Am I REALLY not allowed to stuff the turkey?!?!?!

[bakechef]

I was raised on dried out American Mom style turkey and I prefer it.

I cook the celery and onion in butter until it is soft and then add it to my stuffing so the only cooking required is for the eggs I add to bind the stuffing. I stuff both ends of the bird and make a casserole of dressing with the surplus.

The only thing I must have is Bell's poultry seasoning!

If I have time I make the bread used in the stuffing and add a couple of tablespoons of Bell's to the flour. If not I add it to the butter,onion and celery mixture that I add to fresh bread crumbs and cubes.

Please, pass the gravy

BELLS! It's what I grew up on! I can finally find it here in the south, the best poultry seasoning ever! Stuffing just didn't taste right until I started using bells again.

Most recipes that call for sage, I just use bells instead.

 

[Andy M.]

My mother used Bell's. I want my stuffing to taste like hers. I use Bell's. SO suggested Stove Top but I still love her.

 

[ChefJune]

My mother used Bell's. I want my stuffing to taste like hers. I use Bell's. SO suggested Stove Top but I still love her.

I SO understand "I want my stuffing to taste like hers." I want mine to taste like Mama's, and she always used both rubbed and ground sage in her dressing. And those aren't so easy to find any more. I guess it's because fresh herbs have become so popular. However, if I use fresh sage, it just doesn't taste right.

 

[Bigjim68]

I grew up, as I suspect many of us here did, in thinking that stuffing always was cooked inside the turkey, and most of us survived the attack of the germs.

I cook stuffed turkey as a matter of course, and feel that the turkey contributes to the taste of the stuffing, and the stuffing contributes to the taste the turkey. Generally, I make a side dish of stuffing, and pour in some of the juices from the turkey.

If the turkey was done before the stuffing, easily determined with a thermometer, I would remove the stuffing and add cooking time while the turkey was resting.

 

[lyndalou]

Andy, I'm with you. My mother made hers with Bell's and I prefer it, too. Where do you find it? I have been using Pepperidge Farms, but it's just not the same.

I make my own stock by buying turkey wings and maybe a drumstick and prepare it ahead of the big day. Makes really good gravy along with drippings.

Man, I can't wait for Thanksgiving.

 

[smufafa]

Excellent - I'm about to embark on trying out my first turkey too!

 

[jennyema]

Make sure you cook your stuffing to 165

That's the temp that kills salmonella. A brined bird will make your stuffing a bit salty, so account for that when you make it up.

 

[Andy M.]

...Where do you find it? I have been using Pepperidge Farms, but it's just not the same...

Living in MA, I can find it everywhere. I guess it's not as popular in FL. I buy a little box of it every November. I keep it in a jar all year long and replace the old stuff with the new stuff. One box lasts me all year.

 

[qmax]

I cook the stuffing outside of the bird (because I like putting onion, fresh herbs and citrus fruits in the cavity)

 

[jennyema]

I cook the stuffing outside of the bird (because I like putting onion, fresh herbs and citrus fruits in the cavity)

Thats what I do too. I also put in stale bread cubes soaked in white whone.

 

[Caslon]

Thats what I do too. I also put in stale bread cubes soaked in white whone.

Is whone the past tense of whine?

Bells can be ordered online at:

http://www.yankeeharvest.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=SRCH

http://search.store.yahoo.net/famou...ousfoods-store&query=bells+seasoning&x=27&y=4

 

[buckytom]

I wouldn't worry too much about the brine making the stuffing too salty, I make gravy from the droppings of the bribed bird and they are fine, not salty at all.

eek! i sure hope you meant drippings...




stuff away, then when the bird reaches about 150, pull it out of the oven, scoop out the stuffing, and put the bird back in the oven to finish.

seperately, when the stuffing (plus extra stock lightly soaked breading ) cools just enough to handle, mix in your butter sauteed veggies, meat, and chopped fruit ( we add mushrooms, celery, onions, turkey sausage, and apples). place into a dee, 13 x 9 glass baking dish, add turkey stock to moisten and top with chunks of butter, and finish cooking to 165.

 

[blissful]

eek! i sure hope you meant drippings...

THIS is what happens when you use the past tense of 'whine', or when you drink it.
I needed the laugh.

WAIT, he bribed the bird too?

 

[Caslon]

How about someone coming up food poisoning data in regards to eating stuffing cooked inside the turkey?

I wasn't able to find any after a long Google search. It's probably so small they don't keep data on it.

I've never known, heard or read of any in my long past.

 

[blissful]

How about someone coming up food poisoning data in regards to eating stuffing cooked inside the turkey?

I wasn't able to find any after a long Google search. It's probably so small they don't keep data on it.

I've never known, heard or read of any in my long past.

I think it is probably difficult to quantify food poisoning data in general because people that have inadvertently poisoned people are ashamed of it and the sick people don't always call the authorities to report it. The sick people that died aren't around to make reports either.

The best advice I read here was to stuff the turkey, brined or not, and use two thermometers to be sure the stuffing is done and the turkey is done.

 

[qmax]

How about someone coming up food poisoning data in regards to eating stuffing cooked inside the turkey?

I wasn't able to find any after a long Google search. It's probably so small they don't keep data on it.

I've never known, heard or read of any in my long past.

About 25 years ago, my mother's turkey had the entire family fighting for toilets.

 

[bakechef]

eek! i sure hope you meant drippings...



stuff away, then when the bird reaches about 150, pull it out of the oven, scoop out the stuffing, and put the bird back in the oven to finish.

seperately, when the stuffing (plus extra stock lightly soaked breading ) cools just enough to handle, mix in your butter sauteed veggies, meat, and chopped fruit ( we add mushrooms, celery, onions, turkey sausage, and apples). place into a dee, 13 x 9 glass baking dish, add turkey stock to moisten and top with chunks of butter, and finish cooking to 165.

Auto correct strikes again, LOL!

 

[Dawgluver]

Auto correct strikes again, LOL!

Bakechef, I got a good laugh! Turkey droppings and bribery...

 

[Andy M.]

It's really simple. All parts of the turkey and all the stuffing must reach a minimum temperature of 161º F to be safe. So measure the temperature in the middle of the stuffing. If that's @ 161º F then everything else will be as well.

 

[Caslon]

It's really simple. All parts of the turkey and all the stuffing must reach a minimum temperature of 161º F to be safe. So measure the temperature in the middle of the stuffing. If that's @ 161º F then everything else will be as well.

So let it be written,...