Classic Bread Stuffing From Cooks Illustrated Recipes

CLASSIC BREAD STUFFING WITH VARIATIONS

Steps:

• Melt butter in 4 quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
• Cook celery and onion in butter, stirring occasionally, until tender; remove from heat.
• Toss celery and onion mixture and remaining ingredients.
• Use to stuff one 10 to 12 pound turkey.
• To bake separatly from turkey: Grease a 13x9 baking dish, put stuffing in dish, cover, and bake at 325º for 30 minutes. Uncover, baste with turkey drippings or chicken broth to keep stuffing moist and continue baking for 15 minutes.
• Apple-Raisin Stuffing: Increase salt to 1 1/2 tsps. Add 3 cups finely chopped apples and 3/4 cups raisins with the remaining ingredients and make recipe as directed above.
• Corn Bread Stuffing: Substitute corn bread cubes for the regular bread and make recipe as directed above.
• Mushroom Stuffing: Cook 2 cups sliced mushrooms with the celery and onions and make recipe as directed above.
• Oyster Stuffing: Add 2 (8 ounce) cans oysters, drained and chopped, or 2 cups shucked oysters, drained and chopped, with remaining ingredients and make recipe as directed above.
• Sausage Stuffing: Omit salt. Cook 1 pound bulk pork sausage in 10-inch skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink; drain, reserving drippings. Substitute drippings for part of the butter. Add cooked sausage with the remaining ingredients and make recipe as directed above.

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).

BASIC BREAD STUFFING

Steps:

• In a skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion, and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the parsley, celery, salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary and sage, and cook for 5 minutes. Place the mixture in a large mixing bowl, add the cubed bread and chicken broth, and toss to combine.
• When cool, stuff the turkey and bake. If you prefer, preheat the oven to 350 degrees, add 1/2 cup chicken broth to the stuffing and bake in a casserole for 40 minutes.

CLASSIC SIMPLE STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Place bread cubes in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring halfway through.
• Remove from the oven and let cool. Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and celery and cook, stirring often, until onion is translucent and beginning to brown, about 7 minutes. Stir in salt, poultry seasoning, and pepper and remove from the heat.
• Whisk together stock, eggs, parsley, and rosemary in a large bowl. Add cooled bread cubes and onion mixture; stir until very well combined. Pour mixture into the prepared baking dish and cover with foil.
• Bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake until golden brown and lightly toasted on top, 20 to 25 more minutes.
• Garnish with remaining parsley.