(continued from this post:) With the holidays coming up, now is the best time to learn and try out new recipes. Today we'll be making a traditional stuffing, also known as a dressing. What's the difference? Not much, really, though I guess you could say that if you cook this outside the bird it's a dressing, while using it to stuff a bird is considered stuffing. Regardless, in the south, a dressing is usually made with some cornbread included and doesn't have the typical uniform shape of northern "stuffing" that uses cubed bread.
Ingredients list: 7 cups dried bread cut into cubes 2 cups mirepoix - chopped onion, celery, carrot 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley 1/2 cup chopped fresh green onion Turkey or chicken stock as needed 2 eggs 4 tbs butter Sage Thyme Black pepper Salt
Let's get started.
Jaxon Foster
The bread serves as the foundation for this dish, so the better the bread, the better the dish. You can buy store bought croutons, but using fresh bread that YOU made will give better results.
Here, I've taken 2 loaves of bread that I made and cubed them. Then I set them in the fridge uncovered to dry out because I wasn't going to make the dish immediately. If you plan on making the dish immediately, then you can simply cube your bread, place them on a tray, and toss them in the oven to dry on low heat.
Some simply rip the bread apart with their hands as opposed to using a knife to create uniform cubes. It's entirely up to you which method you select. The key is to make sure the bread is dry so it absorbs more of the liquid you add later.
Andrew Perry
Your ingredient list looks suspiciously like mine although I always add oysters and some of the oyster liquor instead of stock.
Benjamin Hall
Next, chop up your mirepoix. Ratio's I've seen for Bread-mirepoix range from 3 parts bread to 1 part mirepoix, to half and half. I opted for about 1/3 mirepoix to bread in this recipe. The size of your chop depends on you, but you usually want to have the pieces large enough that they can be seen and don't just dissolve into the dish.
Parker Jones
Have your stock on hand. The amount you need will depend entirely on the amount of bread you use, and how dry it is, as dry bread will absorb more liquid. You can use any stock you want, but the normal stock is chicken or turkey. I'll be using some of the fresh turkey stock I made for this recipe.
>Your ingredient list looks suspiciously like mine This is a basic traditional recipe that's pretty common around the country. A lot of folks will add some kind of protein to their dish, but I actually prefer it without as I usually serve it with chicken or turkey.
Carter Hall
Now it's time to start cooking. Heat up a pan and toss in a couple TBS of butter, then add your mirepoix. Our goal is a simple sweat here, so when the onions are translucent, you don't need to cook it anymore.
Ayden Russell
Season the mirepoix in the pan, as the heat will help release some of the oils in the dry spices. I used a TBS of dry sage, 1/2 TBS of thyme, some black and white pepper, and some (((kosher))) salt. You'll have to adjust according to your taste, though.
Ryan Smith
When the mirepoix is cooked, I deglazed the pan with some white whine. You can use anything from water, to stock, if you don't have wine on hand.
Sebastian Flores
Next, we add the cooked mirepoix to the bread, and toss in the fresh cut parsley and green onion.
Brody Morales
Then we add the stock until it gets absorbed into the bread. We want enough stock so that you can squeeze liquid out of the bread, but not so much that it dissolves the bread itself and turns it soupy. Add a little at a time, mix it up, and give it some time to absorb, then check to see if you need more, and slowly work your way up. Keep in mind you'll be adding eggs to the mix as well, so don't add so much liquid that the eggs will end up turning it into soup.
Once you get the liquid level close to where it needs to be, and BEFORE you add your eggs, check and adjust your seasonings. If you need to add any more sage, thyme, salt or pepper, find out and fix it now before you put in the raw eggs. Once you've got it where you want it, then add 2 beaten eggs, and mix it all together.
Luke Bell
Once you've got it mixed up, butter up a pan, and add your stuffing. Cover it, and place it in a pre-heated 350 degree oven.
We'll cook it covered for 30 minutes, then we'll uncover it and cook it for another 30 minutes, or until it gets as brown as you want. Personally, I don't want a crunchy top, but some enjoy that.
John Robinson
Your cooking time will very depending on your stove, but I pulled mine after an hour.
Lessons learned: -Next time I'm going to use a smaller cube, as the larger cubes took longer to absorb the liquid -I'm going to increase my bread to mirepoix ratio to an even half and half -I'm going to use a larger chop for my mirepoix so they don't shrink as much in the pan when sweated
Hopefully some of you will see how easy this stuff is to make and will try it out for yourself.
Next recipe: Southern cornbread dressing with pecans
Carter Rodriguez
Wow, just one reply so far? I love dressing, its the best part of Thanksgiving. Since I cant be fucked to cook a turkey, or even a chicken, how can I make this as a side using sausage? I love sausage stuffing.
Gabriel Sanchez
>how can I make this as a side using sausage?
You've got a couple options.
First, you can cook the sausage in a pan, then use the rendered fat to sweat your mirepoix, then simply add it to your bread and continue as normal. Second, you could cook your sausage, strain and chop it, and set it aside, then clean out your pan and sweat the mirepoix with butter, as butter lends its own distinct flavor to the mirepoix. It's really up to you.
For ratio's, I'd go 1/2 part bread, to 1/2 part mirepoix, and 1/2 part sausage. So for 4 cups of bread, you'd add - 2 cups mirepoix and 2 cups sausage.
Xavier Campbell
Thanks, you reminded me of just how much I love this. Embarrassed to say I would eat it as a main course. I can never finish a loaf of bread before its gone stale, so seems like a good go-to when you have old bread.
Jonathan Walker
>seems like a good go-to when you have old bread. Absolutely.
Just tone down the amount of egg you use as a binder if you use less. I'd probably go 1 egg per every 3 cups of bread crumbs.
A muffin pan would work well for small amounts.
Josiah Thomas
Stuffing is also my favorite part of the meal but usually mine comes out with the consistency of slightly firmer smashed potatoes. Not complaining, I like it like that. What would you think of mashing your stuffing?
Carter Russell
Also, I know it's not traditional but anyone ever try melting some good cheese into the stuffing?
Carson Ramirez
Its bread, with sausage, some egg, and onion/veg flavors. Add cheese and you almost have a breakfast casserole. I'm sure it would work, it would be a hybrid stuffing - breakfast casserole. Not traditional but I'm sure it would be tasty.
Jack Sanders
I make stuffing with crawfish and It has a little Parmesan In it. It's real good
Samuel Adams
>What would you think of mashing your stuffing?
The consistency is all up to you. One of the biggest distinctions between "stuffing" and "dressing", aside from being cooked separately outside a bird of course, is the consistency and texture. Most "stuffing" uses some form of cubed bread, and has a fairly firm texture and consistency. "Dressing", on the other hand, tends to avoid using cubed bread in favor of shredded bread or shredded cornbread, and has a much softer texture than the average "stuffing".
If that's the texture you're going for, than shred your bread into very fine pieces before drying it out, or baking, and adjust your liquid ratio as needed. I've had some dressing recipes that were delicious, and had the consistency of a bread pudding. It's all up to you, user.
