/2 ounces or 4 standard grocery store slices) (or one Belle’s Country Link, casing removed!)
2 ½ cups finely chopped onion (about 1 large onion)
1 ¼ cups finely chopped celery (about 3 medium stalks)
1 cup finely chopped carrot (about 1 medium carrot)
3 tablespoons thinly sliced garlic (about 3 garlic cloves)
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
1 ½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 recipe for Glass Onion Cornbread (see recipe below), made at least one day in advance, crumbled (this recipe yields about 6 cups of crumbled cornbread)
1 pint oysters, liquor drained off and reserved
Chicken stock, enough that when combined with oyster liquor equals 2 ½ cups
¼ cup heavy cream
4 large eggs
1 ½ tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage
1 ½ tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with softened butter.
Saute bacon (or sausage) in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Add onion, celery, carrot, and garlic to the skillet. Season with ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent and all released liquid has cooked off, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, transfer to large bowl and refrigerate until completely cool. Once cool, remove from refrigerator and add crumbled cornbread; stir to combine.
Combine oyster liquor, chicken stock, heavy cream, eggs, sage, thyme, and remaining teaspoon of salt and teaspoon of pepper in a medium bowl; whisk to combine. Add this mixture to cornbread-vegetable mixture and stir to combine. Add oysters and gently incorporate.
Pour dressing into baking dish. Bake until firm, about 1 ½ hours.
Yield: 10 to 12 servings
GO Cornbread
Ask a Southerner their preference on cornbread, and you are likely to receive an extensive monologue debating cornmeal, sugar, and more. We styled our cornbread with this in mind — trying to achieve a middle ground in density and sweetness. We highly recommend serving it with high-quality, local honey as a garnish.
Softened butter, for pan
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
2 cups buttermilk
Honey, for garnish
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Grease a 9-inch cast-iron skillet, or 8-inch square baking pan with softened butter. Whisk dry ingredients together in a large bowl; set aside. Whisk wet ingredients together in another large bowl. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients, stirring until just combined. Pour batter into pan and bake until a toothpick or knife inserted into center comes out clean, about one hour.
Allow to cool and then slice into wedges or squares, depending on your pan. Serve with honey.
Yield: 10 to 12 servings
