Your best stuffing recipe

Bay_Kat

Tropical
I want it. No sourdough.

My mother had the best stuffing recipe, she never gave it to me, but I do remember as a kid, every Thanksgiving morning my job was sitting in front of the four slot toaster toasting loaves and loaves of bread. Big family, lots of stuffing.:killingme
 

MMM_donuts

New Member
My MIL brings stuffing (dressing......) every year but it has sausage in it. I don't think she's bringing it this year, though. We never really know until she shows up. My husband has a plan involving a muffin pan and individual stuffings so everyone gets some crust.

I don't love any of the aforementioned.

I'd certainly welcome any and all advice just in case I get to make my own.
 

Bay_Kat

Tropical
My MIL brings stuffing (dressing......) every year but it has sausage in it. I don't think she's bringing it this year, though. We never really know until she shows up. My husband has a plan involving a muffin pan and individual stuffings so everyone gets some crust.

I don't love any of the aforementioned.

I'd certainly welcome any and all advice just in case I get to make my own.

Stove Top :killingme
 

Railroad

Routinely Derailed
For convenience, I use a cornbread stuffing mix as a starter. I add the turkey giblets (boiled and chopped), a small can of mushrooms, and a little onion powder, garlic powder, and a generous amount of poultry seasoning. Where the stuffing mix instructions call for water, I use chicken broth instead. Sometimes I do add a little sausage to it, depending on whether or not I care about keeping things kosher.

The same result can be achieved by making cornbread and letting it dry out for a few days, chopping a stalk of celery, chopping 1/4 of a mild onion or chopping a shallot, and adding chopped chicken hearts and livers (the risk there is having too much of them left over and unused). Add tarragon, curry, rosemary, and poultry seasoning. Then do everything described in the first paragraph.

The good thing about having the stuffing ingredients cooked in advance is that you don't have to worry as much about it cooking all the way through when inside the bird. You still have to make sure the bird cooks, but the stuffing is much less of a concern.

A side note: Some people have coated the inside of the turkey with margarine before stuffing it. The idea behind that is that the white meat won't be as dry, but I think it works better to separate the skin from the breast and insert the greasy stuff underneath it, pulling the skin back into position.
 

Merlin99

Visualize whirled peas
PREMO Member
I want it. No sourdough.

Mines pretty traditional, a loaf of dried bread cubes, 1 cup each chopped celery and onion, 2 sticks of butter, 1 teaspoon of sage and enough broth to moisten it all.

Sauté onions and celery in butter, add bread cubes and sage then stir to combine. Add hot broth to moisten, usually takes 2 to 3 cups.
 

Lilypad

Well-Known Member
Mines pretty traditional, a loaf of dried bread cubes, 1 cup each chopped celery and onion, 2 sticks of butter, 1 teaspoon of sage and enough broth to moisten it all.

Sauté onions and celery in butter, add bread cubes and sage then stir to combine. Add hot broth to moisten, usually takes 2 to 3 cups.

Spot on. I add poultry seasoning (which has sage in it) and on occasion mild pork sausage. Keep it simple & tasty, and stuff it in the bird right before popping it in the oven.
 

twinoaks207

Having Fun!
I don't really measure anything, I just kind of toss it in, so here's the best guess.

  1. break up & brown 1 pound of pork sage sausage (I use Jimmy Dean) & set aside to drain on paper towels
  2. melt 2 sticks of butter in skillet
  3. Saute chopped celery, chopped green & red peppers, choppped onion until the onion is translucent & peppers are softened.
  4. Toss in the following herbs (to taste, keeping in mind that if using fresh, you need more): parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme (yes, just like the song), a few grinds of black pepper & sea salt, & saute a few more minutes.
  5. In the biggest bowl you have (or one of those big blue roasting pans) dump in a bag of regular stuffing cubes, a bag of herb seasoned stuffing cubes, and a bag of cornbread stuffing (brands don't matter).
  6. pour the sauted vegetables over the top of the stuffing cubes.
  7. pour a bit of chicken broth or stock (from a large carton) into the frying pan used to saute the veggies, swish it around a bit to get all the bits out and dump the broth/stock on top of the veggies & stuffing cubes.
  8. Add in the sausage.
  9. Stir, adding more broth/stock as needed until stuffing sticks together but is not gloppy.
  10. Stir in one cup or so of fresh cranberries (that have been rinsed off with water).
  11. Stuff bird & put extra stuffing in heavy-duty aluminun foil. Put foil packet into oven about one hour before turkey is done.
Sorry I can't give strict amounts but I don't really cook like that with something I've been making forever.
 

BadGirl

I am so very blessed
I don't really measure anything, I just kind of toss it in, so here's the best guess.

  1. break up & brown 1 pound of pork sage sausage (I use Jimmy Dean) & set aside to drain on paper towels
  2. melt 2 sticks of butter in skillet
  3. Saute chopped celery, chopped green & red peppers, choppped onion until the onion is translucent & peppers are softened.
  4. Toss in the following herbs (to taste, keeping in mind that if using fresh, you need more): parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme (yes, just like the song), a few grinds of black pepper & sea salt, & saute a few more minutes.
  5. In the biggest bowl you have (or one of those big blue roasting pans) dump in a bag of regular stuffing cubes, a bag of herb seasoned stuffing cubes, and a bag of cornbread stuffing (brands don't matter).
  6. pour the sauted vegetables over the top of the stuffing cubes.
  7. pour a bit of chicken broth or stock (from a large carton) into the frying pan used to saute the veggies, swish it around a bit to get all the bits out and dump the broth/stock on top of the veggies & stuffing cubes.
  8. Add in the sausage.
  9. Stir, adding more broth/stock as needed until stuffing sticks together but is not gloppy.
  10. Stir in one cup or so of fresh cranberries (that have been rinsed off with water).
  11. Stuff bird & put extra stuffing in heavy-duty aluminun foil. Put foil packet into oven about one hour before turkey is done.
Sorry I can't give strict amounts but I don't really cook like that with something I've been making forever.

I do this, too, except I use some of the Jimmy Dean spicy sausage. I cook that up, and remove the sausage crumbles when they are done. I then use the remaining fat to cook up the veggies mix, which means that I don't have to use butter to cook them. And I can use that butter to cook up some tasty baked goods. :biggrin:
 

twinoaks207

Having Fun!
I do this, too, except I use some of the Jimmy Dean spicy sausage. I cook that up, and remove the sausage crumbles when they are done. I then use the remaining fat to cook up the veggies mix, which means that I don't have to use butter to cook them. And I can use that butter to cook up some tasty baked goods. :biggrin:

Thanks! I'll have to try the spicy bit. I like the butter taste in the stuffing. My butter bill for December is horrendous -- cookie baking (chocolate chip, butter spritz, sugar cookies, etc! Everything is definitely better with butter! :lol:
 

RPMDAD

Well-Known Member
The problem around here with sausage stuffing is that most of it gets eaten before thansgiving.
 

acommondisaster

Active Member
I love anything savory, so stuffing/dressing is just about my favorite part of Thanksgiving. My mom pretty much followed the directions on the stuffing bag (seasoned), with sauteed onion and celery added. For added moisture, she added an beaten egg and for added flavor, she added a package of lipton onion soup mix. I made it this way for many years, always getting compliments, but in the past few years, I've gotten to where I think it's too salty, and it's time to try something new.

Oysters would be too exotic - too many in the family probably wouldn't go for it. From looking at the recipes everyone's shared, I think I'm going to use sage sausage and apples - maybe some walnuts. I saw a recipe by Ina Garten (and I always love her stuff) that included cranberries, and it's had really good reviews, but I'm afraid that'd be too far from what my family is used to. Thanks to everyone for sharing (keep them coming!) and a safe and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Keep our troops who are far from home in your thoughts as you sit down to eat.
 
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