Old Fashioned Oyster Stew

     To some people this recipe is nothing to get excited about.  When I post a classic traditional recipe, I have the integrity to never add extra ingredients.  This recipe is very basic. 
     Oyster stew is a favorite at seafood restaurants from Maine to Florida.  The object of this recipe is to let the oysters flavor the stew and not to flavor the oysters.
     I have shucked over ten tons of oysters in my lifetime.  Use large fresh Blue Point Oysters or Virginia oysters to make this recipe.
     Recipe:  Shuck 4 or 5 oysters and reserve the oyster liquor (Oyster Juice).
     Heat a sauce pot over medium heat.
     Add 2 pats of unsalted butter.
     Add a small piece of salt pork over medium heat.  (About a 1/2 teaspoon size piece of salt pork is plenty.) 
     Sizzle the salt pork lightly, but do not let it turn brown.
     Add a 1 teaspoon of finely minced onion.
     Add the oysters.
     Saute the oysters lightly till they are half cooked.
     Add the reserved oyster liquor.
     Add a 1/2 cup of cream.
     Add 1 cup of milk.
     Add a tiny pinch of white pepper.  (No salt is necessary!  The salt pork is plenty salty.)
     Add a pinch of nutmeg.
     Reduce the temperature to medium low heat.
     Simmer the oyster stew, till the oysters are done cooking.  (Do not over heat or over cook oysters or they will become tough!)
     Pour the oyster stew in to a shallow serving bowl. 
     Sprinkle a pinch of paprika on the oyster stew as a garnish.
     Every sip of this old fashioned creamy stew tastes rich with the ocean flavor of oysters!  Tender large oysters are perfect in a stew.  Don't add sea salt because the salt pork is plenty salty.  The flavor of this simple oyster stew will bring back great memories of summers at the beach!  Yummy!  ...  Shawna