You just solved a mystery for me about the moist factor. So it seems you should either a) forgo a stuffed bird or b) use a stuffing with some parts soft, fluffy bread, such as hamburger/hotdog buns. Thanks for the clue! I do have a question for you, though: Do you not chill the bird in the fridge uncovered first, after tucking in the butter and herbs? I just read of this method in Cook's Illustrated and was planning to try it next week.
My mother’s dressing was divine and I’ve never seen it made this way. She made homemade cornbread and biscuits -- no loaf bread. Then she put the mixture in a casserole dish, baked it, and cut it in squares to serve. I absolutely loved it.
Thank you as always for sharing your recipes and yourself with us! I look forward to your emails each Tuesday and Thursday! For years , I experimented with new and creative dressing recipes. My personal favorite had cornbread, sausage, apples and prunes (my dear FIL referred to it as geriatric stuffing 😉). A few years ago, my daughter begged me to make “normal” stuffing-bread, celery, onions, and butter. I’ve been using Bon Apetit’s “Simple is Best” recipe. I make sure I use good quality bread (a combination of challah and ciabatta), and a lot of fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage and parsley). It’s crispy, fluffy, buttery and loaded with carbs-perfect for Thanksgiving! Happy and healthy Thanksgiving to all!
Please consider making your recipes pinnable on Pinterest. I store all my recipes on Pinterest and am sad I can’t store yours there. Plus, it could aid in your marketing efforts.
You've got me thinking about family Christmas meals now as that is when we have the turkey! Unusually, we used to have a stuffed turkey and a baked tray of dressing (but which we also called stuffing) as my grandparents used to eat with us - our family stuffing recipe, from my Dad, contains pork sausage and whilst they happily ate from the turkey breast meat only which was above the stuffing (they subscribed to kosher but only in so far as not being awkward), they had veggie stuffing (Paxo, if you're familiar) on the side. Also: whilst I've put the recipe for our family stuffing on my blog (https://www.rachelphipps.com/2015/12/christmas-kitchen-bacon-wrapped.html) most people can't actually make it right, unless they live in the same county as me: it won't taste right without the local sausage meat. The year the government told us all we were not allowed to visit family for Christmas (stupid: we had no food in the house, so had to expose ourselves to Covid going to the store, where we would have been safer if we'd been allowed to go to family) the moment we secured a turkey crown I ran to the village shop for the suitable meat - if I'd not got it, Christmas would have been ruined!
Nov 16, 2022·edited Nov 16, 2022Liked by Anne Byrn
I suppose my recipe might say tradition? I use my mother’s recipe with Pepperidge farm herb dressing, apples, celery, onion, butter and sage sausage. My sister uses oysters. I used to stuff the turkey but stopped not because of bacteria but time management. I pour a can of consommé over the turkey and add a stick of butter. When the bird is done, I add plenty of drippings to the dressing and bake. I am intrigued with your idea of mixing breads!
While I have made homemade gravy, I cheat and use Campbell's.
As for stuffing, I use Pepperidge Farm's blue bag. I add sauteed onions & celery, poultry seasoning, butter, egg, and I use part of it to stuff the bird. I don't overstuff. And, I also spoon out some for me before stuffing the bird because it's my favorite side. I'm unapologetic for using PF, because my mom did, even though my aunt and grandma made Pennsylvania German "filling" from scratch. And my MIL used Stove Top chicken flavor--the same woman who said cakes from a box weren't real cakes.
Since I make the whole meal by myself, I need these shortcuts.
Thank you so much for all your cooking wisdom; I mean that sincerely. The work you do really does matter and helps so many. I am really looking forward to trying to make this turkey stock for the first time this year. I sure hope your new Southern Cookbook has a recipe for collard greens. I have never made those either, but I had them once at a restaurant. They offered them to us at a buffet type luncheon because they had extras left over from a dinner the night before, and I will never forget the flavor of the broth they were in-they were amazing!
I'm a Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Classic Stuffing guy and I don't apologize for it because my Mom made me that way. I'll add sausage, bless her soul, but not one more thing!
I learned something new reading your post. I’ve always struggled with the moistness. My mother always cooked the neck and other parts with celery and water. This broth was added to the bread cubes along with cooked mashed potatoes. Added to this would be chopped celery and onions cooked in 1 stick of butter and poultry seasoning. This was a great alternative to please both the bread stuffing lovers and the potato dressing lovers. It combines the best of both worlds. The potato people always thought the bread was too dry. As for to stuff or not to stuff. I’ve been stuffing the turkey for 20+ years but in the past my family has voiced the opinion not to stuff because of bacteria, not washing the turkey, thawing the turkey in water, letting it set on the counter, etc. in all these years we’ve never gotten sick. Either we’re just lucky or it’s the way I handle the process. To please my family I’ve bowed to their wishes. A small sacrifice to make in the whole scheme of things.
I love and prefer stuffing. Using a thermometer I always felt safe serving it to everyone. My dad loved fresh oyster stuffing. I love sausage stuffing but can make any flavor you ask for.
Anne, thank you so much for this newsletter you cannot imagine how helpful it is to me. I have always been scared to death to make homemade gravy, but your directions make it seem so simple and streamlined. Since my mom passed away almost 10 years ago, I have tried to figure it out myself by reading recipe books etc. but they all seem so complicated. They’re always telling you to use a gravy separator to separate the fat from the drippings etc. and I always have a hard time telling the difference between the two. I’ve never made homemade Turkey stock, but I bet it does make a world of difference in the flavor. I’ve always used homemade chicken stock. When you say that you could also use wings or legs to make more broth, do you put those in the oven to roast them the day before or do you also boil them like you do the turkey neck? How much water do you add to the legs and wings if you do that if you want to have a lot of gravy? Is there a ratio of water to the number of pounds of meat you’re supposed to use? I would really like to make homemade turkey broth/ stock this year so I could use it for the gravy and the dressing etc. Thank you for all your advice and assistance.
By the way, I might cross-post this to Brunette Gardens.
You just solved a mystery for me about the moist factor. So it seems you should either a) forgo a stuffed bird or b) use a stuffing with some parts soft, fluffy bread, such as hamburger/hotdog buns. Thanks for the clue! I do have a question for you, though: Do you not chill the bird in the fridge uncovered first, after tucking in the butter and herbs? I just read of this method in Cook's Illustrated and was planning to try it next week.
My mother’s dressing was divine and I’ve never seen it made this way. She made homemade cornbread and biscuits -- no loaf bread. Then she put the mixture in a casserole dish, baked it, and cut it in squares to serve. I absolutely loved it.
Thank you as always for sharing your recipes and yourself with us! I look forward to your emails each Tuesday and Thursday! For years , I experimented with new and creative dressing recipes. My personal favorite had cornbread, sausage, apples and prunes (my dear FIL referred to it as geriatric stuffing 😉). A few years ago, my daughter begged me to make “normal” stuffing-bread, celery, onions, and butter. I’ve been using Bon Apetit’s “Simple is Best” recipe. I make sure I use good quality bread (a combination of challah and ciabatta), and a lot of fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage and parsley). It’s crispy, fluffy, buttery and loaded with carbs-perfect for Thanksgiving! Happy and healthy Thanksgiving to all!
Please consider making your recipes pinnable on Pinterest. I store all my recipes on Pinterest and am sad I can’t store yours there. Plus, it could aid in your marketing efforts.
You've got me thinking about family Christmas meals now as that is when we have the turkey! Unusually, we used to have a stuffed turkey and a baked tray of dressing (but which we also called stuffing) as my grandparents used to eat with us - our family stuffing recipe, from my Dad, contains pork sausage and whilst they happily ate from the turkey breast meat only which was above the stuffing (they subscribed to kosher but only in so far as not being awkward), they had veggie stuffing (Paxo, if you're familiar) on the side. Also: whilst I've put the recipe for our family stuffing on my blog (https://www.rachelphipps.com/2015/12/christmas-kitchen-bacon-wrapped.html) most people can't actually make it right, unless they live in the same county as me: it won't taste right without the local sausage meat. The year the government told us all we were not allowed to visit family for Christmas (stupid: we had no food in the house, so had to expose ourselves to Covid going to the store, where we would have been safer if we'd been allowed to go to family) the moment we secured a turkey crown I ran to the village shop for the suitable meat - if I'd not got it, Christmas would have been ruined!
Discovering “The Trick” was worth every word in this post. Thank you for sharing!
I suppose my recipe might say tradition? I use my mother’s recipe with Pepperidge farm herb dressing, apples, celery, onion, butter and sage sausage. My sister uses oysters. I used to stuff the turkey but stopped not because of bacteria but time management. I pour a can of consommé over the turkey and add a stick of butter. When the bird is done, I add plenty of drippings to the dressing and bake. I am intrigued with your idea of mixing breads!
While I have made homemade gravy, I cheat and use Campbell's.
As for stuffing, I use Pepperidge Farm's blue bag. I add sauteed onions & celery, poultry seasoning, butter, egg, and I use part of it to stuff the bird. I don't overstuff. And, I also spoon out some for me before stuffing the bird because it's my favorite side. I'm unapologetic for using PF, because my mom did, even though my aunt and grandma made Pennsylvania German "filling" from scratch. And my MIL used Stove Top chicken flavor--the same woman who said cakes from a box weren't real cakes.
Since I make the whole meal by myself, I need these shortcuts.
Thank you so much for all your cooking wisdom; I mean that sincerely. The work you do really does matter and helps so many. I am really looking forward to trying to make this turkey stock for the first time this year. I sure hope your new Southern Cookbook has a recipe for collard greens. I have never made those either, but I had them once at a restaurant. They offered them to us at a buffet type luncheon because they had extras left over from a dinner the night before, and I will never forget the flavor of the broth they were in-they were amazing!
I'm a Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Classic Stuffing guy and I don't apologize for it because my Mom made me that way. I'll add sausage, bless her soul, but not one more thing!
I learned something new reading your post. I’ve always struggled with the moistness. My mother always cooked the neck and other parts with celery and water. This broth was added to the bread cubes along with cooked mashed potatoes. Added to this would be chopped celery and onions cooked in 1 stick of butter and poultry seasoning. This was a great alternative to please both the bread stuffing lovers and the potato dressing lovers. It combines the best of both worlds. The potato people always thought the bread was too dry. As for to stuff or not to stuff. I’ve been stuffing the turkey for 20+ years but in the past my family has voiced the opinion not to stuff because of bacteria, not washing the turkey, thawing the turkey in water, letting it set on the counter, etc. in all these years we’ve never gotten sick. Either we’re just lucky or it’s the way I handle the process. To please my family I’ve bowed to their wishes. A small sacrifice to make in the whole scheme of things.
I love and prefer stuffing. Using a thermometer I always felt safe serving it to everyone. My dad loved fresh oyster stuffing. I love sausage stuffing but can make any flavor you ask for.
Enjoyed the article on stuffing/dressing. A few years ago I began to add croissants to my stuffing and it has become our family favorite.
Anne, thank you so much for this newsletter you cannot imagine how helpful it is to me. I have always been scared to death to make homemade gravy, but your directions make it seem so simple and streamlined. Since my mom passed away almost 10 years ago, I have tried to figure it out myself by reading recipe books etc. but they all seem so complicated. They’re always telling you to use a gravy separator to separate the fat from the drippings etc. and I always have a hard time telling the difference between the two. I’ve never made homemade Turkey stock, but I bet it does make a world of difference in the flavor. I’ve always used homemade chicken stock. When you say that you could also use wings or legs to make more broth, do you put those in the oven to roast them the day before or do you also boil them like you do the turkey neck? How much water do you add to the legs and wings if you do that if you want to have a lot of gravy? Is there a ratio of water to the number of pounds of meat you’re supposed to use? I would really like to make homemade turkey broth/ stock this year so I could use it for the gravy and the dressing etc. Thank you for all your advice and assistance.
Anne, what *your* discussion of dressing stuffing says about you is just wonderful. Thank you for being so gracefully ecumenical on these issues.