Oystering runs in chef Madden Surbaugh’s family; he was born and raised near the water. His grandfather created his well-known oyster stew, a silky bisque fit for any occasion, every Christmas.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 20 mins |
| Total Time: | 35 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 2 shallots, minced
- ½ cup dry sherry or dry white wine
- 24 freshly shucked oysters, oyster liquor reserved
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- sea salt to taste
- 1 pinch sweet paprika
- 1 cup oyster crackers
Instructions
- Stir butter and garlic in a stockpot over medium heat until butter begins to brown. Remove garlic and discard.
- Stir shallots into browned butter. Cook and stir until translucent, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Pour sherry over shallots in the stockpot and bring to a boil while scraping any browned bits off of the bottom of the pot. Simmer until liquid is reduced by half, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Pour reserved oyster liquor, milk, and cream into the stockpot; bring mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in oysters; cook until oyster edges begin to ruffle, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Stir in parsley; season with sea salt to taste. Ladle into bowls and garnish with sweet paprika and oyster crackers.
- If using canned oysters, drain the oysters over a bowl to collect the liquid. Then use this liquid in place of oyster liquor.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 806 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 46 g |
| Cholesterol | 295 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 36 g |
| Saturated Fat | 28 g |
| Sodium | 1148 mg |
| Sugars | 6 g |
| Fat | 52 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
This was delicious. I made a low fat version with fat free 1/2 & 1/2, skim milk and chicken broth instead of wine. Also subbed paprika with Old Bay seasoning based on other reviews. Was thinner than it would have been with cream but full of flavor, will make again.
I love oysters and I’ve made this several times. I think it’s the best oyster stew recipe – very simple and always delicious.
Great stew, very quick and easy to make. I used fresh PEI oysters, half pinch paprika and a pinch of old bay seasoning, garnish with the parsley and fresh dill from the garden. My guests loved it. This recipe is a keeper
Replaced the paprika with Old Bay instead and added a can of potatoes to ‘Marylandize’ it. Very good.
This recipe was delicious, used packaged oysters available at Christmas. They were fresh but not in shells. I used the liquid they were in in the stew. It was pretty fabulous. I can’t thank you enough. Most oyster recipes are not this good. I’m hooked. Sundance Mom
Love this soup! Perfect for cooler days but not too heavy for a warm day either. If you like oysters, I’d definitely add more than suggested (I totally did). Love the flavors.
Easy recipe with great flavor!
Takes me back to my youth!
Love the beach as we do, it’s great to have this recipe in my back pocket! Love the addition of the cream of sherry, gave it sweetness, and smooth taste. Thank you to whom ever added it!
Used fresh oysters, subbed 1/2 med onion for shallots, skipped parsley & paprika, added dash of Walker & Sons Hot “Slap Ya Mamma” cajun style seasoning for a little kick. This turned out to be delicious. I can see this becoming a classic for me. I feel like the parsley and paprika were more for appearance than anything, but they may add extra flavor?
The flavors for this were fantastic! I didn’t make any changes and loved how simple and easy this recipe is. I will definitely make it again when we don’t have kids (because they aren’t oyster fans).
Overall this is a quick, easy and delicious recipe. I used cream instead of half and half, and added a touch of sherry, cayenne pepper and hot sauce. I didn’t have any oyster crackers, so I broke up some stoned wheat thins, which worked well. Go easy on the salt depending on the brinyness of your oysters. I used fresh Blue Point oysters which were on the salty side, but still very meaty and delicious!
did not turn out tasty. Perhaps it was the oysters itself from a can.
Amazing! I added cayenne pepper to taste for a little kick and it was delicious! For left overs: remove the oysters from the left over stew. Heat the liquid only on simmer until hot. Add the oysters exactly like in the recipe. Watch carefully but done right the oysters will be as tender and delicious as when made fresh.
I made a dairy free version. I used Rice milk in place of the milk and coconut cream in place of the heavy cream. Instead of butter I used Ghee (use only 1/2 of what the recipe calls for the butter) If you like it thicker you can use arrowroot mixed with a little bit of water to thicken it up. That is preference only.
Really good!!! I didn’t rinse my oysters well enough and had some shell pieces in the bottom. Ill rinse next time and save the liquid from the jar. I bought a quart of them at Costco, but I’m in the northwest and we have oysters everywhere up here along the coast!! We are so fortunate. But the flavor is really good!! I’m a little confused as to the 24 oysters. What size? They vary so much. I had extra small and about a quart of them. I added maybe another cup of milk just to make sure I had enough liquid. I also chopped up the oysters into bite size chunks. This was super easy and FAST to make. Whipped it up in about 30 min. I added saltines on top.
I LOVED this! It had this beautiful pure ocean essence! The balance of cream and flavor was so lovely my mouth was watering after every spoonful! I’d like to give a big thank you to the author for sharing such a beloved family recipe with the rest of the world! Your Grandfather was a true chef!
I have made this both with and without the sherry. It really depends on your personal preference. Either way you can’t go wrong. This is a great recipe.
2nd year making this amazing stew. My twist? 1/2 bacon grease 1/2 butter in step 1. Oh yes. I went there. Grandpa would be proud.
I mixed some 1% milk with heavy cream for a lighter taste. Very good recipe. I would make again.
Great recipe and very easy to fis!