Oven-Baked Mushroom Stuffing Recipe - Food.com (2024)

FAQs

What does adding egg to stuffing do? ›

Eggs: Two lightly beaten eggs help hold the dressing together and add moisture.

The stuffing should be moist but not wet. If there is a puddle of broth at the bottom of the bowl, you've added too much. Add more bread to soak up the excess moisture. If the mix is still dry and crumbly, add more liquid and toss gently until it starts to clump together.

Step 1: Prepare the Stuffing Safely

If you're using raw meat, poultry or shellfish to make your stuffing, cook those first, add them to your stuffing mix and then immediately stuff your bird. If you're preparing the stuffing ahead of time, cool it immediately and placed it in shallow containers in the refrigerator.

If your stuffing recipe calls for shellfish or turkey giblets, the Agriculture Department states that these need to be fully cooked and kept hot before they are stuffed inside the bird. So stir them into the mix immediately before stuffing the turkey. Stuffing expands as it cooks, so fill the cavity loosely.

Turkey stuffing was popularized in the early days of Thanksgiving, as it is written in many 16th-century Boston area documents. Stuffing most often uses dried bread, herbs, and vegetables that are reconstituted with liquid, stuffed into the turkey cavity, and baked until it is firm and finished cooking.

If stuffing is a popular side dish with your family and guests, and you need more than will fit in the bird, you can also make extra and bake it in a dish. To improve its moisture, I suggest lining a casserole dish with parchment paper (or aluminum foil), and buttering the inside of it up to the edge of the dish.

The short answer to whether you can making stuffing ahead of time is yes. "Making stuffing ahead saves time, allows stove and oven space for other things, and making it ahead gives time for the flavor to fully develop," Chef David Tiner, Director at Louisiana Culinary Institute in Baton Rouge, tells Southern Living.

It Could Give You Salmonella Poisoning

If that stuffing doesn't reach 165 degrees F, the bacteria won't be killed off, meaning you're passing it on to your guests.

We recommend adding stock a little at a time--1/2 cup to 1 cup, depending on how much stuffing you're making--and waiting for the bread to absorb the liquid before adding more. Once the bread is moist but not sitting in a pool of stock, it's ready.

Can you prepare uncooked stuffing ahead of time and refrigerate? ›

If you don't plan on stuffing the bird, but preparing the dressing as a side dish, you can prepare uncooked stuffing ahead of time as long as you freeze the stuffing immediately after mixing the wet and dry ingredients. USDA recommends that you never refrigerate uncooked stuffing.

If stuffing does not reach 165 ºF when the meat itself is done, further cooking will be required for the stuffing to reach 165 ºF. For optimal safety and uniform doneness, cook stuffing separately.

"A dry stuffing or dressing is usually dry after baking simply because the recipe lacked enough moisture or fat," confirms Bridget Lancaster, executive editorial director at America's Test Kitchen.

Most commercial stuffing brands use animal products like milk, egg whites, butter, and chicken broth to bind the stuffing together. Some brands also use cornbread, which uses egg in the mixture. Homemade is the way to go if you want to incorporate only plant-based ingredients in your vegan stuffing mix.

Up your stuffing game with stale bread

Spread the pieces out in an even layer on a sheet pan, and let them get stale — yes, stale. If you don't have the time (or the counter space) to leave your chunks of bread out, you can put them in the oven at a low temperature to dry out, per Serious Eats.

Nutrition Notes

Stuffing is essentially bread, salt, and butter, so it probably comes as no surprise that it isn't the healthiest food served on Thanksgiving.

“Eggs are a perfect emulsifier and binder so work really well to make many dishes cohesive,” she continues.