BREAD STUFFING
This basic stuffing is a composite of recipes sent in by Yankee readers and is made New England Style, which is to say quite lightly seasoned with sage and thyme the dominant herbs. Increasing the parsley will brighten things up, and a little garlic never hurt anybody either. To underline our woodland theme, we added […]
This basic stuffing is a composite of recipes sent in by Yankee readers and is made New England Style, which is to say quite lightly seasoned with sage and thyme the dominant herbs. Increasing the parsley will brighten things up, and a little garlic never hurt anybody either. To underline our woodland theme, we added lots of roasted chestnuts and a rich accent of flavorful dried morels, but neither of these is completely traditional and either or both can be omitted if you prefer.
Yield:
stuffing for 20-22 lb turkeyIngredients
1/2 -3/4 cups of loosely packed dried morel
mushrooms, broken into 1/2 -inch pieces.
12 cups firm bread, cut into small cubes
(white, whole wheat or a mixture.
1/2 cup to 1 c. water, chicken stock, or milk
(plus a bit extra if needed)
1 1/2 lb.fresh chestnuts, roasted, peeled, and
broken into chunks, about 2 1/2c prepared.
1/2 to 3/4 c butter
1 large onion, diced, about 2 c prepared.
3 large stalks celery, diced, about 2 c
1/4 c minced celery leaves
1/3 c minced parsley
2 tsp poultry seasoning more or less.
salt & pepper to taste
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Instructions
Put the morels in a heat-proof bowl and pour
1 cup of boiling water over them. Cover and let sit 30 min or so.
Put the bread cubes in s big bowl. Remove the morels from the soaking liquid into a measuring cup and add them to the bread. Strain the soaking liquid into a measuring cup and add enough additional water, chicken stock, or milk to equal 1 1/4 cups. Pour the liquid over the bread, tossing gently so it is evenly distributed. Toss in the chestnuts and set aside.
In a wide skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is translucent and limp, but not brown. Add the celery and cook until it is limp, about 10 minutes more. Stir in the celery leaves, parsley, and poultry seasoning, then pour the mixture over the prepared bread. Season lightly with salt and pepper, then again toss gently (stirring compacts stuffing) until all is thoroughly combined.
Taste for seasoning and texture. the uncooked stuffing should be a little drier than you want the finished product to be, but not much; add liquid if necessary. Stir in the eggs last, after you’ve done all the pre-roast tasting you plan to do.
