These Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipes Will Make the Feast Legendary (2024)

FAQs

Why is Thanksgiving stuffing so good? ›

Something magical happens when stale bread meets butter, celery and tons of sage. Flavors meld and the bread turns soft and gooey and outshines everything else on the Thanksgiving plate. If it were up to me, I would only eat stuffing and stone crabs the whole day.

What is dressing? In the context of Thanksgiving, the word dressing is commonly used to mean the same exact thing as stuffing—including when it's cooked inside the bird.

Broth: Chicken broth keeps the stuffing moist without making it soggy. Eggs: Two lightly beaten eggs help hold the dressing together and add moisture. Water: You can add a few tablespoons of water, if you'd like, to achieve your desired consistency.

As a cooking technique stuffing helps retain moisture, while the mixture itself serves to augment and absorb flavors during its preparation. Poultry stuffing often consists of breadcrumbs, onion, celery, spices, and herbs such as sage, combined with the giblets.

In Theodora Fitzgibbon's massive The Food of the Western World, stuffing is “The name given in England to combinations of a variety of foods which are inserted into meats, poultry, fish, eggs, or vegetables. In the United States, stuffing is also called dressing . . .” Onward.

But for the Thanksgiving side dish in the South, the term dressing was adopted in place of stuffing, which was viewed as a crude term, during the Victorian era. Although dressing and stuffing are interchangeable terms, the signature ingredient of this Thanksgiving side dish in the South is cornbread.

The word “stuffing” dates back to 14th Century English, when it was used synonymously with the more uncomfortable sounding forcemeat. Soon after, Anglos borrowed the slicker French word, farce (from the Latin verb facire or “to stuff”).

The mayonnaise adds a creaminess and rich taste to the scrambled eggs that you won't find any other way. And it means you can skip using milk, which can make scrambled eggs too runny and inconsistent.

It's okay if the bread gets slightly toasted—that caramelization is just going to add a little more toasty flavor to your stuffing.

Are you supposed to cook the stuffing before putting it in? ›

Fully cook raw meat, poultry, or seafood ingredients before adding to stuffing. Combine the ingredients and place them in your bird immediately before cooking. Don't stuff whole poultry with cooked stuffing. In addition to the turkey, the stuffing's center needs to reach 165 F.

The best bread for stuffing is a sturdy loaf with a tight crumb. Bakery French bread, Italian bread, Challah, and Sourdough are all good choices. When you cut up a 1-pound loaf into cubes, it should fit in an even layer on a single half-size rimmed baking sheet.

When stuffed, the turkey's raw juices come in direct contact with the stuffing. This means that in order to be safe to eat, your stuffing has to reach 165°F. But by the time the stuffing is safe, the rest of the turkey will be well over 180°F, and will basically have turned into tough, dry turkey jerky.

Starting with dried sourdough bread, celery, onion, parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, chicken broth and eggs. A whole stick of butter goes in the pan adding onions, herbs and garlic (sausage is optional). Eggs combine everything together before going in the oven on a baking dish.

"Stuffing is cooked in the cavity of the turkey, so the juices soak into the ingredients, making it more flavorful. Dressing gets cooked on its own and needs extra liquid to make it flavorful." So stuffing is cooked inside the bird.

As the turkey cooks, its juices drip onto the stuffing, infusing the bread and vegetables with extra flavor. Some people also think the practice yields a moister stuffing, while others "do it to save space in the oven," says Baker.

Should I stuff my turkey? Stuffing cooked inside the turkey cavities is delicious, but it does slow down the cooking time and could be a potential health hazard if done incorrectly. For perfect no-worry results, opt for "dressing" instead – stuffing cooked alongside the bird instead of inside.

There's no specific date for when stuffing was first invented, but there is evidence of stuffing made from spelt, herbs, and vegetables in an ancient Roman document, according to Tasting Table. And while it's not clear whether or not stuffing was on the first Thanksgiving menu, it did become more popular in the 1800s.