Cajun Oyster Pie Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a large saute pan or cast iron skillet add bacon and cook over low heat until rendered and crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan onto a paper towel line plate and keep the bacon fat over low heat. There should be about 1/4 cup of bacon fat left in the pan, canola oil can be added if you need more. Add the onions and the celery and cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the green onions, garlic, Essence, salt, and cayenne. Add the flour and cook, stirring, to make a light roux, about 3 minutes. Add the oyster liquor, cream and lemon juice, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Next add the oysters and cook just until the oysters start to curl, about 2 minutes. Remove the oyster mixture from the heat and add the bacon and parsley, let cool slightly.
• Roll the dough out on a floured work surface and split into 2 equal pieces. Transfer half of the dough to a 9-inch pie pan and form into a crust and set aside.
• Pour the oyster mixture into the pie shell and cover with the other half of the rolled out dough. Crimp around the edges to seal and make slits in the top to allow steam to escape. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly, about 30 minutes. Allow to cool slightly prior to serving.
• In a food processor, combine the flour, diced butter and salt. Pulse the mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Drizzle in the ice water and pulse until the mixture comes together. Turn the dough out of the food processor, form into a ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• 1 pie shell
• Combine all ingredients thoroughly.
• Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch
• Published by William Morrow, 1993.

Steps:

• Bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until completely tender. Drain potatoes, reserving 1 cup of cooking liquid. Return potatoes to pot, add 2 tablespoons butter and season generously with salt and pepper. Mash well, adding cooking liquid as necessary to thin. Cover and keep warm.
• Meanwhile, render the bacon: Put a medium skillet over medium-high heat and add lardons. After a minute or so, when they begin to sizzle, turn heat to medium and stir them in pan to distribute evenly. Cook for a minute or two, letting bacon soften without browning. When it is just beginning to crisp, tip everything into a fine mesh sieve over a bowl to drain. (Reserve the fat for another purpose.) Set bacon aside.
• Put a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons butter. Add leeks, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until wilted but still bright green, about 1 minute. Add reserved bacon, thyme, crème fraîche, heavy cream, mustard and cayenne; bring to a simmer. Add oysters and oyster juices, cook 1 minute, then remove from heat. The mixture will be rather soupy.
• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Transfer oyster mixture to a low-sided casserole dish approximately 9 inches across. Carefully cover the surface with spoonfuls of mashed potatoes in an even layer. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and Parmesan and dot with butter. Set pan on a baking sheet in case there's overflow while cooking. Bake for about 40 minutes, until you can see the stew simmering at the edges and the top is beautifully browned. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with parsley.