Classic Bread Stuffing For A Crowd Food

OLD FASHIONED STUFFING

Steps:

• Allow the toasted bread to sit approximately 24 hours, until hard.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
• Crush the bread into crumbs with a rolling pin. Place the crumbs in a large bowl.
• Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and celery and slowly cook until soft. Remove from heat and drain.
• Mix the eggs and chicken broth into the bread crumbs. The mixture should be moist, but not mushy. Use water, if necessary, to attain desired consistency. Mix in the onion, celery, rubbed sage, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
• Press the mixture into the baking dish. Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until the top is brown and crisp.

BREAD STUFFING

Steps:

• Melt butter in 4-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook celery and onion in butter 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Remove Dutch oven from the heat.
• Gently toss celery mixture and remaining ingredients, using spoon, until bread cubes are evenly coated.
• Use to stuff one 10- to 12-pound turkey. Or to bake stuffing separately, grease 3-quart casserole or rectangular baking dish, 13x9x2 inches. Place stuffing in casserole or baking dish. Cover with lid or aluminum foil and bake at 325°F for 30 minutes; uncover and bake 15 minutes longer.

HOMEMADE BREAD STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until; saute onion and celery in hot butter until onion is soft, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Put bread cubes in a large bowl. Season bread with salt, sage, thyme, poultry seasoning, and black pepper. Add onion mixture to bread cubes; stir. Pour bread mixture into a large casserole dish and cover the dish with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden and hot, about 1 hour.

CLASSIC STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and butter a 3-quart baking dish. Melt the butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, sage and thyme; season with 1 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil, then remove from the heat.
• Whisk the eggs and parsley in a large bowl. Add the bread and the vegetable-broth mixture and stir until combined. Transfer to the prepared baking dish. Drizzle with the turkey drippings (or dot with butter); sprinkle with the paprika.
• Cover the dish with foil and bake 30 minutes, then uncover and bake until golden, 25 to 30 more minutes.

SUNNY'S CROWD-SOURCED STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat a countertop oven to 300 degrees F.
• Place the bread cubes in a single layer on two quarter sheet trays (9-by-13-inch baking sheets) or countertop oven baking sheets and bake until dried out and crisp, about 15 minutes. Remove the bread cubes to a very large bowl.
• Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees F.
• Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the celery, onions and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the sage, thyme, garlic and scallion whites and continue to cook until the vegetables and herbs meld together, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the vegetable mixture to the bowl with the bread cubes. Add the chestnuts and saltines and mix to combine well.
• Whisk together the cream of mushroom soup and turkey stock in a medium bowl or large measuring cup. Pour over the bread cubes and vegetables. Season with salt and pepper and mix to combine well.
• Transfer the bread mixture to a 9-by-9-by-2 1/2-inch broiler-safe baking dish. Using a wooden spoon, press down to compact the stuffing. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
• Remove the foil and switch the countertop oven to broil. Broil the stuffing until the top is golden brown and crispy, 2 minutes on high. Garnish with the scallion greens and Fried Sage, if using.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat to 375 degrees F. To test if the oil is ready for frying, drop in a small sage leaf. If it begins to sizzle, the oil is ready. Add the sage leaves to the oil and fry until crisp, 20 to 25 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, remove the leaves to a paper towel-lined plate and sprinkle with salt.

"SIMPLE IS BEST" DRESSING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250°F. Butter a 13x9x2" baking dish and set aside. Scatter bread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake, stirring occasionally, until dried out, about 1 hour. Let cool; transfer to a very large bowl.
• Meanwhile, melt 3/4 cup butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add onions and celery. Stir often until just beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add to bowl with bread; stir in herbs, salt, and pepper. Drizzle in 1 1/4 cups broth and toss gently. Let cool.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk 1 1/4 cups broth and eggs in a small bowl. Add to bread mixture; fold gently until thoroughly combined. Transfer to prepared dish, cover with foil, and bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of dressing registers 160°F, about 40 minutes. (Note: Dressing can be made one day ahead up to this point. Uncover the dressing, let cool, then cover again and chill. The next day, proceed with the final bake as described below.)
• Bake dressing, uncovered, until set and top is browned and crisp, 40-45 minutes longer (if chilled, add 10-15 minutes).

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 SAGE AND THYME (AMERICA'S TEST KITCH

Steps:

• Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 400.
• Melt butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the celery and onions and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in the parsley, sage, thyme, and marjoram and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Transfer to a very large bowl. Add the dried, cooled bread, broth, eggs, salt, and pepper to the vegetables and toss to combine.
• Turn the mixture into a buttered 10 x 15-inch baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until golden, about 30 minutes longer. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

DRESSING FOR A CROWD

Steps:

• Toss the bread cubes and sausage; set aside. In a large saucepan, saute celery and onion in butter until tender. Remove from the heat. Stir in 3-3/4 cups broth and seasonings; mix well. Pour over bread mixture; mix well. Add enough remaining broth to achieve desired moistness. , Transfer to four greased 3-qt. baking dishes. Cover and bake at 325° for 1-1/4 hours. Uncover and bake 15 minutes longer or until heated through.