Stuffing Without The Bird Recipes

THANKSGIVING DRESSING (STUFFING OUTSIDE OF THE BIRD)

Steps:

• Adjust the racks in your oven to the middle top and middle bottom position. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Arrange the bread cubes on two baking sheets in even layers. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden. Stir the bread and switch pans halfway through baking. Set aside to cool.
• Meanwhile, grease a 9 x 13" pan and set aside.
• In a large skillet, melt 4 tbs butter over medium heat. Add the onions and celery and cook for 10 minutes, until starting to softened and turn golden.
• Add the garlic and Bells seasoning. Cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.
• Stir in the broth and soy sauce. Simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Let cool 10 minutes.
• Whisk the eggs, half and half, and parsley in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in the broth mixture.
• Fold in all of the breadcrumbs, making sure to coat all. Let sit for 20 minutes until bread is soaked with the liquid mixture (some will still be in the bowl).
• Pour the bread mix into the prepared pan.
• Melt the remaining butter and drizzle over the stuffing.
• Bake on lower middle rack for 50 minutes, until top is crispy. Serve warm.

STUFFING WITHOUT THE BIRD

Steps:

• In toaster, toast all of the bread and immediately spread generous amounts of butter on toast.
• Use entire stick of butter to do this.
• Set toast aside.
• Finely chop garlic, onion, celery, and mushrooms.
• Heat olive oil in large skillet.
• Add chopped vegetables, cook until tender, about 6-8 minutes.
• While vegetables are cooking.
• Chop parsley and almonds.
• When vegetables are tender add, parsley, almonds, and poultry seasoning.
• Stir well and cook one more minute.
• Cut toasted bread into cubes.
• Add bread and chicken stock.
• Stir until bread is softened, about one minute.
• Remove from heat and transfer to serving dish.
• Let sit covered 5 minutes.
• **Please note that I occasionally add chopped cooked apples&/or browned breakfast sausage to this stuffing when adding the bread.

STUFFING THE BIRD

Steps:

• The night before, carefully cube the bread, cutting away all the crusts (and feeding the crusts to your neighbourhood songbirds and squirrels-its Christmas for them, too!).
• Place the chicken stock in a pot, and carefully simmer half the garlic and the heart, gizzard and neck meat for 20 minutes. Add the liver, and simmer 20 minutes more.
• Remove from heat, preserve the liquid, strip the meat from the neck, and cut away the meat from the viscera of the gizzard, discarding the viscera. Mince the meat to a fine paste, using reserved stock if or as necessary.
• Dice onion and celery finely. Heat olive oil in a pan and saute them and balance of garlic until tender, and remove from heat.
• Add seaoning, nut meal, minced neck, giblets,and soya sauce, stirring together well.
• Place bread bits and Bran in a bowl, and evacuate sauteed bits into the breading, mixing well.
• Moistenm with reserved stock until the mix is "damp" but not "soggy".
• Stuff into the bird's gut and neck cavity. Do notbe afraid to compress the mix "slightly", contrary to urban legend, the bird will not "explode", you'llsimply have some stuffing leak forward from the gut, where it will brown quite nicely!
• Cook your turkey until the breast meat and stuffing are about 155 degrees, and the dark meat is about 170 degrees, and remove from the oven. Evacuate the stuffing immediately and cover with foil.

FARMHOUSE HERBED STUFFING

Steps:

• In 12-inch, heavy skillet over moderate heat, heat butter until hot but not smoking. Stir in onion and celery, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 15 to 20 minutes. (Vegetables can be prepared up to 1 day ahead and refrigerated. Reheat before continuing: In 12-inch, heavy skillet over moderately high heat, sauté, stirring often, until heated through, about 5 minutes.)
• Transfer to large bowl and add stuffing cubes, parsley, celery salt, sage, rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper. Stir in 1¼ cups hot stock.
• If using to stuff turkey:
• Use immediately to fill cavities and spread remainder in baking dish as directed in Classic Roast Turkey recipe .
• If baking in a casserole pan:
• Preheat oven to 350°F and butter 3-quart casserole or 9-by 13-inch baking dish. Transfer stuffing to dish and drizzle with ½ cup hot stock (stuffing baked outside of the turkey won't be soaked in the turkey's juices, so extra stock is drizzled on top to keep it moist). Cover with aluminum foil and bake until heated through, about 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until top is slightly crisp and golden, about 10 minutes longer. Serve immediately.
• Variations:
• Sausage and Sage Stuffing: In large, heavy skillet over moderate heat, sauté 1 pound bulk pork sausage, breaking up pieces with spoon, until meat shows no sign of pink, about 10 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer to large bowl. Proceed with recipe, adding ingredients to bowl with sausage and substituting 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage for dried rosemary and sage.
• Dried Apricot and Pecan Stuffing: Dried fruit are better than fresh in stuffing because the latter get soggy with long baking. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread 1½ cups (6 ounces) pecans on rimmed baking sheet and toast, stirring occasionally, until browned and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Cool and coarsely chop. In medium bowl, combine 1½ cups diced dried apricots and hot water to cover. Soak until apricots plump, about 30 minutes, then drain well. Proceed with recipe, tossing apricots and pecans with other ingredients in large bowl.
• Test-Kitchen Tips: Warm, moist stuffing is an optimal environment for bacteria such as salmonella or E. coli to multiply, so it's important to follow safe procedures. Be sure to make the stuffing at the last minute so it can go into the bird warm. This helps it move above the "danger zone" (the optimal temperature range for bacteria growth) more quickly during roasting. Stuffing baked outside of the turkey can be spread in the baking dish and refrigerated for a few hours while the turkey roasts, but it should be prepared on the same day as baking.

STUFFING WITHOUT A TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
• Prepare the stuffing according to directions on package.
• Over medium-low heat in a large saucepan, place the ground beef, onions and garlic. Slowly cook and stir until the onions are soft and the beef is evenly brown. Drain and set aside.
• Place potatoes in a large, deep skillet with oil. Slowly cook and stir 10 minutes, or until evenly brown and tender, but firm.
• Mix the stuffing, ground beef mixture, potatoes, pepper, salt, pimento peppers, olives, sweet pickles and dill pickles in the baking dish.
• Return to the oven and bake 30 minutes. Serve hot.

TOM SZALLER'S GREAT PAN OR BIRD STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
• Place sausage in a large Dutch oven. Cook over medium high heat, stirring to crumble, until evenly brown. Drain.
• Add the bacon to the sausage along with the onions, green bell peppers, red bell peppers, mushrooms, butter, pepper, celery salt, seasoning salt, poultry seasoning, basil, garlic powder and water. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 10 to 20 minutes, until the vegetables are soft.
• Gradually place the bread into the mixture, thoroughly blending until all pieces are coated. Transfer to a large baking dish or two medium baking dishes.
• Bake in the preheated oven 40 to 60 minutes, or until the top begins to brown.