First of all, is it called stuffing or dressing? And do most people actually prefer it cooked in the bird?
Growing up, I've always known it as stuffing and traditionally it was made outside the bird and by one of my aunts and more often than not, it was heavy on the celery. For awhile, I thought stuffing was just okay, not great but good. Then, I tried oyster stuffing and realized I really hadn't been eating what I now consider stuffing. I'm talking about rich, fatty, flavorful stuffing that could be eaten as a main course be itself. call me crazy, but I simply love a good oyster stuffing.
Traditionally what kind of stuffing, or "dressing" do you eat? I'm curious to find out what the norm is?
Other kinds of stuffing I absolutely adore:
Shiitake Mushroom Stuffing- Recipe Girl
Southern Cornbread Dressing by Deep South Dish
Gluten Free Thanksgiving stuffing by Off the Wheaten Path
Not Stuffed Yet? Quick Links to More Stuffing!
Above Photo by Maggie Hoffman
Comments
October 20, 2010
we do both - stuff the bird and then cook it. at the same time we prepare additional dressing outside the bird. the stuffing is more moist as it has the juices from the bird mixed through. same formula for each:
bread loaves 4
apples 6-8 (cored and peeled)
hot sausage 4lbs
celery 2 stalks
Onions 3
garlic to taste
poultry seasoning
moisten to desired consistency
cook the sausage, all the apples, 1/2 the celery and onions until the sausage is completely cooked. pour the mixture (liquid as well) over the bread and mix the balance of the celery and onions. Stuff the bird and put the rest in aluminum tubs for cooking any time you wish to defrost.
Voila!
October 20, 2010
I agree with some Victorians who thought the word "stuffing" was vulgar and they preferred to say "dressing". I make an excellent dressing, I am told, using, of course, cornbread.
I will not put or eat dressing that has been placed inside the bird. The thought and act of spooning out food from the anal area of an animal is doubling vulgar.
October 20, 2010
I always thought dressing was different than stuffing. My mom would make dressing by cooking a huge pan of corn bread the day before and letting it sit out over night. Then the next day she would make the dressing using the corn bread, bread crumbs, turkey gizzards, cellery, and juice from the turkey, mix it in the pan and then bake it. Some more ingredients were used also. But I guess its all about tradition and what u prefer as far as taste. Being African American, we did as most would consider as soul food. But I have tried stuffing done by others and its not so bad......
October 21, 2010
stuffing is the the word we use in my family. I love to cook mine with butter,celery,onion and lots of sage. I cook these together on the stove first .Then i combine all that goodness with my dried cubed bread .slowly add a little water to moisten. last but not least stuff your bird.. the broth will add its own flavor. the stuffing with also flavor the bird . yummmmmmmmmmm.
October 22, 2010
My mother-in-law always made a pan of traditional dressing and a pan of traditional dressing with oysters added to the ingredients. It was awesome.
October 22, 2010
It's stuffing, because you stuff the bird with it, you don't "dress" the bird with it. I always cook it in the bird, it doesn't dry out that way. I melt butter, cook the onions, celery and other seasonings it it before I mix it with the dried bread - not the packaged dried bread-it makes horrible stuffing. My mother sometimes added brown rice or sausage.
October 23, 2010
I make my stuffing the way my mom and grandma did before her. The night before, I cube the bread, add diced onions and celery, sage, salt and pepper to taste, cover and let sit out to slightly dry overnight.. The next morning, I take the giblets (minus the liver) and the neck from the bird and cook with water, a chunk of onion, a stalk of celery and butter. After the giblets are done. I remove the meat to cool. when cool enough to handle, I chop the giblets and shred the meat from the neck and add to the bread cube mixture. Then I add the broth to moisten the stuffing and mix well. Right before putting the bird in the oven, the stuffing goes into the bird. The leftover broth has more butter added to it and used to baste the bird. My stuffing is always moist, always delicious and in 60+ years, no one has ever gotten sick from eating the stuffing out of the bird.
October 24, 2010
My mother always cooked the dressing not stuffing in a large pan outside of the bird. She made dressing with cornbread lots of it. she made it 1/2 cornbread, the other half was lite bread, crackers, and bisquits . It also had chopped celery, and chopped onions. she used the broth from the turkey. She added butter and chicken broth. Sometimes she would take a small bowl and add a can of oysters.
October 26, 2010
Stuffing-baked in a casserole. The basic ingredients are always similar-celery,onions,sage & other fresh herbs,butter,bread,broth,etc. Just DON'T LEAVE OUT THE SAUSAGE!!!!!
November 2, 2010
haha, just heard this one:
it's called dressing the first time around,
filling the second time,
and stuffing the third time around the table!
how true, how true.
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