The Begault's New Orleans Oyster Dressing

In a very large cast iron Dutch oven or a very heavy, large pot, sweat the onion, celery, bell pepper, and add last the garlic, parsley and green pepper until the onions until the onions are soft and transparent and the veggies are almost dry. Simultaneously, brown the ground meat in a separate frying pan, adding a little salt and pepper until browned thoroughly. Drain the and dispose of the fat. Drain the oysters and reserve the liquid for later. Once the veggies are ready add the ground meat, and the chopped oysters, and cook over medium stirring constantly to blend ingredients. Add seasoning. Break up the stale French bread and soak in the oyster liquid. Wring out each piece of bread or cubes until almost dry and slowly add the to the meat, oysters and veggies, until incorporated. I usually add a fist full at a time and stir until integrated. Continue this until all of the bread is completely integrated into the mixture and cook until the mixture is very sticky and pulls away from the sides of the pot almost like a ball of dough. This can take some time but the aroma is outstanding. Taste for seasoning. I don’t season too much, because I like the natural flavors to come through. Once cooked, place in a casserole dish and cook covered on Thanksgiving Day at 375 degrees for about an hour until the mix hot and bubbly. I also stuff my bird with this and cook the remaining in a casserole dish. I usually make this the weekend before Thanksgiving and freeze it until a couple of days before Thanksgiving and then place it in the fridge to thaw before Thanksgiving Day. Makes great next week leftover dressing sandwiches on toast with lots of mayo.