Making Traditional Turkey Stuffing

Thanksgiving was a month ago, Christmas is past as well, and the New Year is almost here. And today I’m making a traditional Turkey Dinner. Yes, a turkey. Complete with stuffing based on my mother’s original way of making it.

Real stuffing

And this is true stuffing, not dressing. In the bird, not baked separately in a dish.

We have had our Christmas ham, and roast beef, and with 2 turkeys still left in the freezer from holiday sales, it’s a good time to cook one and use up leftovers during the cold winter months – turkey noodle soup, turkey pot pie, turkey hash, and some back in the freezer for more meals like hot turkey sandwiches at a later date. Oh, and don’t forget about roasting the bones and making some stock to freeze too.

I’m aware of the controversy about baking a stuffed bird, but in my mother’s words, stuffing just doesn’t taste the same in a dish. The juices of the turkey need to permeate the stuffing, and yes, it takes longer to bake the bird and make sure the stuffing comes to at least 165 degrees F. This means using a thermometer to check the temperature of the turkey, AND the stuffing.

So a few tips to make sure your stuffing and bird are safe:

  • prepare the ingredients for the stuffing and mix just before stuffing and cooking the bird. Wet and dry ingredients can be done in advance and refrigerated, but don’t mix and stuff until you are ready to cook. I do allow hot stuffing to cool slightly before stuffing into the bird cavity, and I do let the turkey sit out for 30 minutes as I make the stuffing, so to come towards room temperature (as with any meat, rather than immediately putting it into a hot oven straight out of the fridge).
  • Don’t leave the bird or mixed stuffing sitting out of the refrigerator too long, as bacteria can start to grow
  • Don’t over-stuff the bird cavity – stuffing needs some room to expand as it cooks
  • Bake the bird at 325F or higher, and use a thermometer to check the temperature of both the meat and the stuffing
  • Put left overs away within 2 hours of eating, again to avoid bacteria starting to grow on cooled meat.

I don’t rush the process of making stuffing. Once the bird is defrosted, remove the neck and giblets. Discard the liver, or use for another purpose. (My cats love cooked liver). I used to use my grandmothers old Mirro pressure cooker, but have since graduated to owning both a 6 quart Instant Pot and an 8 quart Ninja Foodie (with air crisper). Both have a pressure cooker function, are electric, and don’t heat up the stove top. I am learning to love them both!

The meat off the neck bones of a turkey is sublime – so sweet and soft when well cooked. It makes dressing taste wonderful. Getting the meat off is not easy – the neck must be well cooked so the meat is ready to fall off the bones, otherwise it’s very difficult to remove from the vertebrae. I generally use a small paring knife to start pulling off the loose meat, but then end up using my fingers to pull off bits from around the points of the neck bones, and to feel so I’m not getting any small pieces of bone in the stuffing.

The giblets can be cooked on the stove top, but it takes quite a long time, and I have never been able to get the neck as well cooked as I like in a pot. But if you don’t have a pressure cooker, but all means go ahead and simmer the giblets in a pan with plenty of water.

The vegetables are all started in a large skillet, and the diced up giblets are added in.

Saute up the vegetables and seasonings first
add in the cooked giblets

As for bread – I use whatever I have around that needs to be used. I don’t buy bags of expensive hard bread cubes. Today I happen to have some older, starting to stale hamburger buns, and I am supplementing those with a few slices of whole wheat bread. And even though I’m using half of a fresh onion, I also have some sliced leeks in the fridge, so I’m adding those in as well.

My husband and I prefer moist stuffing, without too much crunchy edges. And other than what’s exposed out of the bird, all the stuffing is super moist. My stuffing probably has less bread than you might expect, as I would guess 1/3 of the recipe ends up being my vegetables and giblets. I don’t use much butter, depending instead on the stock to keep it moist. So it’s not as high in calories or fat as a traditional recipe for stuffing might be.

No stuffing recipe is set in stone – add the seasoning you like, but poultry seasoning is a must. I prefer Penzey’s poultry seasoning. Use seasoned salt, add in some herbs, maybe even cumin or some chili powder. Use a different kind of bread, or buy the cubes if need be. Apple I find adds some sweetness, and mushrooms some unami flavor. Use my recipe as a guide to find your own personal stuffing mix.

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Fox Pines Poultry Stuffing

Real stuffing, preferably cooked inthe bird, with giblets, apple, mushrooms and vegetables

Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword dressing, filling, poultry stuffing, turkey stuffing
Prep Time 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup giblets neck, heart and gizzard
  • 1 clove garlic or 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1/2 large onion diced
  • 2 ribs celery, diced
  • 1 apple, peeled and diced
  • 4 0r 5 medium mushrooms, cleaned and diced
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • dash smoked paprika optional
  • 1 tbsp poultry seasoning
  • 4-5 cups stale bread, cut or torn in 1" pieces

Instructions

  1. Using a pressure cooker or Instant pot, cook the giblets with 1 cup of water for about 25 minutes – the neck bones should be almost ready to separate, and the meat easy to peel off the bones. The giblets can be cooked in a stove pot, but it takes much longer. Save the broth created by cooking.

  2. Cool the giblets slightly until they can be handled. Dice up the heart and gizzard; trim any grizzle around the gizzard. Pull off the neck meat with a paring knife and/or your fingers, and cut up as needed.

  3. In a large skillet over medium low heat, melt the butter, and add in the onion, & celery. Cook 3 or 4 minutes to soften. Add in the garlic, mushrooms and apple, stirring to cook another 2 or 3 minutes.

  4. Season with salt and pepper, and the dash of smoked paprika, if using, and the poutry seasoning.

  5. Stir in the cooked giblets.

  6. Add 1 cup of the broth from cooking the giblets.

  7. Pour the mix over the bread and stir to combine. All the bread should be moistened. Add more brother or water as needed.

  8. Stuff into a bird (or cook in a dish if you prefer) to at least 165 degrees F.

Stuffed & Ready to cook!

When your bird is all cooked, scoop out the stuffing into a big bowl, serve with lots of gravy and enjoy!

a bowl of giblet stuffing

What do you like to put in your stuffing?