Best 7 Stuffing Without The Bird Recipes

OUR FAVORITE BUTTERY HERB STUFFING

Steps:

• Note about the bread cubes! You have options here. Stale or toasty bread works best. The first option is that you can cut 1 ½ pounds of bread into cubes, place it in a large baking dish, loosely tent with foil and let it sit overnight. You can also cut the cubes and put them in oven, toasting them at 350 degrees F until they are like croutons, about 15 minutes or so. Finally, you can buy the toasted bread cubes in bags from the store. It's your choice! You can also choose the size of your cubes. They can be small or larger for a more rustic stuffing.
• My mom has always used a mixture of stale and fresh bread. Also, I like to use different kinds of bread (usually two), like a sourdough and italian, and mix the cubes. It provides great texture.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush a 9x13 baking dish (you can also use a larger baking dish or a larger foil roasting pan too!) with melted butter, olive oil or spray with nonstick spray. Place the bread in a large mixing bowl (this may be easier for you to stir!) or the baking dish that you will bake it in. You can also separate this into two baking dishes if it's easier.
• Heat the butter in a large skillet or dutch oven over medium heat. Once melted, stir in the onion, celery and garlic with a big pinch of salt and pepper - at least ½ to 1 teaspoon each. Cook until the onions and celery soften, about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the sage, parsley and rosemary. Cook for another minute. Stir in 1 cup of stock.
• Pour the onion celery mixture over the bread crumbs and toss well to coat.
• In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the remaining 1 ½ cups stock and 2 eggs.
• Pour that mixture into the bread cubes and stir and fold the bread cubes until thoroughly combined. Bake the stuffing for 45 to 50 minutes, until the internal temperature registers 160 degrees F. If the stuffing is getting too browned, you can tent it with foil.
• I have successfully made this a day ahead of time and reheated it - it's just as good! emove the pan from the fridge 60 minutes before reheating it. You can also use this mixture to stuff the bird if you wish!
• To serve 4: Cut this recipe in half exactly and bake it in an 8x8 or 9x9 inch dish. I bake for the same amount of time.
• To serve 12 to 18: Double this recipe exactly. Bake in a large baking dish, like a 10x15 roasting pan, or baking in two 9x13 baking dishes. I bake for roughly the same amount of time, or about 15 minutes longer.

THANKSGIVING DRESSING (STUFFING OUTSIDE OF THE BIRD)

Steps:

• Adjust the racks in your oven to the middle top and middle bottom position. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Arrange the bread cubes on two baking sheets in even layers. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden. Stir the bread and switch pans halfway through baking. Set aside to cool.
• Meanwhile, grease a 9 x 13" pan and set aside.
• In a large skillet, melt 4 tbs butter over medium heat. Add the onions and celery and cook for 10 minutes, until starting to softened and turn golden.
• Add the garlic and Bells seasoning. Cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.
• Stir in the broth and soy sauce. Simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Let cool 10 minutes.
• Whisk the eggs, half and half, and parsley in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in the broth mixture.
• Fold in all of the breadcrumbs, making sure to coat all. Let sit for 20 minutes until bread is soaked with the liquid mixture (some will still be in the bowl).
• Pour the bread mix into the prepared pan.
• Melt the remaining butter and drizzle over the stuffing.
• Bake on lower middle rack for 50 minutes, until top is crispy. Serve warm.

STUFFING WITHOUT THE BIRD

Steps:

• In toaster, toast all of the bread and immediately spread generous amounts of butter on toast.
• Use entire stick of butter to do this.
• Set toast aside.
• Finely chop garlic, onion, celery, and mushrooms.
• Heat olive oil in large skillet.
• Add chopped vegetables, cook until tender, about 6-8 minutes.
• While vegetables are cooking.
• Chop parsley and almonds.
• When vegetables are tender add, parsley, almonds, and poultry seasoning.
• Stir well and cook one more minute.
• Cut toasted bread into cubes.
• Add bread and chicken stock.
• Stir until bread is softened, about one minute.
• Remove from heat and transfer to serving dish.
• Let sit covered 5 minutes.
• **Please note that I occasionally add chopped cooked apples&/or browned breakfast sausage to this stuffing when adding the bread.

STUFFING THE BIRD

Steps:

• The night before, carefully cube the bread, cutting away all the crusts (and feeding the crusts to your neighbourhood songbirds and squirrels-its Christmas for them, too!).
• Place the chicken stock in a pot, and carefully simmer half the garlic and the heart, gizzard and neck meat for 20 minutes. Add the liver, and simmer 20 minutes more.
• Remove from heat, preserve the liquid, strip the meat from the neck, and cut away the meat from the viscera of the gizzard, discarding the viscera. Mince the meat to a fine paste, using reserved stock if or as necessary.
• Dice onion and celery finely. Heat olive oil in a pan and saute them and balance of garlic until tender, and remove from heat.
• Add seaoning, nut meal, minced neck, giblets,and soya sauce, stirring together well.
• Place bread bits and Bran in a bowl, and evacuate sauteed bits into the breading, mixing well.
• Moistenm with reserved stock until the mix is "damp" but not "soggy".
• Stuff into the bird's gut and neck cavity. Do notbe afraid to compress the mix "slightly", contrary to urban legend, the bird will not "explode", you'llsimply have some stuffing leak forward from the gut, where it will brown quite nicely!
• Cook your turkey until the breast meat and stuffing are about 155 degrees, and the dark meat is about 170 degrees, and remove from the oven. Evacuate the stuffing immediately and cover with foil.

EASY TURKEY STUFFING

Steps:

• In 10-inch skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery and carrots; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender.
• In large bowl, mix bread cubes, parsley, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. Add broth and butter-onion mixture, stirring until desired moistness (stuffing will become a little more moist during roasting because it will absorb juices from turkey).
• Use to stuff 1 (14- to 18-lb) turkey. After stuffing turkey, place any remaining stuffing in 1- or 2-quart casserole that has been sprayed with cooking spray; cover and refrigerate. Bake stuffing in casserole with turkey for last 35 to 40 minutes of roasting time or until thoroughly heated.

CLASSIC STUFFING

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large skillet. Add onions and celery, and cook over medium heat until onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add sage, stir to combine, and cook 3 to 4 minutes. Add 1/2 cup stock, and stir well. Cook for about 5 minutes, until liquid has reduced by half.
• Transfer onion mixture to a large mixing bowl. Add all remaining ingredients, including the remaining stock; mix to combine.

FARMHOUSE HERBED STUFFING

Steps:

• In 12-inch, heavy skillet over moderate heat, heat butter until hot but not smoking. Stir in onion and celery, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 15 to 20 minutes. (Vegetables can be prepared up to 1 day ahead and refrigerated. Reheat before continuing: In 12-inch, heavy skillet over moderately high heat, sauté, stirring often, until heated through, about 5 minutes.)
• Transfer to large bowl and add stuffing cubes, parsley, celery salt, sage, rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper. Stir in 1¼ cups hot stock.
• If using to stuff turkey:
• Use immediately to fill cavities and spread remainder in baking dish as directed in Classic Roast Turkey recipe .
• If baking in a casserole pan:
• Preheat oven to 350°F and butter 3-quart casserole or 9-by 13-inch baking dish. Transfer stuffing to dish and drizzle with ½ cup hot stock (stuffing baked outside of the turkey won't be soaked in the turkey's juices, so extra stock is drizzled on top to keep it moist). Cover with aluminum foil and bake until heated through, about 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until top is slightly crisp and golden, about 10 minutes longer. Serve immediately.
• Variations:
• Sausage and Sage Stuffing: In large, heavy skillet over moderate heat, sauté 1 pound bulk pork sausage, breaking up pieces with spoon, until meat shows no sign of pink, about 10 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer to large bowl. Proceed with recipe, adding ingredients to bowl with sausage and substituting 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage for dried rosemary and sage.
• Dried Apricot and Pecan Stuffing: Dried fruit are better than fresh in stuffing because the latter get soggy with long baking. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread 1½ cups (6 ounces) pecans on rimmed baking sheet and toast, stirring occasionally, until browned and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Cool and coarsely chop. In medium bowl, combine 1½ cups diced dried apricots and hot water to cover. Soak until apricots plump, about 30 minutes, then drain well. Proceed with recipe, tossing apricots and pecans with other ingredients in large bowl.
• Test-Kitchen Tips: Warm, moist stuffing is an optimal environment for bacteria such as salmonella or E. coli to multiply, so it's important to follow safe procedures. Be sure to make the stuffing at the last minute so it can go into the bird warm. This helps it move above the "danger zone" (the optimal temperature range for bacteria growth) more quickly during roasting. Stuffing baked outside of the turkey can be spread in the baking dish and refrigerated for a few hours while the turkey roasts, but it should be prepared on the same day as baking.