Bill Bennett's oyster thing

Several years ago, I had a brother-in-law who made the most divine oyster dish at Thanksgiving and Christmas family gatherings. Sadly, the family had an internicene feud and no one speaks to each other anymore. The glue that held the family together, my gracious, beautiful Southern lady mother in law, died a few years back. Said brother-in-law showed his true stripes upon her death, robbing the rest of the family of their inheritance by hook and crook (and lots of legal fees).



He always maintained that his secret oyster recipe would never be shared as it had passed down from his mother to him. Unbeknownst to him, my sweet mother-in-law shared it with me. I don't think she really liked him very much! Anyway, it is my true pleasure to share this with everyone.



As I stated in an earlier post, many of my recipes bear the name of the person from whom I received them. Even though I received this from my dear mother-in-law, I still enjoy the dig at my erstwhile brother-in-law by attaching his name to this post.
Please enjoy!



Bill Bennett's Oyster Thing



1 stick butter

1/2 cup flour

1/2 t. paprika, salt and pepper

dash of red pepper

1 medium onion finely chopped

1/2 green pepper finely chopped

1 t/ garlic

1T lemon juice

1 T. worcestershire sauce
1 qt. oysters (buy select-style, not jumbo)
1/2 c. saltine crumbs

Make a very dark roux from flour and butter stirring constantly (this takes about 30 minutes but is well worth is and made tolerable if one has a stool on which to perch while stirring). Add seasonings and stir for 3 minutes. Add onion, pepper and garlic and cook for 5 more minutes.

In a separate pan, heat oysters in their own juice until the edges curl. Add to roux and pour into a greased casserole dish. Top with saltine crumbs. Bake at 400 for about 30 minutes.