20 Scrumptious Stuffing Recipes That Go Beyond the Box (2024)

FAQs

Should eggs go in stuffing? ›

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. Seasonings: This turkey dressing recipe is seasoned with salt, pepper, rubbed sage, and garlic powder.

Mix in specialty flavors.

The sausage adds flavor and moisture to the stuffing when you cook it all together in the same pan. Some of my specialty stuffing recipes have sweet flavors mixed in to balance the savory dish like cubed apples, chopped figs, or dried raisins or craisins.

The stuffing should be moist but not wet. If there is a puddle of broth at the bottom of the bowl, you've added too much. Add more bread to soak up the excess moisture. If the mix is still dry and crumbly, add more liquid and toss gently until it starts to clump together.

Classic stuffing made with bread cubes, seasonings, and held together with chicken stock and eggs. A holiday staple!

You'll need day-old loaves to get stale so that the stuffing doesn't get too mushy. Don't cube that bread! Ragged, imperfect pieces of bread have more surface area; it's those nooks and crannies that give you good texture. Speaking of texture, that's what stuffing is all about--you want a mix of crispy and soft pieces.

Any attempts to make stuffing with soft, fresh baked bread will result in a bread soup with a soggy texture. Follow this tip: Stale, dried-out bread makes the best stuffing.

If the stuffing came out too wet and soggy (aka bread soup!) try not to over mix it, otherwise it'll turn into mush. Curtis Stone says to pour it on a large sheet tray and spread it out. Bake it on high heat to crisp it up, but make sure it doesn't burn.

What do southerners call stuffing? ›

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 short answer to whether you can making stuffing ahead of time is yes. "Making stuffing ahead saves time, allows stove and oven space for other things, and making it ahead gives time for the flavor to fully develop," Chef David Tiner, Director at Louisiana Culinary Institute in Baton Rouge, tells Southern Living.

Stuffing consists of a mixture of savoury ingredients such as breadcrumbs, herbs, fruit, nuts, sausagemeat and onion which are bound together with egg or liquid to form a semi-solid mixture. It is usually cooked with roast meat such as chicken, pork or lamb and is served as an accompaniment to the sliced, cooked meat.

For those who don't know, stuffing is an edible mixture that is usually made with breadcrumbs, onion, celery, spices, herbs and sometimes other ingredients such as sausage meat, nuts, dried fruits or chestnuts.

Stuffing most often uses dried bread, herbs, and vegetables that are reconstituted with liquid, stuffed into the turkey cavity, and baked until it is firm and finished cooking. In addition, stuffing can also be cooked separately in a casserole dish in the oven, which would then be considered dressing.

Eggs play an important role in everything from cakes and cookies to meringues and pastry cream — they create structure and stability within a batter, they help thicken and emulsify sauces and custards, they add moisture to cakes and other baked goods, and can even act as glue or glaze.

Add Butter and Broth Before Reheating

Often upon refrigeration, the stuffing will soak up any excess moisture and will appear drier than when originally served. Depending on the amount of stuffing you plan to reheat, drizzle a few tablespoons or up to 1/4 cup of chicken or turkey broth into the stuffing to moisten it.

Up your stuffing game with stale bread

Spread the pieces out in an even layer on a sheet pan, and let them get stale — yes, stale. If you don't have the time (or the counter space) to leave your chunks of bread out, you can put them in the oven at a low temperature to dry out, per Serious Eats.