South Jersey Oyster Pie - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1/2 pound bacon
1 double crust ready-to-use pie crust
1 small onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup heavy cream
24 oysters, shucked with liquid reserved
1/2 teaspoon seafood seasoning (such as Old Bay(R)), or more to taste

Preparation

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.
Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a 9-inch pie pan with 1 of the pie crusts.
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. 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. Pour the mixture into the prepared pie crust. Cover with the remaining crust.
Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 30 minutes.