Oysters Johnny Reb
Having been born and raised in Vicksburg, Mississippi for 16
years before moving to Florida by way of Georgia, I feel I have
been blessed with a practical education in culinary delights that
few others - unless they are from the Deep South as well - can
match.
One of my favorite recipes was a standard item on the menu at a
restaurant in Vicksburg called "The Old Southern Tea
Room". I dont know if it is still in business - I
havent been back since 1966 - but here is my version of
"Oysters Johnny Reb" from the Old Southern Tea Room in
Vicksburg, Miss.
You will need a casserole dish, fresh raw oysters, saltines,
butter, Tabasco sauce, chopped scallions ("green
onions" to you Yankees), plenty of fresh chopped parsley, a
little milk, and Lea and Perrins sauce. (I cant spell
Worcestershire).
Butter the casserole dish and crush up a package of saltines.
Spread a layer of saltines in the bottom of the casserole as a
crust. On top of the saltines, lay in a layer of the fresh
oysters (no shells please). I did have someone ask me once when I
was describing this dish if they could leave the oysters in the
shell, since they were hard to open. They were astounded when I
told them that you could buy oysters by the pint, already
shucked. Place one drop each of Tabasco sauce and Lea and Perrins
sauce on each oyster (more is better). Sprinkle the entire layer
with the chopped fresh parsley and the chopped scallions, and
then cover that layer with another layer of saltines. On top of
this layer of saltines add a few dollops (dont anyone dare
ask me what a dollop is unless you truly want to start another
war) of butter and another layer of oysters. Continue layering in
the same order until you have filled your casserole dish or run
out of ingredients, whichever comes first.
You should make the top layer a layer of saltines with butter on
top and then poke a few holes in the casserole. Add a little milk
and oyster liquor (juice) to make it moist. Put it in a
pre-heated oven at 350 degrees and bake for forty- five minutes
or until it is as done as you like. If the top starts getting too
dark, cover it with Reynolds wrap. If youve cooked this
dish right, it should come out with the consistency of dressing
out of your Thanksgiving turkey. If it is too runny, you added
too much milk and oyster liquor. Dont fret, youll do
better next time. If its too dry, you can always add some
oyster liquor, as long as you didnt drink it all. If you
did drink it all, you can add a little milk.
This is truly food for the gods and you shouldnt share this
recipe with too many of your friends since oysters are getting a
little scarce these days. I wouldnt want them to be added
to the endangered species list just because too many of you folks
told all your friends how great they were.
Enjoy,
Capt. Charlie
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