Classic Bread Dressing Recipes

CLASSIC BREAD DRESSING RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Heat oil and 2 tablespoons butter in a large nonstick skillet over high until butter melts. Stir in celery and leeks; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic; cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add thyme, salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup of the broth; cook, stirring, 1 minute.
• Combine celery mixture and bread cubes in a large bowl. Add melted butter, eggs, and remaining 1 1/2 cups broth; stir to combine.
• Spoon mixture into a lightly greased 11- x 7-inch baking dish; let stand 15 minutes. Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, 40 to 45 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley.

CLASSIC BREAD STUFFING RECIPE

Steps:

• In a large skillet over medium heat, melt half of the butter. Add the onion, celery, garlic, sage, thyme, celery seeds, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Cook, covered, until the onion is soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat. In a large bowl, toss the sautéed vegetables with the bread cubes. Season with pepper. Melt the remaining butter. Pour it over the stuffing, along with the broth (or milk or wine), and toss to coat. The stuffing should just hold together when mounded on a spoon.
• If cooking in a turkey, put the stuffing in the bird just before roasting. Pack the stuffing loosely, leaving enough room to fit your whole extended hand into the bird's cavity. Cook the stuffing in the bird to 160º to 165ºF, checking with an instant-read thermometer. If the bird is done before the stuffing is, take the bird out of the oven, spoon the stuffing into a casserole dish, and continue to bake it while the turkey rests.
• If baking some or all of the stuffing in a casserole, pour a cup or two of stock over the stuffing to replace the juices the stuffing would have absorbed from the bird. Bake it covered until heated through, 45 minutes to 1 hour. For a crunchy top, uncover it for the last 15 minutes of baking.

"SIMPLE IS BEST" DRESSING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250°F. Butter a 13x9x2" baking dish and set aside. Scatter bread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake, stirring occasionally, until dried out, about 1 hour. Let cool; transfer to a very large bowl.
• Meanwhile, melt 3/4 cup butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add onions and celery. Stir often until just beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add to bowl with bread; stir in herbs, salt, and pepper. Drizzle in 1 1/4 cups broth and toss gently. Let cool.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk 1 1/4 cups broth and eggs in a small bowl. Add to bread mixture; fold gently until thoroughly combined. Transfer to prepared dish, cover with foil, and bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of dressing registers 160°F, about 40 minutes. (Note: Dressing can be made one day ahead up to this point. Uncover the dressing, let cool, then cover again and chill. The next day, proceed with the final bake as described below.)
• Bake dressing, uncovered, until set and top is browned and crisp, 40-45 minutes longer (if chilled, add 10-15 minutes).

CLASSIC THANKSGIVING DRESSING WITH PARSLEY, SAGE AND THYME

Steps:

• Spread bread cubes in a single layer on two large sheet pans and let dry for a few hours or overnight. Adjust oven racks to lower- and upper-middle positions. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake bread until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees.
• Meanwhile, heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and celery; saute until soft, 8 to 10 minutes. In a large bowl, mix bread, vegetables and remaining ingredients. Turn into a greased 3-quart baking dish. Cover with foil and bake until steamy, 30 minutes. Remove foil; bake until crusty, 10 minutes longer. Serve immediately.

BREAD STUFFING

Steps:

• Melt butter in 4-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook celery and onion in butter 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Remove Dutch oven from the heat.
• Gently toss celery mixture and remaining ingredients, using spoon, until bread cubes are evenly coated.
• Use to stuff one 10- to 12-pound turkey. Or to bake stuffing separately, grease 3-quart casserole or rectangular baking dish, 13x9x2 inches. Place stuffing in casserole or baking dish. Cover with lid or aluminum foil and bake at 325°F for 30 minutes; uncover and bake 15 minutes longer.

CLASSIC BREAD DRESSING

Steps:

• Make bread cubes ahead of time and set out on counter so they can get a little "stale.".
• Melt margarine in dutch oven over medium-high heat.
• Cook celery and onion in margarine, stirring occasionally, until tender; remove from heat.
• Toss celery mixture and remaining ingredients.
• Pour dressing into a greased casserole. Cover with lid or aluminum foil and refrigerate until about 30 minutes before poultry is done.
• Bake uncovered in the same oven with the poultry about 45 minutes or until hot. Spoon poultry drippings over stuffing as it cooks.
• Continue to bake the dressing while you let the poultry stand 15 minutes before carving.

CLASSIC STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and butter a 3-quart baking dish. Melt the butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, sage and thyme; season with 1 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil, then remove from the heat.
• Whisk the eggs and parsley in a large bowl. Add the bread and the vegetable-broth mixture and stir until combined. Transfer to the prepared baking dish. Drizzle with the turkey drippings (or dot with butter); sprinkle with the paprika.
• Cover the dish with foil and bake 30 minutes, then uncover and bake until golden, 25 to 30 more minutes.

CLASSIC BREAD STUFFING WITH ONIONS, CELERY, AND HERBS

Steps:

• In a big skillet, melt the butter over medium heat; add in onions, celery, and celery leaves.
• Cook, stirring often, until the onions are golden, about 8 minutes.
• Scrape the vegetable mixture into a big bowl; mix in the bread cubes, parsley, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper.
• Gradually stir in about 1 ½ cups of broth, until the stuffing is evenly moistened but not soggy.
• Transfer stuffing to a lightly buttered casserole dish; drizzle with ½ cup broth, cover, and bake in a preheated 350° oven for 30-45 minutes (if you like crusty stuffing, remove foil the last 15 minutes of baking).

GRANNY'S OLD-FASHIONED BREAD AND SAGE DRESSING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F. Melt margarine in a large nonstick skillet. Add celery and onion. Sauté until vegetables are very tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in thyme, sage, salt (optional), and pepper. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, place bread slices on a baking sheet and lightly toast on both sides, about 10 minutes per side (or you can use the toaster). Break bread into bite-size pieces. Mix in vegetable mixture and parsley. (At this point, stuffing can be made one day ahead, placed in a self-sealing container, and refrigerated.)
• In a medium saucepan, heat broth to a simmer. Place dressing mixture in a large mixing bowl. Add hot broth and stir until bread is evenly moistened, starting with 2½ cups broth and adding additional broth to reach desired consistency. Transfer mixture to a shallow baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake until lightly browned, another 15 to 20 minutes.