Stuffing

Is it STUFFING or DRESSING

I’ve lived most of my life in the South but my parents are not from the South, so we had “stuffing” growing up which was bread, celery, onion, butter and egg along with some seasonings that you stuffed inside a turkey. Anything that wasn’t inside the turkey was “dressing” and something other people ate.  So this recipes is actually “dressing” and not “stuffing”.

However, I’ve learned that what you call this side dish depends more on where you are from then whether it’s cooked inside or outside of the turkey.  Southern’s call it “dressing” where the rest of the country, me included, call it “stuffing”.

Why should you make this homemade stuffing recipe

• The perfect stuffing recipe has flavor from onions and celery along with sage. It’s like a savory bread pudding.  But with all the other soft food you typically see at Thanksgiving, like corn pudding and mashed potatoes, it’s nice to have something with a little crunch. This easy stuffing recipe uses sourdough bread, which when baked is crunchy on the top but soft and moist inside.

• Since this is baked outside the turkey, you can assemble it ahead of time and bake it right before dinner. If your stuffing is inside the turkey, you have to remove it when you remove the turkey to keep from getting salmonella and then if you’re not eating right away, it can get cold. This version stays hot and crispy.
• The Italian sausage adds so much flavor to the traditional stuffing ingredients.
• You can make this any time of year, not just when you’re cooking a turkey.
• It’s perfect if you are spatchcocking the turkey. Not sure how to spatchcock a turkey, check out Laura’s post on Foodology Geek where she walks you through the steps.

What kind of bread should you use for stuffing

How do you make Thanksgiving stuffing

Step 1: Combine dry bread pieces with toasted pecans.

Step 2: Cook the Italian sausage and when browned add it to the bread.

Step 3: In the same skillet, sauté onions, celery and sage and add to the bread mixture. Add some white wine to the skillet and cook down and then add butter until melted. Pour over your bread mixture.

Can you freeze leftover stuffing

MORE Thanksgiving SIDE DISHES

• Creamy corn pudding is a must

• Add bourbon to your sweet potato casserole

• Go green with a fresh broccoli salad

• Even the kids will love this cheesy broccoli Casserole

• Don’t forget creamy green bean casserole

Stuffing

It’s not Thanksgiving without homemade stuffing, whether you make it inside the bird or out, it’s a classic. Add some Italian sausage, celery, onions and sourdough bread for what will be your new go-to side dish.

3.4 from 10 votes

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PREP: 30 minutes

COOK: 1 hour

Ingredients

 

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• ▢ 10 cups sourdough bread dried out and torn into pieces
• ▢ ½ cup pecans toasted and chopped
• ▢ 3 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 12 ounces Italian sausage
• ▢ 2 onions diced
• ▢ 1 cup celery diced
• ▢ salt and pepper
• ▢ 1 bay leaf
• ▢ 1 tablespoons fresh sage chopped
• ▢ ½ cup white wine
• ▢ ¾ cups butter divided
• ▢ 2 eggs beaten
• ▢ 2 cups chicken stock

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Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350º. Butter a 9 X 13 glass baking dish.
• Tear dried bread into pieces and place in a large bowl. Add toasted and chopped pecans to the bowl.
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat and add sausage breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Cook until browned and cooked through about 7-10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and add to bowl with bread.
• In the same skillet add onions and celery, season with salt and pepper, sage and bay leaf and cook until onions are slightly browned and soft, about 10 minutes. Transfer to bowl with bread.
• Reduce heat to medium and add wine to the skillet, scraping up the browned bits. Cook until almost evaporated, about 1 minutes. Add ½ cup of butter, stirring until melted. Pour over bread mixture.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs and stock and pour over bread mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to baking dish and dot with remaining ¼ cup of butter.
• Cover baking dish with foil. Bake for 30-35 minutes until a knife inserted in center comes out hot. Increase temperature to 450º. Remove foil and bake uncovered until golden brown and crisp, 20-25 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Barbara’s Tips + Notes

Recipe Tips

• If using fresh bread, cut into cubes and place in 250º oven until slightly dry.
• You can prepare this a day ahead and bake before serving.
• If you don’t like sourdough, use a french bread, not sandwich bread which will get mushy.
• You can freeze the leftovers and cover and reheat in a 350º oven for 5-10 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 277kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 60mg | Sodium: 378mg | Potassium: 172mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 324IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 1mg

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