start by baking three different breads (my recipes are linked below):
- buttermilk cornbread, made with brown butter (see the brown butter batter bread recipe notes for directions to make it) in which I sauteed about 1/4 of an onion, plus a tablespoon of finely chopped fresh sage, 4-5 good slugs of Tabasco and 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
- brown butter batter bread
- biscuits (one day I'll publish my own recipe, but today I made them with Pioneer Buttermilk Biscuit Mix, and they were wonderful. just promise me you won't use canned biscuit dough, if you can avoid it -- the baking mix is just as easy and bakes pretty great biscuits). I made a batch from 3 cups of baking mix and 1 cup of milk.
after you bake each kind of bread, cool it, crumble coarsely and toast in baking pans in an oven heated to 400 degrees F for anywhere from 15-25 minutes -- you want to dry it out a bit (to avoid soggy dressing) and get the crumbles golden brown. I do all of this -- baking and toasting -- the day before. dressing tastes better when the bread is a day old.
by the way, baking all that bread will give you enough stuffing for an enormous crowd, but it doesn't make sense to bake a half loaf of bread, so once I got to this point, I took out about 3 quarts of the bread crumbs and froze them for future use. you can totally skip baking the biscuits if you don't want to deal with too many extra crumbs (though I find those crumbs useful for topping casseroles, making croutons, etc). one note re: making extra veloute (white sauce/gravy): you'll have the base for your turkey gravy all ready -- all you'll have to do is add turkey drippings after you roast the bird; very easy & very delicious. I highly recommend this time-saving method.
- 3-4 quarts of the aforementioned crumbled, toasted breads -- about half of the total if you bake full batches of all the breads
- 1/2 stick unsalted butter
- 4 tablespoons schmaltz, a.k.a. rendered chicken fat (if you don't have this on hand, substitute an equal amount of butter)
- 1 large or 2 small yellow onions, chopped finely (shallots would be lovely here, too)
- 4-6 stalks celery, chopped finely
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped finely (or 1 teaspoon dried, rubbed sage)
- 1-2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped finely (or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme)
- 1/2-3/4 teaspoon dried poultry seasoning, to taste
- freshly ground pepper, to taste
- salt to taste
- 2-3 medium carrots, peeled and diced finely
- 1 bunch green onions, cleaned and sliced thinly
- 1/4 cup of finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup heavy cream or half-and-half
- 1 small bay leaf
- pinch of nutmeg
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
*this is the best dressing I've ever tasted, at least so far!
combine the breads in a large bowl, stirring together lightly (keep it a bit fluffy). use 3 tablespoons each of the butter and schmaltz (or 6 tablespoons of butter, if you're not using schmaltz) to saute the onions with a pinch of salt and about 1/3 each of the sage and thyme until tender, translucent and golden brown, seasoning as you cook with a bit of freshly ground black pepper and some poultry seasoning. when done, set aside 2 tablespoons of the sauteed onions in a small bowl, and scrape out all the rest of the pan into the bowl of breads. in the same pan, do the same with the celery, sauteeing w/the same amount of butter and schmaltz (or just butter), a pinch of salt, and 1/3 each of the sage and thyme -- everything you did with the onions, including adding 2 tablespoons of the sauteed celery to the bowl with the reserved onions, then adding the rest to the big dressing bowl. add 3 tablespoons more butter/schmaltz and a pinch of salt, and cook the carrots and green onion together with the remaining sage and thyme just as you did the onions and celery, seasoning as you go, setting aside 2 tablespoons of the cooked carrots/green onions with their yellow onion and celery friends, pouring the remaining carrot mixture into the dressing bowl. now, add 3 tablespoons of butter to the pan, place over medium heat, add the reserved sauteed yellow onion, celery, carrots and green onion, and saute for just a couple of minutes. then add the flour and mix into the fat -- it should combine to become a roux that's approximately the texture of peanut butter. add more butter or schmaltz if it's too dry. lower heat to medium low and cook the veggies and roux, stirring/scraping the bottom of the pan constantly, for about 5-6 minutes, allowing the roux to darken a bit (adjust heat accordingly if it starts browning too quickly or doesn't brown/bubble at all). next, whisk in 3 cups of the chicken stock and all of the cream (or half-and-half), and add the bay leaf and a pinch of nutmeg. raise heat to medium and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly, and cook until thickened -- it should coat the back of a spoon nicely; it will be a bit thicker than a regular white sauce. season to taste with salt, pepper and another small pinch of poultry seasoning, and then ladle about 1.5 - 2 cups into the dressing mixture, and stir to combine. you want to add enough to moisten it all, but not soak it. some of the larger chunks of bread will still be a bit dry in the center, but it will hold together fairly well. taste and make your final seasoning adjustments. set aside the remaining sauce for now*. whisk the eggs in a bowl with the baking powder, and fold it into the dressing mixture. spoon it into a 9x13 buttered baking dish, being sure to not pack it down. cover with buttered foil or parchment (butter-side-down) (you can prepare it a day ahead at this point -- just refrigerate, then take out from the fridge about 30 minutes before you want to bake it, so it can come to room temperature). bake the dressing covered for 30 minutes, then remove foil or parchment and continue baking another 15-20 minutes, until top is nicely browned and crisp.
*re: the extra sauce you set aside and that remaining cup of chicken stock: strain the sauce through a chinois or a fine metal mesh strainer and throw away the solids. add the cup of chicken stock and bring back to a simmer, stirring frequently, until thickened -- it should be right thickness for gravy. set aside; that's your gravy base (when you finish roasting your turkey, remove excess fat from the turkey drippings, add them to this gravy base, adjust seasoning and voila! your gravy will be done and very delicious!).
combine the breads in a large bowl, stirring together lightly (keep it a bit fluffy). use 3 tablespoons each of the butter and schmaltz (or 6 tablespoons of butter, if you're not using schmaltz) to saute the onions with a pinch of salt and about 1/3 each of the sage and thyme until tender, translucent and golden brown, seasoning as you cook with a bit of freshly ground black pepper and some poultry seasoning. when done, set aside 2 tablespoons of the sauteed onions in a small bowl, and scrape out all the rest of the pan into the bowl of breads. in the same pan, do the same with the celery, sauteeing w/the same amount of butter and schmaltz (or just butter), a pinch of salt, and 1/3 each of the sage and thyme -- everything you did with the onions, including adding 2 tablespoons of the sauteed celery to the bowl with the reserved onions, then adding the rest to the big dressing bowl. add 3 tablespoons more butter/schmaltz and a pinch of salt, and cook the carrots and green onion together with the remaining sage and thyme just as you did the onions and celery, seasoning as you go, setting aside 2 tablespoons of the cooked carrots/green onions with their yellow onion and celery friends, pouring the remaining carrot mixture into the dressing bowl. now, add 3 tablespoons of butter to the pan, place over medium heat, add the reserved sauteed yellow onion, celery, carrots and green onion, and saute for just a couple of minutes. then add the flour and mix into the fat -- it should combine to become a roux that's approximately the texture of peanut butter. add more butter or schmaltz if it's too dry. lower heat to medium low and cook the veggies and roux, stirring/scraping the bottom of the pan constantly, for about 5-6 minutes, allowing the roux to darken a bit (adjust heat accordingly if it starts browning too quickly or doesn't brown/bubble at all). next, whisk in 3 cups of the chicken stock and all of the cream (or half-and-half), and add the bay leaf and a pinch of nutmeg. raise heat to medium and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly, and cook until thickened -- it should coat the back of a spoon nicely; it will be a bit thicker than a regular white sauce. season to taste with salt, pepper and another small pinch of poultry seasoning, and then ladle about 1.5 - 2 cups into the dressing mixture, and stir to combine. you want to add enough to moisten it all, but not soak it. some of the larger chunks of bread will still be a bit dry in the center, but it will hold together fairly well. taste and make your final seasoning adjustments. set aside the remaining sauce for now*. whisk the eggs in a bowl with the baking powder, and fold it into the dressing mixture. spoon it into a 9x13 buttered baking dish, being sure to not pack it down. cover with buttered foil or parchment (butter-side-down) (you can prepare it a day ahead at this point -- just refrigerate, then take out from the fridge about 30 minutes before you want to bake it, so it can come to room temperature). bake the dressing covered for 30 minutes, then remove foil or parchment and continue baking another 15-20 minutes, until top is nicely browned and crisp.
*re: the extra sauce you set aside and that remaining cup of chicken stock: strain the sauce through a chinois or a fine metal mesh strainer and throw away the solids. add the cup of chicken stock and bring back to a simmer, stirring frequently, until thickened -- it should be right thickness for gravy. set aside; that's your gravy base (when you finish roasting your turkey, remove excess fat from the turkey drippings, add them to this gravy base, adjust seasoning and voila! your gravy will be done and very delicious!).
potential additions to the stuffing if you'd like (it's fine to do one or two of them, but I wouldn't suggest doing them all:
- add a moderate amount of fresh, finely chopped rosemary
- add 1-2 peeled, diced apples, sauteed in butter with the onion, celery, etc.
- add a container (I think they're usually 8-10 ounces) white button, cremini or baby bella mushrooms, cleaned, quartered and sauteed in butter/schmaltz like the other veggies
- add 1/2-3/4 cup dried fruit, plumped in just a bit of hot water or chicken stock -- cranberries or cherries would be especially good
feedback on this recipe particularly welcomed!
2 comments:
Why haven't you written a cookbook? Your recipes are amazing!
why, thank you so much! when I started this blog, one of the ideas was to gather recipes for a potential book, and to practice my recipe writing. so you never know! of course, if I ever do publish a book, it will include MANY recipes not in the blog. :-)
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