South Jersey Oyster Pie

Ingredients

• 0.5 pound bacon 
• 3 stalks celery chopped
• 3 tablespoons flour all-purpose
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 small bell pepper green chopped
• 0.8 cup heavy cream 
• 1 small onion chopped
• 24  dozens oysters with liquid reserved
• 1  double crust ready-to-use pie crust 
• 0.5 teaspoon seafood seasoning to taste old bay® (such as )

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• paper towels
• oven
• pie form

Directions

1. Cook the bacon in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat until golden brown, about 10 minutes; remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, reserving the drippings. Crumble the bacon.
2. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a 9-inch pie pan with 1 of the pie crusts.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of the reserved bacon drippings in a skillet over medium-low heat; add the onion, celery, garlic, and green pepper to the hot drippings, cover, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
4. Remove the cooked vegetables to a bowl. Increase heat to medium and stir 3 tablespoons of the reserved drippings and the flour together in the skillet to make a thick paste. Slowly pour the cream and 1 cup of the reserved liquid from the oysters into the paste; cook and stir until a thick gravy forms. Fold the bacon, oysters, and vegetables into the mixture; season with seafood seasoning.
5. Pour the mixture into the prepared pie crust. Cover with the remaining crust.
6. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 30 minutes.