Old Fashioned Stuffing (2024)

FAQs

Should I put an egg in my stuffing? ›

Broth: Chicken broth keeps the stuffing moist without making it soggy. Eggs: Two lightly beaten eggs help hold the dressing together and add moisture.

Some people insist that it should be called dressing when it hasn't actually been stuffed inside a bird. But many people insist on one term or the other regardless of how it's prepared or what's in it. The term dressing is most commonly used in the South, but it's popular in pockets throughout the US.

Turkey stuffing was popularized in the early days of Thanksgiving, as it is written in many 16th-century Boston area documents. Stuffing most often uses dried bread, herbs, and vegetables that are reconstituted with liquid, stuffed into the turkey cavity, and baked until it is firm and finished cooking.

The term dressing, per the History Channel, originated around the 1850s, when the Victorians deemed stuffing too crude for the dish to be named. This happened around the same time that the term “dark meat” began to refer to chicken legs and thighs.

The stuffing should be moist but not wet. If there is a puddle of broth at the bottom of the bowl, you've added too much. Add more bread to soak up the excess moisture. If the mix is still dry and crumbly, add more liquid and toss gently until it starts to clump together.

But for the Thanksgiving side dish in the South, the term dressing was adopted in place of stuffing, which was viewed as a crude term, during the Victorian era. Although dressing and stuffing are interchangeable terms, the signature ingredient of this Thanksgiving side dish in the South is cornbread.

Dressing is often the word used, especially if it is not put into the bird but baked separately and then moistened with the gravy, but many still call that 'stuffing'.

As with many food traditions in the U.S., regional loyalties to stuffing vs dressing abound. Many Southerners are die-hard dressing fans, while Northerners tend to prefer stuffings, but these are not hard and fast rules. Nor is the language used to describe either dish.

Easy stuffing

Starting with dried sourdough bread, celery, onion, parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, chicken broth and eggs. A whole stick of butter goes in the pan adding onions, herbs and garlic (sausage is optional). Eggs combine everything together before going in the oven on a baking dish.

Typically, baking the stuffing inside the bird helps keep the mixture moist. “I prefer stuffing (in the bird) to dressing (outside of the bird) because all those delicious drippings that come off the turkey gets absorbed right into the stuffing,” Bamford says.

What is teddy bear stuffing made of? ›

Common stuffing materials include synthetic fiber, batting, cotton, straw, wood wool, plastic pellets, and beans.

Dressing is more commonly used to refer to the dish in the South, while stuffing is the more frequently used term in the North, Southern Living reported.

In England, a stuffing is sometimes made of minced pork shoulder seasoned with various ingredients, such as sage, onion, bread, chestnuts, dried apricots, and dried cranberries. The stuffing mixture may be cooked separately and served as a side dish. This may still be called stuffing or it may be called dressing.

So stuffing is cooked inside the bird. Dressing is cooked outside the bird, usually in a casserole dish. Additionally, dressing, especially in the American South, is often made with cornbread instead of pieces of a baguette or plain ol' white bread.

But there are plenty of good reasons to skip the raw egg in the classic dressing. For some, the risk of foodborne illnesses such as salmonella is a deterrent. For others, there's an "ick" factor to eating raw eggs.

Add Butter and Broth Before Reheating

Often upon refrigeration, the stuffing will soak up any excess moisture and will appear drier than when originally served. Depending on the amount of stuffing you plan to reheat, drizzle a few tablespoons or up to 1/4 cup of chicken or turkey broth into the stuffing to moisten it.