Question Of The Day, Friday, November 3

[Winchester]

Good morning! And Happy Friday!

I have a question about stuffing or dressing or whatever you call it.

Do you stuff your turkey? Or do you cook your stuffing separately, out of the bird? And do you call it "stuffing" or "dressing"?

For years, I stuffed our turkeys (and chickens, too, for that matter). But then, when I started making Alton Brown's Good Eats Roast Turkey, I stopped putting the stuffing in the bird, largely because the turkey is brined overnight and, even though I rinse it very well and pat it dry before throwing it into the roaster, I don't stuff it anymore. Now I put the stuffing into the crock pot and everybody really seems to like it that way. And around here, we call it "stuffing".

Although when I roast a chicken, I usually stuff it. And I know you're not supposed to pack the stuffing into the bird, but I always do. I'm pretty careful about getting the stuffing up to temp anyway.

I just took a whole chicken out of the freezer this morning to thaw over the weekend and will roast it on Sunday. And I'll probably stuff it. I know, Thanksgiving is right around the corner, but I'm hungry for roast chicken.

 

[AbbysMom]

I cook it separately but still call it stuffing.

 

[Kat0121]

No I didn't stuff the turkey. I don't like how it comes out that way. I like it baked in the oven in a separate pan so it gets those crunchy bits on top. We call it stuffing too. I don't make the big Thanksgiving meal anymore. It's just DD and me (and that's likely to change soon too) so it's not worth the effort. DD does not like turkey either. She likes chicken but not on the bone so roasting a whole one is out for her. I like roast whole chicken and may start making them again when it is just me and the furkids but I will not stuff it.

 

[sivyaleah]

It depends. Most of the time, I prefer to stuff the turkey and have the flavor from the bird enhance it. If pressed for time, I'll bake it on the side since it takes a bit longer to cook inside the bird.
I call it stuffing as does everyone I know.
I'm very cautious about temperatures of all items if putting it inside the turkey (chicken, whatever). I'll usually make it well in advance and cool it off in the fridge so it's more or less same temperature once I start stuffing the bird.

 

[goblinmonster]

I stuff the turkey and have always called it "stuffing".

 

[foxxycat]

absolutely stuff the turkey. I make a shelf out of tin foil on the sides where wings are and spread it all over the bird after it's stuffed=we like the crispy crunchies we get from cooking it this way..I can get quite a bit of layered stuffing this way and tastes really good. I don't worry about the temperature because I cook my food until it's piping hot whether in the oven or microwave=and I usually end up cooking longer because we like it crispy and the crispy skin is the best part right?
It is called stuffing in my house..

 

[blueyedgirl5946]

If I cook it, I put it in a separate pan. It is dressing in my house. I generally cook a turkey breast, not a whole bird. The turkey breast I bought to cook last Christmas Eve is still in the freezer. Somebody left a bucket of oysters by my back door. Our meal was then oyster fritters, collards and baked sweet potatoes.

 

[raysmyheart]

I have always called it stuffing. I haven't cooked a turkey in years and years but do have fond memories that my mother would ask my sister and me to break the bread into small pieces to get ready for the stuffing. She would mix it with onion and celery that had been sauteed in butter with more butter and Bell's Poultry Seasoning.

 

[Willowy]

I love Stovetop stuffing! Sometimes I buy it and eat it alone as a casserole, lol. I don't like it cooked in the turkey---it gets soggy and gross that way. I do prefer Stovetop; all the homemade stuffing I've had was full of gristle and fat :/. Perhaps I don't know any really good cooks . I call it stuffing. . .to me, dressing goes on salads.

 

[kashmir64]

I usually make mashed potato's instead.

 

[Columbine]

We've always called it stuffing, and it gets cooked in a separate pan in the oven. We don't celebrate Thanksgiving in the UK, but we always do a small turkey (or a tutkey crown) for Christmas, and often another at New Years. Sometimes we buy a stuffed turkey, but we never stuff it (or chicken) ourselves.

One reason for not stuffing the birds is so that the bread stuffing (usually made-from-scratch chestnut stuffing) stays vegetarian, so I can eat it too (I've been flipping between vegetarian and vegan since I was a kid).

 

[miagi's_mommy]

We make stuffing inside and out of the turkey. I enjoy both!

 

[muffy]

My mother always called it dressing but I believe we call it stuffing. I'm a vegetarian so my sister makes me vegetarian stuffing outside the turkey. I don't cook so I never made Thanksgiving dinner. When I'm by myself I just make a few things like green bean casserole and mac & cheese. I don't make stuffing.

Ellen

 

[denice]

I used to stuff the turkey but I bake it separately now. I had food poisoning many years ago, not the serious type the one that just last a couple of hours but that was the sickest I ever felt. When I started hearing the warnings about stuffing the turkey I started baking it separately. I still call it stuffing. I guess technically if it is baked separately it is dressing but old habits die hard.

 

[neely]

I'm a vegetarian so my sister makes me vegetarian stuffing outside the turkey.

I'm likewise vegetarian and my oldest daughter cooks most of the meal since she's vegan. However, I do make a turkey breast for DH with stuffing on the side.

 

[Margret]

I call it stuffing. . .to me, dressing goes on salads.

Exactly!

It's just Roger and me (okay, Jasmine gets a few turkey scraps) and we don't bother with a whole turkey. We buy breasts (for Roger) and drumsticks and thighs (for both of us) and roast them; it goes faster that way, and packaging the leftovers for refrigeration is easier. If we want stuffing we cook it on the side, but I'm still searching for a good low-carb, wheat-free stuffing recipe.

I had food poisoning many years ago, not the serious type the one that just last a couple of hours but that was the sickest I ever felt.

Been there! It was horrible; I barely made it home and onto the toilet in time (I got it from a tuna sandwich at a little cafe).

Margret

 

[dahli6]

When I made a traditional Thanksgiving I used stuffing and I did stuff the bird. Between the skin and the meat, not in the cavity.

 

[Blakeney Green]

To me, stuffing and dressing aren't quite the same thing. Stuffing has large chunks and dressing is more the texture of bread crumbs, regardless of cooking method.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Separately and I call it stuffing. Dressing to me always makes me think of bandages. Not yummy.

 

[nansiludie]

Stuffing for me. Dressing reminds me of salads.