Where would our Thanksgiving turkey be without it’s companion stuffing? We wait all year for this delicious accompaniment to our long roasted, savory bird. Depending on what region of the country you live in, your stuffing/dressing will either be a combination of bread, cornbread, quinoa, wild rice, or potatoes…. with corn, parsnips, oysters, mushrooms, apples, sausage or giblets thrown in. My family likes a bread/cornbread version made with veggies and herbs and moistened with turkey stock. I generally put this dressing together two days before Thanksgiving and bake it the last half hour along with the turkey. So there’s no scrambling at the last minute to assemble this most important accoutrement to the meal.
You can call it stuffing if you intend to stuff the turkey cavity with it. Otherwise, it’s called dressing if it’s baked separately. I bake mine separately, so as not to dry out the turkey meat with the additional baking time it would take if you stuffed the bird. Instead, I baste the dressing with drippings from the turkey to give it additional flavor.
Grandma Ruth’s Turkey Stuffing
Ingredients:
- 1 lb package of organic bread stuffing mix
- 1 recipe southern cornbread, crumbled and dried in the oven
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 stalks celery, chopped
- 1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped
- 1 lb mushrooms sliced
- 1 Tbl Grandma Ruth’s Poultry Rub (see recipe index)
- 1-2 quarts chicken or turkey stock
In large skillet, melt butter and sweat the onions, celery and mushrooms for a few minutes until soft.
Add 1 quart stock and seasoning and heat until simmering. Turn off heat. Add dry bread crumbs and cornbread crumbs and chopped parsley.
Stir until combined and moisten with additional stock until desired consistency.
Pack into a buttered 2 qt casserole.
Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees, uncovered. Baste occasionally with roasted turkey drippings.
