Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipes

Thanksgiving dinner just isn’t complete without stuffing and these Thanksgiving stuffing recipes are fabulous whether you actually stuff the turkey with them or not.

The Right Stuff

The one raging and ongoing debate that comes up every holiday season is whether the cook should put stuffing in the turkey. There are those who feel that a turkey made without stuffing is just not traditional, while others feel that an improperly stuffed turkey can cause food borne illness. Along these lines, stuffing that is stuffed into the turkey is called stuffing while stuffing that is cooked separately from the turkey is called dressing.

Most food professionals will cook the stuffing separately, not only for food safety reasons, but, as anyone who has made a Thanksgiving dinner knows, you will always need more stuffing than an average turkey can hold.

For the purists out there who just won’t go the dressing route, there are some basic food safety guidelines that can keep your Thanksgiving stuffing recipes happy and healthy.

• Get and use a meat or instant read thermometer. The pop-up thermometer will tell you when the turkey is done, but not when the stuffing has reached food safety temperature.

• Make sure that the stuffing is good and moist. Moist heat kills bacteria more reliably than dry heat.

• If you do not have a meat or instant read thermometer, fully cook the stuffing before stuffing it into the turkey.

• Stuff the bird loosely, using only ¾ cup of stuffing per pound of turkey.

• Cook the stuffed turkey in an oven that is no less than 325 degrees.

• Make sure the turkey and the stuffing are both cooked to at least 165 degrees.

• Let the turkey rest for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipes

Some Thanksgiving stuffing recipes call for turkey bits to be cooked right into it. This is a great way to get more turkey flavor into your stuffing. Other recipes don’t actually use any meat products at all and are a good alternative if you will be having vegetarian friends over. Both of these recipes will go well with goose as well.

Virginia Style Stuffing

This is an old school style of dressing that can be used as a stuffing as well. If you are not going to stuff this into the turkey, then just place it into a baking dish and cover it with foil. Bake for 10-15 minutes.

Ingredients

• Turkey giblets
• ¼ cup peanuts, finely chopped
• 3 quarts of day old bread cubes
• 1 ½ cups of butter
• ½ onion finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon of salt
• ¼ teaspoon of pepper
• ½ teaspoon of thyme
• ¼ teaspoon of marjoram
• 2 quarts of water

Instructions

1. Place all the giblets, except the liver, in a sauce pan and simmer for 2 ½ hours.
2. Check the water level occasionally and replenish if needed.
3. Add the liver for the last 8 minutes of the simmering.
4. Drain and chop the giblets coarsely.
5. Mix the giblets, peanuts, and breadcrumbs in a bowl and let rest for a few minutes.
6. Heat the 1 ½ cups of butter in a large pot.
7. Add the diced onions and cook the onion over a low heat until translucent.
8. Add the bread cube mixture to the butter.
9. Add the salt, pepper, thyme, and marjoram.
10. Stir over a medium heat until the bread is lightly browned.
11. If the mixture seems too dry, add a little cream or chicken stock.
12. Stuff loosely into your turkey or bake in a casserole dish.

Chestnut Stuffing

Ingredients

• 2 pounds of chestnuts
• 1 pound of butter
• ½ onion, diced
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1 loaf of bread, cubed and allowed to go stale for two days
• 1 teaspoon of thyme
• 1 teaspoon of oregano
• 1 teaspoon of marjoram
• 1 teaspoon or rosemary
• 1 teaspoon of parsley

Instructions

1. Cut an “X” into each chestnut.
2. Place the chestnuts in a pot of water and simmer for 5 minutes
3. Remove the chestnuts from the water using a slotted spoon and remove the shells and skins from the nutmeat.
4. Place the chestnuts back into the water and simmer for 20 more minutes.
5. If you like, you can roast the chestnuts instead of boiling them. To do so, cut the chestnuts with the “X”, preheat your oven to 425 degrees, and roast them for 15 minutes. Then, peel and dice them.
6. Place the bread cubes and herbs in a large bowl.
7. Melt the butter in a pan.
8. Once the butter is melted, add the diced onions and celery.
9. Season the onions and celery with salt and pepper.
10. Slowly cook the onions and celery over a low heat until translucent.
11. Drain the chestnuts and dice them.
12. Mix the chestnuts with the bread cubes.
13. Add the butter and celery and onion and toss to coat.
14. If the mixture is dry you can add water or stock to moisten it.
15. Either bake in a covered casserole dish or loosely place into the cavity of your turkey.

Leftovers are Your Friend

If you find that you have too much turkey and stuffing left over you can always make a casserole. Stuffing also can be spooned into a cupcake tin to make portable stuffing snacks.

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