Author Topic: To Stuff or NOT? (Read 10950 times)

bear60 · « **on:** November 04, 2007, 12:52:12 pm »

Do you prepare your own Thanksgiving turkey? Do you stuff your Thanksgiving turkey with a "dressing" or not? If so, what do you prefer for the "stuffing" or "dressing".

Mouse · « **Reply #1 on:** November 04, 2007, 12:55:10 pm »

Luckily for me, after hunting down and killing the elusive and dangerous Tofurky I find that it often comes pre-stuffed.

thunter34 · « **Reply #2 on:** November 04, 2007, 01:01:15 pm »

Please don't watch the turkey dressing. He's very modest.

But for this turkey, personally, nothing compares to a good stuffing.

bear60 · « **Reply #3 on:** November 04, 2007, 01:15:21 pm »

ah yes the ever elusive tofurkey.
and served with a nice chardonnay

Nico · « **Reply #4 on:** November 04, 2007, 01:28:15 pm »

Bear
I call it stuffing since we live in the South if you can call Atlanta really the South. I leave my turkey unstuffed but do shove some veggies in the rump of the ol bird during roasting. I start breast side down for the first hour on a v-rack and then turn it over to finish. Always a juicy....yum!!!! Cornbread stuffing is done on the side and I make a ton of it!

Roger

Dachshund · « **Reply #5 on:** November 04, 2007, 01:39:15 pm »

True Southerners call it dressing...and the only true dressing is cornbread. Ain't that right Thunder?

thunter34 · « **Reply #6 on:** November 04, 2007, 01:41:06 pm »

Quote from: Nico on November 04, 2007, 01:28:15 pm

I leave my turkey unstuffed but do shove some veggies in the rump of the ol bird during roasting. I start breast side down for the first hour on a v-rack and then turn it over to finish.

Something about this post is turning me on.

Dunno whether I'm hungry or horny. Maybe both.

But to stay on topic....I've usually had dressing. And let me not lie....it's cause Mama makes it, and I am ALWAYS expected at Mama's table for Thanksgiving (among several other holidays).

Miss Philicia · « **Reply #7 on:** November 04, 2007, 01:42:38 pm »

Indeed, my grandmother always called it dressing. Hers was somewhat mushy compared to what I've had elsewhere, chock full of cornmeal and poultry seasoning -- yet fully crusted on the sides and top.

Her turkey, however, was abysmally dry.

Don't forget those giblets for gravy!

thunter34 · « **Reply #8 on:** November 04, 2007, 01:52:11 pm »

All hail the turkey induced Thanksgiving nap.

That's some HAWT sleepin' right there!

Snoozin' somethin' pow'rful.

Oh, yay....can't wait.

Nico · « **Reply #9 on:** November 04, 2007, 01:53:36 pm »

To Tim and Doxie,
Like I said, I live in Atlanta (we are all from the North) so this explains why I call it stuffing. A product of dysfunctional Yankee/Confederate comingled environments. But my bird is still juicy and tasty!

Roger

Winiroo · « **Reply #10 on:** November 04, 2007, 02:32:18 pm »

I've always cooked my stuffing/dressing seperate as not to cross contaminate. God forbid I didnt get the bird hot enough to kill the salmonella.
I'd Google "salmonella turkey stuffing" or something like that to get real scientificly proven advice.

The turkey is supposed to make you sleepy not pukey. LOL

DanielMark · « **Reply #11 on:** November 04, 2007, 02:47:00 pm »

Here's my recipe for stuffing. Yields enough stuffing for a 20-25 lb turkey.

HOLIDAY TURKEY STUFFING

2 loaves light rye bread
2 loaves dark rye bread
1 cup condensed chicken broth
1 500g package pure pork sausage
1 head celery, chopped
4 medium onions, diced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
3 medium Yukon gold potatoes, diced
3 medium red potatoes, diced
1-2 tsp ground marjoram
1-2 tsp ground sage
1-2 tsp rubbed basil (flakes)
1-2 tsp thyme

Cut bread in to ½ inch cubes and bake on cookie sheets at 350°F for 20 mins. Cool.

In a large (well, huge) bowl, combine the croutons with remaining ingredients and mix well.

Dress bird and stuff with mixture. Bake remainder in a covered casserole at 350°F for 1½ to 2 hours.

It's a lot of preparation, but it lasts for days. Great for leftovers.

Daniel

Winiroo · « **Reply #12 on:** November 04, 2007, 02:53:51 pm »

Funny...

I'm sure everyone has a different idea of what a traditional Thanksgiving meal should be.
I never realised it till I had Thanksgiving with my ex and his family. I'm from the south, he was Portuguese and from the north.
While visiting up north I saw alot of different foods we don't have down south.

For me stuffing is cornbread or a cornbread mixture and most people call it dressing. To eat something other than that seems sacrilegious almost. LOL
It makes me wonder what everyone else considers the "norm" for Thanksgiving dinner.

Miss Philicia · « **Reply #13 on:** November 04, 2007, 02:57:33 pm »

Thanksgiving is a Yankee holiday anyway. Southerners and Canadians observing this are simply poseurs.

bear60 · « **Reply #14 on:** November 04, 2007, 03:00:56 pm »

Roger and Doxie
See, I KNEW there would be a north vs south discussion about dressing or stuffing.
I was confused as a child cause my parents were from the north and I was raised in the south. So at home it was stuffing and at any other place it was dressing. I still dont know which is which. LOL
Daniel...yum...nice receipe.
Thanks.
Winroo...its true. Lots of families have some tradition that HAS to be followed. In my family it was rutabegers(kind of a turnip)...mashed rutabegers. yuk

bear60 · « **Reply #15 on:** November 04, 2007, 03:04:25 pm »

David
Ha! Is that what your family talked about at the table?

modified to add: Hopefully they left their pistols outside.

pozguy75 · « **Reply #16 on:** November 04, 2007, 03:07:05 pm »

I say stuff away...one year, I made Martha Stewart's vermouth dressing...can I just say: "GAG" it was just awful, so we just went to Boston Market and called it a day...bring on the dressing! I think that is the best part of the entire Thanksgiving meal...

bear60 · « **Reply #17 on:** November 04, 2007, 03:09:53 pm »

oh I love Martha Stewart stories!

Winiroo · « **Reply #18 on:** November 04, 2007, 03:11:35 pm »

The ex's mother had mashed turnips and carrots on the table. I looked at it and thought to myself, "what the fuck is that? "
Southerners don't eat that. LOL I thought it was watery mashed potatoes with carrots in it for color for God's sake. LMAO

I pile my plate full of white meat, dressing and green bean casserole. Thats what I want to eat the most.
Forget the pie, the mashed potatoes, the yams hoplessly drowning in butter and sugar and marshmallows and anything else on the table. I'm happy with those three things.

404error · « **Reply #19 on:** November 04, 2007, 03:15:43 pm »

Thanksgiving is soooo last month

Winiroo · « **Reply #20 on:** November 04, 2007, 03:23:11 pm »

Only if your in Canada. LOL

In the US Thanksgiving is November 22 this year.

Miss Philicia · « **Reply #21 on:** November 04, 2007, 03:26:48 pm »

Thanksgiving is the only time of year that I don't eat dark meat.

perspiry · « **Reply #22 on:** November 04, 2007, 03:29:29 pm »

I've baked about 5 turkeys in my life and stuffing never came close to one because I could never reproduce the stuffing my mother made. I think she used Progresso Italian bread crumbs as well as giblets, celery, bell pepper, onions, and a few other ingredients. She certainly never made oyster dressing or anything that cost more than 23 cents per portion (she spent her entire life living in the Great Depression and rationed food as if we were on a deserted island -- by the time I was 4 I'd heard the "collecting bottles for money to buy food" story 100000000 times) but I loved her stuffing. As Mrs. Monsoon says in the "Cold Turkey" AbFab episode "There was always more stuffing in Edwina than there was in the bird." I think Mom made the same observation about me on a few occasions. When she got much older she resorted to those nauseating pre-made stuffing mixes but it was nothing like the real thing.

Our traditional dish was candied yams, the only food I ever refused to eat (literally -- my brother didn't eat lima beans and mushrooms but we inhaled everything else placed before us). I hated sweet potatoes and yams until I tasted one without all that brown sugar and, gag, marshmallows. Now I love a plain microwaved sweet potato with nothing else, not even salt or pepper.

Many of our holiday meals were spent with my aunt (Mom's sister) and her family at our house or theirs. We kids placed bets on which of them would start the argument and who would march out the front door in a huff. The argument often involved which of her children my long-dead grandmother loved most, with Aunt Ruth throwing down the gauntlet by claiming Mom was the one. After the huffer was persuaded to return we often partook of room temperature meals in stony silence. O, the halcyon days of youth!!

JA

Basquo · « **Reply #23 on:** November 04, 2007, 03:33:57 pm »

If you're worried about not getting the bird hot enough in the middle, try this self-timing stuffing recipe:

Prep the bird as normal, and make 2 cups of Stovetop Stuffing, set aside. Pre heat the oven. Put one stick of unsalted butter and 1 cup of UNPOPPED popcorn in the cavity, and use the stuffing to hold it in the back end. Put it in the oven with the TAIL to the BACK of the oven. Cook the bird at the temperature listed on the packaging. When the oven door blows off and the turkey flies across the kitchen, it's ready!

bear60 · « **Reply #24 on:** November 04, 2007, 03:40:36 pm »

Priceless. Basquo
Well, this thread and the stories about Thanksgiving are a lot about "Moms" and having just lost mine and looking at Thanksgiving, I must say I want this tio be a nice Thanksgiving.
I think my Moms favorite story was about the year the larger electric oven didnt work and she had to cut the whole thing in half and bake it in the smaller oven (when ranges had two ovens).

dufusmaximus · « **Reply #25 on:** November 04, 2007, 03:58:46 pm »

I'm with Mouse. My good buddies and I get REAL drunk and go hunting tofurkies. Using infrared, laser guided missles we can usually clip a few and wound them enough to track down with our dogs. It's always a good idea to get a clean kill on a tofurkey -- wounded, wild tofurkeys can be very dangerous, unlike the domesticated tofurkeys in zoo's and private sanctuaries.

As for if you should stuff, it's seems like false advertising to make yourself bigger, oh wait, you mean dressing? oh, ok, nevermind.

pozniceguy · « **Reply #26 on:** November 04, 2007, 04:29:37 pm »

We have always had "Yankee dressing" for the past 25 years that I have lived in Texas ( grew up in Boston ) but relented and made some cornbread dressing for the locals who ate with us at Thanksgiving...so in the spirit of the day we had both dressing and stuffing....distinctly different and both very tasty...stuffing cooked in the turkey and dressing prepared in a large baking dish....I may try Creightons suggestion with a big chicken to see if that works as well as a turkey.....
enjoy.whatever you make
.Nick

dgr20002 · « **Reply #27 on:** November 04, 2007, 04:58:19 pm »

I always make the stuffing on the side. I stuff the turkey with limes and lemons and a bulb of garlic. Salt and pepper the outside and put a few bay leaves under the skin. I saw this done on some cooking show and tried it and it came out great and you could taste the citrus and garlic in the breast meat. Really good stuff.

David

Queen Tokelove · « **Reply #28 on:** November 04, 2007, 05:02:33 pm »

Usually I go raid everyone else's kitchen on Thanksgiving but me and the roomie decided to do our own dinner this year. Just got the turkey last night, I will get the other stuff next week. I have never cooked a turkey so this will be a first for me. I prefer home made dressing with cornbread to the stovetop stuffing. I have always loved homemade things compared to boxed especially when it comes to dressing or mac and cheese. My favorite thing about Thanksgiving is watching Dallas play and eating the dressing along with the cranberry sauce.....Yum...

Oceanbeach · « **Reply #29 on:** November 04, 2007, 07:01:39 pm »

I didn't learn this in modeling school but... I can do "dressing" and "undressing" really fast

Have the best day
Michael

J.R.E. · « **Reply #30 on:** November 04, 2007, 08:42:49 pm »

I'm the one that ususally does everything, when it comes to the bird. I do like stuffing the bird before placing it in the oven. My best stuffing consists of pan browning some Jimmy Deans mild sausage, along with a couple cups of onions and celery. After cooking down the neck and gizzards, I will use that to mix in with the seasoned stuffing mix. Of course, got to add all the seasonings also.

This year Ed suggested a smaller bird, ( about a ten pounder), so he was wondering if we could do it in the "set it and forget machine" ( rotisserie) I have cooked chickens in there before, but not a turkey, so I don't think I will be stuffing the bird this time, if that's the route we go this year. I will have to make the stuffing on the side. Anyone ever rotisserie their turkey before ? I am a little hesitant on this , as it's going to take about 15 minutes per pound to cook a ten pound turkey. I am afraid the outside will be charred. It's going to require ( I think ) a lot of watching. Still got time though, plans do change...

Ray

puertorico2006 · « **Reply #31 on:** November 05, 2007, 02:18:19 am »

In Puerto Rico many people dont eat turkey but they roast pork....

If they do make turkey and make stuffing its a wierd stuffing made with ground meat or something.....

I honestly prefer the traditional american thanksgiving meal (minus the cranberries)

-josh
(who is unsure if his family will be here this year)

BB · « **Reply #32 on:** November 06, 2007, 08:50:15 am »

My family made "the real, the traditional" Thanksgiving dinner with stuffing sort of like Danial described. The Italian half of my family lived in New Hampshire and whacked their own turkeys, then stuffed them and used some sort of string and large needles to hold everything in while cooking. Good food! Whatever was leftover went into the refrigerator covered with foil. Whenever someone was hungry they simply helped themselves. The stuffed turkey usually lasted for days with snacks of cold turkey and stuffing common place. But, I don't ever remember getting sick from eating the old bird. Do that today and you get a free trip to the hospital.

aztecan · « **Reply #33 on:** November 06, 2007, 11:23:20 pm »

Well, I like my bird stuffed. I make cornbread dressing from cornbread I make myself because, being gluten intolerant, I can't eat any of the premade stuff.

I crumble the cornbread, combine with chopped celery, onion, the cooked and minced giblets and liquid I cooked the giblets in, and of course seasonings, including freshly rubbed sage.

The trick is to always remove all of the dressing from the bird before serving. That way, it is easier to use the carcass to make other yummies like turkey soup.

Oh, if the dressing is to be served to anyone who's CD4s are below 500, cook it on the side, not in the bird.

Of course, the proper accompaniments are necessary.

I make homemade cranberry sauce, it beats that canned stuff hands down. I also make homemade sweet potatoes from scratch, fresh asparagus with my own special hollandaise sauce, and, for appetizers, deviled eggs and celery stuffed with neufchatel cheese.

I can't wait.

DROOL,

Mark

Mouse · « **Reply #34 on:** November 06, 2007, 11:33:00 pm »

I actually have an additional amusing story.

I stayed at my friend Kendra's house not too long ago (where I certainly was NOT drinking in her basement) with two of her friends (one rather hot 'straight' guy who was NOT drinking as well and her friend Jess). We all finally passed out around 4 in the morning and were woken up around 7 to the most irritating noise. When I woke up, 'straight' guy and Kendra were already clearly awake.

Me: We've only been asleep for like 3 hours. What the fuck is that noise? It sounds like a turkey.
Kendra: Um. Well. It IS a turkey.
Me: ...what.

Later on she brought me to the side of her house where she had a big metal fence that housed a fucking UNHOLY LARGE TURKEY. He was seriously up to my stomach. It was uncalled for. I forget what his name happened to be, but apparently she had bought him from someone with the instructions to let him grow and then butcher him for Thanksgiving. This however, occurred 3 years prior and she had apparently decided he was a much better pet than a main entree. I think she should've slaughtered the fucking thing. I felt awful the rest of the day, and it had absolutely nothing to do with the hangover I DIDN'T have.

Honestly, who keeps a turkey. Ugh.

AlanBama · « **Reply #35 on:** November 07, 2007, 12:15:50 pm »

I think I'm going to Mark's for Thanksgiving....

allopathicholistic · « **Reply #36 on:** November 08, 2007, 11:51:14 pm »

Quote from: Winiroo on November 04, 2007, 02:32:18 pm

I've always cooked my stuffing/dressing seperate as not to cross contaminate. God forbid I didnt get the bird hot enough to kill the salmonella.
I'd Google "salmonella turkey stuffing" or something like that to get real scientificly proven advice.

The turkey is supposed to make you sleepy not pukey. LOL

Superb advice. Thank you. It just makes sense!

Quote from: Basquo on November 04, 2007, 03:33:57 pm

If you're worried about not getting the bird hot enough in the middle, try this self-timing stuffing recipe:

Prep the bird as normal, and make 2 cups of Stovetop Stuffing, set aside. Pre heat the oven. Put one stick of unsalted butter and 1 cup of UNPOPPED popcorn in the cavity, and use the stuffing to hold it in the back end. Put it in the oven with the TAIL to the BACK of the oven. Cook the bird at the temperature listed on the packaging. When the oven door blows off and the turkey flies across the kitchen, it's ready!

I wish the forum techs would program a way to block you from ever posting Thanksgiving cooking tips sweety

carousel · « **Reply #37 on:** November 09, 2007, 03:08:45 am »

Don't turkeys come ready stuffed?

The only time I've prepared one was Christmas, about 10 years ago. Unfortunately, most of us had been up for a few days and were in no fit state to prepare the food. We asked people to at least refrain from taking anything for a few hours, so we could have the lunch.

We got the food all on to the table. But then one the guests turned up, who was a dealer. We all ended up sitting round the table, a gibbering mess, picking at the food before we carried on partying. The good old days, Not.

BT65 · « **Reply #38 on:** November 09, 2007, 08:52:48 am »

Bear, I sympathize with you on having Thanksgiving without your mum. This will be my first one without my mum also. We're going to have the dinner at my sister's. I certainly will miss mum and the good smells at her house on this holiday.

Oh, and I say bring on the sweet potatoes with the brown sugar and marshmallows!

bear60 · « **Reply #39 on:** November 09, 2007, 09:11:16 am »

Betty
My thoughts are with you at this time when family comes together to give thanks. It will be especially difficult for me this year.
At least I know how to make cranberry sauce from scratch, which my Mom always did. (Hint: add whatever you like to the cooking berries...cinnamon stick for flavor, cloves, orange rind, your imagination is your guide. )

Andy Velez · « **Reply #40 on:** November 09, 2007, 09:18:30 am »

DanielMark, do you deliver? ...uh, I'm sure you do. But I meant the stuffing/dressing. Yum.

Jeezlouise, it's a mistake to read this thread when you're hungry.

Winiroo · « **Reply #41 on:** November 09, 2007, 07:50:43 pm »

Quote from: carousel on November 09, 2007, 03:08:45 am

Don't turkeys come ready stuffed?

The smarty pants in me really wanted to say....

Thats not stuffing honey, thats the giblet bag.

Sorry, me amusing me again....

Oceanbeach · « **Reply #42 on:** November 14, 2007, 07:49:20 am »

I had a phone visit with Marie today. She is not going to stuff or make potatos, we are having rice with turkey. All I have to do is bring some Moet Chandon and some Purple Urkel. That part, I can do without reading the instructions

For a Thanxgiving past... My job was to help shop for the feast. I went with Deb who was commonly known as Pollack. She sent me to pick the turkey and asked for what I thought she said "Butter Bastard". I got to yell across the store, "Hey Pollack, I found the Butter Bastard".

Have the best day
Michael

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Author Topic: To Stuff or NOT? (Read 10950 times)