# What are the components of a good stuffing



## cmontg34 (Nov 15, 2011)

So I want to make my own stuffing this year, but I've never made one before or liked any of the ones I've tried. What I'm wondering is what are the basic parts of a "good" stuffing? Thanks all!


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## TATTRAT (Nov 15, 2011)

what will it be going with(sounds like a silly question)Bird or Pig?

regardless, one crucial ingredient is good day old bread(or older). If it was a great bread to start with, it will make for a great stuffing filler.

I'll wait to see if it's bird or pig before throwing out some ideas.


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## Andy M. (Nov 15, 2011)

Bread, onion, celery butter, turkey stock, sage, salt and pepper.  This is the basic starting point.  Take it from there.  Other additions can be mushrooms, cooked sausage, nuts and wild rice.


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## TATTRAT (Nov 15, 2011)

I am not sure if it's just because I didn't grow up stateside, but one thing that throws me off is the oyster stuffing. . .I just can't get into it, though maybe I juat haven't had a good one.


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## cmontg34 (Nov 16, 2011)

It's turkey. Does celery _have_ to go in it? I loathe the stuff.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Nov 16, 2011)

cmontg34 said:


> It's turkey. Does celery _have_ to go in it? I loathe the stuff.



I puree the celery when my sister is eating over, she's fine as long as she doesn't get a chunk of it and everyone else would miss the flavor if I left it out.  Alittle bit of celery goes a long way, flavor-wise.


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## Bolas De Fraile (Nov 16, 2011)

This is my front end stuffing for Turkey. Buy good quality herb pork sausages, skin and place in a bowl, add chopped roast chestnuts,chopped shallots, sage, fresh breadcrumbs, eggs salt and pepper, mix and stuff.The amount you need will vary because of size of orifice, I also like to work the farce between the skin and breasts so I get a symmetrical bulge.


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## SherryDAmore (Nov 16, 2011)

In addition to the bread, onions, celery and broth, the one thing good stuffing must have is sage.

A coupla years ago, I started using fresh sage, and I can't believe what a difference it makes.


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## justplainbill (Nov 16, 2011)

Bolas De Fraile said:


> This is my front end stuffing for Turkey. Buy good quality herb pork sausages, skin and place in a bowl, add chopped roast chestnuts,chopped shallots, sage, fresh breadcrumbs, eggs salt and pepper, mix and stuff.The amount you need will vary because of size of orifice, I also like to work the farce between the skin and breasts so I get a symmetrical bulge.


+1


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## Katie H (Nov 16, 2011)

I rarely stray from the stuffing I grew up with and have always made for my family.  If I made something different, they'd run me out of town on a rail.

Mine is composed of dried bread.  I use the least expensive I can find, cube it and dry it in my dehydrator.  Then, I add equal parts of chopped onion, celery and green pepper.  Season with plenty of sage and salt and pepper.  Moisten with several beaten eggs, scalded milk and melted butter.  Most of it goes in the bird, front and in the cavity.  The remaining, and I always make sure there's extra, is put into a buttered casserole, which is baked tightly covered with foil.

Never been any complaints of several generations of Thanksgiving diners.


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## cmontg34 (Nov 16, 2011)

Okay here's what I'm thinking of doing, I'm going to get some really good bread from Whole Foods a day or two before Thanksgiving so it dries out. Then I'm going to brown some ground Italian sausage, and saute chopped onions and a very small amount of celery with it. I'll add it to the bread, season with thyme and sage, (should I add an beaten egg to it??) put it all in a baking dish, add some stock, _maybe_ add a bit of parm cheese and bake it. How does it sound??


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## Dawgluver (Nov 16, 2011)

cmontg34 said:
			
		

> Okay here's what I'm thinking of doing, I'm going to get some really good bread from Whole Foods a day or two before Thanksgiving so it dries out. Then I'm going to brown some ground Italian sausage, and saute chopped onions and a very small amount of celery with it. I'll add it to the bread, season with thyme and sage, (should I add an beaten egg to it??) put it all in a baking dish, add some stock, maybe add a bit of parm cheese and bake it. How does it sound??



I'm a family traditionalist with stuffing, have never used egg, sausage or parm in mine.  Your recipe should work fine!  A lot of us use butter too.

Didn't we have another recent thread on stuffing/dressing?  I looked, but couldn't find it.


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## cmontg34 (Nov 16, 2011)

Yeah, I remember that thread too, but it was on whether to stuff the bird, or not. I shall not


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## Andy M. (Nov 16, 2011)

cmontg34 said:


> Okay here's what I'm thinking of doing, I'm going to get some really good bread from Whole Foods a day or two before Thanksgiving so it dries out. Then I'm going to brown some ground Italian sausage, and saute chopped onions and a very small amount of celery with it. I'll add it to the bread, season with thyme and sage, (should I add an beaten egg to it??) put it all in a baking dish, add some stock, _maybe_ add a bit of parm cheese and bake it. How does it sound??




You have the makings of a good stuffing.  As mentioned, use a lot of butter.

I buy a little box of Bell's Seasoning.  It personifies the taste of great stuffing for me.  I just start with the recipe on the back of the box.


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## Dawgluver (Nov 16, 2011)

cmontg34 said:
			
		

> Yeah, I remember that thread too, but it was on whether to stuff the bird, or not. I shall not



Actually, there were a bunch of recipes and hints in the thread, not just for in the bird stuffing.

I will look for the Bell's seasoning.  Have never tried it.


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## Merinda (Nov 16, 2011)

TATTRAT said:


> I am not sure if it's just because I didn't grow up stateside, but one thing that throws me off is the oyster stuffing. . .I just can't get into it, though maybe I juat haven't had a good one.



I think first, you have to like oysters.  If not, you will not like oyster stuffing.

That being said....I made an oyster stuffing once and rinsed, rinsed, and rinsed the heck out of my oysters.  The flavor was mild and delicious!  Best oyster dressing I had ever tried.


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## Dawgluver (Nov 16, 2011)

Merinda said:
			
		

> I think first, you have to like oysters.  If not, you will not like oyster stuffing.
> 
> That being said....I made an oyster stuffing once and rinsed, rinsed, and rinsed the heck out of my oysters.  The flavor was mild and delicious!  Best oyster dressing I had ever tried.



I like oysters, but the only oyster stuffing I've had was MIL's, and I find it nasty.  DH loves it.


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## Merinda (Nov 16, 2011)

I'm a cornbread stuffing girl.  I have a hand-me-down family recipe (my Aunt's)  that I have always gotten compliments on.  The bread is contained in this recipe are:

1 pan of your favorite recipe homemade cornbread crumbled.
1 can of biscuits baked and crumbled
1 sleeve of saltine crackers crumbled
1 package of Pepperidge Farm cubed bread stuffing.


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## Merinda (Nov 16, 2011)

Dawgluver said:


> I like oysters, but the only oyster stuffing I've had was MIL's, and I find it nasty.  DH loves it.



Right, I've always liked oysters too, and did not like oyster dressing at all.  I did however enjoy the one I made where I rinsed and rinsed the oysters.  It gave just a really mild hint of oyster flavor and complimented the other ingredients rather than overpowering it.  I still prefer stuffing without oysters though.


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## Merinda (Nov 16, 2011)

I would add egg.  Another tip is to not over stir your dressing when you add the stock/broth.


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## msmofet (Nov 16, 2011)

*NO* eggs in my stuffing. Celery, onion, fresh herbs (parsley, sage, thyme, rosemary), walnuts, poultry seasoning, ground sea salt, ground peppercorns, mushrooms, butter, chicken or turkey stock/broth and herb stuffing cubes.


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## PattY1 (Nov 16, 2011)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I puree the celery when my sister is eating over, she's fine as long as she doesn't get a chunk of it and everyone else would miss the flavor if I left it out.  Alittle bit of celery goes a long way, flavor-wise.




How about Celery Flakes? That is what I use in my "Stuffing Rice".


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## Barbara L (Nov 16, 2011)

My stuffing/dressing is a lot like some of those mentioned. Saute onion and celery in butter until translucent. Add this to dried bread (cubed), along with broth, and seasoning (I usually use poultry seasoning and sometimes a little extra sage). From my mom I learned to add a big dollop of prepared yellow mustard. Then I bake it in a greased casserole dish.

As PF said, you could puree celery and add just for flavor. You could also use celery seed, but that wouldn't be the same.

I am with the oyster-hating group. I have tried oyster stuffing and will never try it again.


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## Steve Kroll (Nov 16, 2011)

Merinda said:


> I'm a cornbread stuffing girl...


Me, too.

Well, I'm not a girl. But I'm all about cornbread stuffing. I like the southwest kind, with roasted peppers and bits of corn.


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## Barbara L (Nov 16, 2011)

Steve Kroll said:


> Me, too.
> 
> Well, I'm not a girl. But I'm all about cornbread stuffing. I like the southwest kind, with roasted peppers and bits of corn.


I grew up in Southern California and always had bread stuffing. Now that I am in South Carolina I have had cornbread stuffing a few times (at friends' or at the school where I taught). The only way I can eat it is if it is covered in lots of gravy.


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## msmofet (Nov 16, 2011)

I have had cornbread stuffing and don't like the texture. It seems to mushy. I like cubes of stuffing. Cornbread stuffing has the texture of pudding to me.


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## Barbara L (Nov 16, 2011)

msmofet said:


> I have had cornbread stuffing and don't like the texture. It seems to mushy. I like cubes of stuffing. Cornbread stuffing has the texture of pudding to me.


The cornbread stuffing I have had is dry.


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## Steve Kroll (Nov 16, 2011)

Cornbread stuffing haters... seriously?? LOL. 

Ok, to avoid a pudding-like consistency, you have to let the cornbread get a little dry, just like the white bread variety.

...try a recipe like this one:
Southwest Corn Bread Stuffing with Corn and Green Chilies Recipe at Epicurious.com

...or this one (though I omit the apples):
Dorothy’s Southwest Stuffing — Holiday Recipe Contest Winner

The peppers are the key, my friends!


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## jusnikki (Nov 16, 2011)

msmofet said:


> I have had cornbread stuffing and don't like the texture. It seems to mushy. I like cubes of stuffing. Cornbread stuffing has the texture of pudding to me.


 

This sounds like a bad batch of cornbread "dressing".
Everybody can't make "dressing". They should stick 
to stuffing.....


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## Dawgluver (Nov 16, 2011)

The cornbread stuffing I've tried was either too dry and flavorless, or too mushy and equally flavorless.  Even gravy couldn't save it.  I too prefer the bread cubes, onion, celery, etc.  No eggs or meat ( including oysters!)


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## Andy M. (Nov 16, 2011)

Dawgluver said:


> The cornbread stuffing I've tried was either too dry and flavorless, or too mushy and equally flavorless.  Even gravy couldn't save it.  I too prefer the bread cubes, onion, celery, etc.  No eggs or meat ( including oysters!)



There's no reason why cornbread stuffing should be any more or less flavorful than bread stuffing.  I'd guess the culprit was the recipe.


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## Dawgluver (Nov 16, 2011)

Andy M. said:
			
		

> There's no reason why cornbread stuffing should be any more or less flavorful than bread stuffing.  I'd guess the culprit was the recipe.



I don't dare tell that to the Southern rels...they love the stuff.


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## chopper (Nov 16, 2011)

Andy M. said:
			
		

> Bread, onion, celery butter, turkey stock, sage, salt and pepper.  This is the basic starting point.  Take it from there.  Other additions can be mushrooms, cooked sausage, nuts and wild rice.



This sounds like my stuffing but I toast the bread. The morning is spent toasting and tearing while the neck and giblets are boiling on the stovetop to make good stock. I just love the smells that come out of the kitchen on and around Thanksgiving.


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## chopper (Nov 16, 2011)

My husband just loves cornbread stuffing. When I make that kind I start with crumbling up the cornbread and leaving it on the counter to dry out a bit before making the stuffing. It seems to work for me.


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## Zhizara (Nov 17, 2011)

I love oysters, just not in my stuffing.


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