What is the secret to your stuffing?

[Jeff Westover]

My lone big excuse for not going anywhere but my house on Thanksgiving is, well, ... the stuffing.

Nobody makes it right. Except for me, of course. (ahem).

So, out with it...what is the secret to your stuffing?

Jeff

 

[Ervserver]

sweet sausage special made by my butcher. Has a hint of venison mixed in.

 

[mrshamm]

mine is made straight outta the box...lol. I've only found 1 other kind I like and that's at the White House Inn.

 

[Jeff Westover]

Ah, I use the sausage in my stuffing too....not too much, not too little...but not the sweet variety. I'm a BIG believe in sage in the stuffing.

And almonds, too.

Jeff

 

[Christy Carol]

No stuffing here, we have dressing. Secret to it is using a fresh hen.

 

[Ervserver]

You thinking what I'm thinking.....STUFFING SWAP !

 

[Ali]

So, out with it...what is the secret to your stuffing?

Jeff

My mother's receipe. You lose.

 

[caseydbell]

i dont know...cause i dont make it

 

[Jinglebelle]

Sausage in stuffing??? :? Never heard of it... Almonds sound good...

 

[Jinglebelle]

You thinking what I'm thinking.....STUFFING SWAP !

I make the stuff out of the box... I'd LOVE to have a real recipe!! cheesy

 

[Jeff Westover]

Here's your ingredients --

Pepperidge Farms Cubed Herb Stuffing
Jimmy Dean Sage Sausage
Fresh Celery
Sliced Almonds
Fresh Cranberries
Ground Sage
Raw Eggs

The ingredient amounts depend upon how big your bird is and how much you want left over. It definitely tastes better inside the bird. Some folks have an aversion to using raw egg to keep it all together and you could use chicken broth but that really tends to make it salty and diminish the flavor of the sausage. Use everything fresh, even the bread, if you can. I have used my wife's homemade bread (not machine stuff) for the stuffing base and it was fabulous but if you have to use something commercial use only the Pepperidge Farm in the cubed variety (better than the crushed because the larger surface areas of the cubed mix distributes the ingredients more evenly and helps to prevent over stuffing the turkey).

 

[Jinglebelle]

WOW! Thank's Jeff... for sharing your recipe! I will have to try it soon!! I don't think I could wait till November... cheesy

 

[SnowMaiden1018]

I make the stuff out of the box... I'd LOVE to have a real recipe!! cheesy

I make a homemade stuffing that is to die for! Well I think so and Its so easy to make. Its a rather simple recipe that has been handed down for almost a hundred years in my family (altho the type of ingredients has changed i.e stale bread chunks for bread crumbs) You can make it with either seasoned bread baked in a 350 degree oven til crisp which is very time consuming or buy the lil peppridge farms bread crumbs from the grocery store --so here ya go!

Adjust depending on size of Turkey ( in my family we make it all)
3 Green Peppers--chopped into small pieces
3 Large onions--same as peppers
2 large cans of Chicken Broth
2 large bags of Crumbs
tblspoon of butter
Natures seasoning to taste (shortcut)
1/4 tspn Poulty seasoning

Sautee peppers and onions in butter--till soft and onions are transparent
at the same time warm the chicken broth to just about boiling
remove from heat.
Put crumbs in very large bowl
add poultry seasoning
add peppers and onions
mix
add broth one cup at a time
You want to add alot of chicken broth to make up for fluid loss during cooking and it also adds a lot of flavor and moisture the the turkey when you stuff it
add Natures to taste

Proceed to stuff turkey
What does not fit in turkey can be cooked in a cassorole dish until it has been warmed entirely throught and also browned on the top.
I usually add the leftovers to oven after the turkey is done and let it cook until Im ready to serve dinner. YUM!

Like I said It is very simple. I wish you good luck and Happy stuffing.
You can also adjust recipe for use with a Chicken for a sunday dinner!

 

[Jinglebelle]

mmmm... my mouth is watering! I gotta try this one soon! Thanks for the great recipe!!

 

[Minta]

I use two types of onions (white and vidalia), celery, sage, butter and chicken broth. I sautee the onions and celery in butter, half way through I add sage and then slowly add 1/2 chicken broth. Let cool slighlty and then pour over bthe bread crubms, mix well. add more sage. If the bread crumbs are still too dry add more chricken broth 1/4 cup at a time. Stuff bird

 

[dominick]

Stuff bird

Nooooooo!

I don't want to upset anyone, and I understand tradition and all, but stuffing really doesn't do the bird ANY good. I love stuffing on the side, but I'll never put it in my turkeys. It alters cooking time, changes the way the bird cooks, absorbs moisture, and worse still... harbors bacteria and other nasty stow-aways.

 

[dvdelf]

Ive never had a turkey not turn out moist & yummy when stuffed

 

[dominick]

Well if you're happy with the results, that's all that matters, but I'd put one of my brined birds (essentially an Alton Brown recipe with a little tweaking) against anyone's for moisture and flavor infusion.

 

[Minta]

Nooooooo!

I don't want to upset anyone, and I understand tradition and all, but stuffing really doesn't do the bird ANY good. I love stuffing on the side, but I'll never put it in my turkeys. It alters cooking time, changes the way the bird cooks, absorbs moisture, and worse still... harbors bacteria and other nasty stow-aways.

I have never had a problem with stuffing a turkey. Turkey and stuffing always came out great and no one got sick. We do not over stuff it. I use to bake the extra stuffing in a casserole dish but I found it was easier to bake them in muffin pans.

 

[Jinglebelle]

T - I love to watch 'Good Eats'!

I've only cooked about 9 Thanksgiving turkeys in my life. I've stuffed a couple of them... last years was stuffed and I put it in the oven and cooked it according to the directions, and it didn't get done. I had to put it back in the oven for a couple of hours, and delay our dinner. But aside from that the turkey itself was moist and pretty good.
But really I like the stuffing cooked on the side. I think it's too soggy if not. Except for that little mound of it that sticks out the back of the turkey and gets really done...

:family: