Stuffing is one of those aggravating side dishes that no one really likes to make but it seems adds a lot to any dish, and it seems to be part of a lot of holiday traditions. Luckily it easy enough to make any time of the year, especially if you are looking for an excuse to practice or experiment with the recipe. It's also a great excuse to get rid of a lot of bread in one sitting.
The major choice is which bread product to use. Most people start off with a mix of wheat and white breads as it provides a great mix between textures and tastes. However, you can use virtually any kind of bread, even French or rye. Brioche seems to being current flavor, and a good case can be made for sourdough as well. You can even use croutons, just increase the liquid by about a quarter. Day-old bread is perfect as it won't shrink as much once the liquid is added. Regardless of which bread you choose, shred it by hand before you do anything else so as to maximize the flavor; 1/2" to 1" cubes are fine. Onto this you you will pile everything else.
You can add almost anything you want to the bread, but try for subtle flavors rather than big ones. Celery, onion, and garlic salts are your best friends here, but only about a tablespoon for every cup of bread. Vegetables also work, with chopped celery being the favorite, but fennel, parsley, scallions, leeks, mushrooms, and onions being well used as well. If you are feeling really adventurous, you can add meat as well, with duck and any number of crumbled sausages working rather well. You would do well to fry off the meat and add it , minus about 3/4 of the oil, to the bread and any other ingredients to the liquid.
You can use water, but chicken broth is the ideal liquid as it adds a little extra flavor to the stuffing. Boil about a cup of liquid per cup of bread (with an additional quarter cup per cup of croutons used), and any reduction due to cooking is fine;you actually want to lose some of the liquid. Add all of the spices and finely chopped vegetables to the chosen liquid once it is boiling and allow to boil for another ten minutes or so. Once all of this is done, poor the liquid over the bread mixing it well as you go.
At this point you have two options. You can either cook inside of the turkey, if one happens to be available, or in a greased casserole dish. If you're going to add to the turkey, make sure that it has at least two hours to cook; it's already pretty well cooked already, so you are just cooking it for flavor. If you choose to cook in the dish, cover it with some pats of butter and some foil, and then put it into the oven for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. After that, uncover it and put it back in for another ten minutes.
Throw some gravy on top of it, and you have a great side dish. Done right, and you should have a delightfully moist and delicious addition to any meal. If you really need an excuse to cook it at any time, you can always argue that you are are practicing for Thanksgiving, but you should really not need an excuse to have this at any time.
The major choice is which bread product to use. Most people start off with a mix of wheat and white breads as it provides a great mix between textures and tastes. However, you can use virtually any kind of bread, even French or rye. Brioche seems to being current flavor, and a good case can be made for sourdough as well. You can even use croutons, just increase the liquid by about a quarter. Day-old bread is perfect as it won't shrink as much once the liquid is added. Regardless of which bread you choose, shred it by hand before you do anything else so as to maximize the flavor; 1/2" to 1" cubes are fine. Onto this you you will pile everything else.
You can add almost anything you want to the bread, but try for subtle flavors rather than big ones. Celery, onion, and garlic salts are your best friends here, but only about a tablespoon for every cup of bread. Vegetables also work, with chopped celery being the favorite, but fennel, parsley, scallions, leeks, mushrooms, and onions being well used as well. If you are feeling really adventurous, you can add meat as well, with duck and any number of crumbled sausages working rather well. You would do well to fry off the meat and add it , minus about 3/4 of the oil, to the bread and any other ingredients to the liquid.
You can use water, but chicken broth is the ideal liquid as it adds a little extra flavor to the stuffing. Boil about a cup of liquid per cup of bread (with an additional quarter cup per cup of croutons used), and any reduction due to cooking is fine;you actually want to lose some of the liquid. Add all of the spices and finely chopped vegetables to the chosen liquid once it is boiling and allow to boil for another ten minutes or so. Once all of this is done, poor the liquid over the bread mixing it well as you go.
At this point you have two options. You can either cook inside of the turkey, if one happens to be available, or in a greased casserole dish. If you're going to add to the turkey, make sure that it has at least two hours to cook; it's already pretty well cooked already, so you are just cooking it for flavor. If you choose to cook in the dish, cover it with some pats of butter and some foil, and then put it into the oven for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. After that, uncover it and put it back in for another ten minutes.
Throw some gravy on top of it, and you have a great side dish. Done right, and you should have a delightfully moist and delicious addition to any meal. If you really need an excuse to cook it at any time, you can always argue that you are are practicing for Thanksgiving, but you should really not need an excuse to have this at any time.
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