How to Prepare Homemade Stuffing
December 24, 2012
•Emily Murray
•Seattle
• 0 Comments
How to Prepare Homemade Stuffing
The days of multiple turkey dinners are almost here, and that means stuffing! There are umpteen different brands of stuffing available in supermarkets everywhere. Most of them involve dumping a box of spiced breadcrumbs into a pot on the stove and adding water or chicken broth. Why go with mediocre boxed stuffing when you can have scrumptious homemade stuffing with very little work? This is not only a staple of family meals around the holiday season but also a frequent recipe taught at college for culinary arts and cooking schools in Washington.
Choosing the Bread
There are two ways to get the breadcrumb base for your stuffing going. The first is to buy white or whole-wheat breadcrumbs from your favorite grocer. The second is to choose a type of bread that the family prefers and make your own. They’re super-easy to make.
- Preheat the oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Cube your bread with a knife or tear it apart for a rustic look.
- Spread the pieces onto a baking sheet in a single layer.
- Let them dry out in the oven until lightly toasted and crunchy.
That’s all there is to making homemade breadcrumbs. It’s a great way to get the kids involved when they want to help make the meal it doesn’t take a degree from a college of culinary arts to make this creation . One medium to large loaf of bread will stuff a turkey weighing 7 – 10 pounds. If you use rye or pumpernickel, use an equal amount of a moist bread like plain white or whole-wheat to offset the heaviness.
Adding Flavor
Stuffing is all about spicing it up. Oregano, poultry seasoning, salt, pepper, paprika, rosemary, cumin, garlic and caramelized onions are all great seasoning and additives for stuffing. Where possible, use fresh herbs to increase the flavor. Add as much or as little of the seasoning as you want. Another delicious stuffing additive is sausage.
Simple breakfast sausages add some flavorful fats to moisten the stuffing, but you can also use hot or mild Italian sausage, Kielbasa or garlic sausage. For pre-cooked sausage, just chop it up and add it to the breadcrumbs. For raw sausages, cook them as normal and let them cool before chopping and adding them to the stuffing.
Mixing Ingredients and Stuffing the Bird
Once the breadcrumbs and sausage, if you plan to use it, are in a large mixing bowl, dump the seasoning on top along with one egg per loaf of bread. Add a little extra moisture with milk, water or broth in stages as you make sure everything is coated. The crumbs should wind up hard in the center and crusty yet moist on the edges.
Finally, stuff it all into the bird. Utilize the chest cavity and the cavity on the other end of the turkey where the neck came off and lightly pack the stuffing. Sew it up with a needle and thread or use skewers to secure the stuffing inside. Add about 15 minutes to your cooking time, and you will have a tasty homemade stuffing the whole family will gobble up faster than you can serve it! If you love holiday cooking as much as you love holiday eating perhaps enrolling in one of the many cooking schools in Washington would be a good choice for you.
This article is presented by Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Seattle. Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary
Arts in Seattle offers culinary arts and pâtisserie and baking training programs. To learn more about the class offerings, please visit Chefs.edu/Seattle for more information.
Find disclosures on graduation rates, student financial obligations and more atwww.chefs.edu/disclosures. Le Cordon Bleu® and the Le Cordon Bleu logo are registered trademarks of Career Education Corporation. Le Cordon Bleu cannot guarantee employment or salary. Credits earned are unlikely to transfer.