4tablespoons1/4 stick butter, divided (you can also use olive oil, ghee or bacon fat)
½cupchopped white onion
2celery stalks, chopped
1carrot, chopped
3garlic cloves, minced
¼cupchopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
2tablespoonschopped thyme leaves
1tablespoonfresh sage, finely chopped
2 8-ouncejars fresh oysters, drained, liquid reserved coarsely chopped (you can also use fresh if you feel like shucking)
½ to 1cuplow-sodium chicken broth
2pasture-raised eggs, lightly beaten (optional)
sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
Preheat oven to 300°F. Evenly spread out the bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet (use two if necessary). Bake until dry and lightly golden, but not browned, about 15 minutes. Transfer bread to very large bowl. Increase the oven temperature to 350ºF.
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add onion, celery and carrot; sauté, stirring occasionally, for 7 to 8 minutes. Add the minced garlic and continue to cook mixture for 1 more minute, then remove from heat, add to bread, and stir to combine.
Add the fresh herbs and the chopped oysters to the bread with small amount of their liquid. Continue to add a little oyster liquor and up to 1 cup more chicken broth, as needed; mixture should be very moist. Add the eggs. Season to taste with salt and pepper
Pour the stuffing back into the greased/seasoned cast iron skillet or a greased baking dish. Cut remaining 2 tablespoons butter into small pieces and scatter over top of dressing (you can also use ghee or olive oil). Cover with foil and bake until heated through, about 30 minutes, then uncover and continue to bake until the top is crisp, another 15-20 minutes. Serve warm.
Notes
I find cubing the bread at least 1 day ahead of when I plan toast the bread and make the stuffing allows the bread to dry out a bit and makes for even toastier cubes. I cut up the cubes and arrange them in the single layer on a baking sheet and place them into a unheated oven overnight. This stuffing can be made 1 day in advance. Prepare as directed and skip the final baking step. Keep covered and in the refrigerator. I prefer to use fresh raw oysters already shucked and in a jar with their liquor, usually found refrigerated right at the seafood counter. Most fishmongers, will also shuck fresh oysters for you while). You can also use canned oysters, if you can't find fresh. You can read more about adding oysters to stuffing, here.