Cooking Lesson #156 Savory Turkey Stuffing

The 2020 Holidays Recipe Collection

How you doin’? We have many regional customs during the holiday season. Many people ask, where did turkey stuffing or dressing originate? Southerners often use a cornbread stuffing that originated from a dish called kush, cooked by slaves brought from North and West Africa. In the Northwest, holiday stuffing can include Native American wild rice and in New England it may be made from stale bread.
 
Stuffing serves the dual purpose of helping to keep the meat moist while also adding to the mix of flavors of both the stuffing and the turkey. Poultry stuffing often consists of dried breadcrumbs, onion, celery, salt, pepper and other spices and herbs, a common herb being sage.
 
As far as stuffing/dressing becoming a regular staple of the Thanksgiving Day meal, there are written records as far back as 1836.  More recently, some have recommended, for food safety reasons, that the stuffing (or dressing) be cooked in a pot, not inside the turkey.  Or to cook some inside the turkey to flavor the bird, and in a separate dish or pot, cook the dressing you wish to serve. 
 
Prep time:  30 minutes
Cook time:  45 minutes
Bake time:  1 hour
Yield: Enough for 1 Large Turkey / 8 to 10 servings
 
Ingredients
1 bag turkey giblets and neck (found inside the bird)
1 cup diced celery
1-pound lean ground beef
1 cup chopped white onion
1 4-ounce can water chestnuts, drained and diced
1 box stuffing mix (regular or corn bread)
2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped sage
water from giblets to moisten
 
Directions

1. Wash and clean the turkey giblets in hot water (do not use the liver for stuffing). 
2. Boil the giblets and celery until the giblets are tender.
3. Brown the ground beef and onion until the beef is crumbly. 
4. Combine the meat mixture with diced water chestnuts, stuffing mix or breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and sage.
5. Add some of the reserved hot water from giblets to moisten the stuffing until it is sticky.
6. Dice the cooked giblets, remove the neck meat and add along with the cooked celery to the stuffing mixture (you may add more reserved water, if necessary, to help moisten). 
7. Let the stuffing cool (very important—never stuff bird with hot stuffing).
8. Rub the turkey cavities with butter and salt, then stuff with cool mixture.
9. Bake along with the roasted turkey or if you are baking in a separate casserole allow at least 1 hour to cook.

 
ChefSecret:  Always make sure that when you purchase your holiday turkey that the giblets, neck and liver are in the bird’s cavity.
 
Covid-19 Quip of the Day:  “Today’s kids are locked down as well as their parents, but they are already computer savvy. All they do is play with computers. My 3-year old nephew can turn on the computer and play with his favorite apps. When I was 3 all I could do is eat dirt.”
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Here is wishing you the very best for the upcoming holidays. To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind welcoming in the holiday season. If you have a little extra in your pockets to share with others at this difficult time, please consider donating to Feeding America.

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                                          ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2020

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