You Just Have To Read This

Sorry everyone, I just couldn't think of an eye catching title for this blog post. I suppose I could have said, "Stuffings vs. Dressings" or " The History of Stuffing" or "Stuffing Recipes", but I don't think those would have done it. So please accept my apology and I hope you still read through and try one of these great side dishes.

Stuffing or Dressing?

The difference between the two is simple. Do you say "ta-ta", "toodly-oo" or "See ya' later", "Bye" as your departure phrase? Do you say "I am famished"? Or is it more like " I'm so hungry my back bone is touching my belly button"?
Originally known as farce, which means 'to stuff', it was also known as "sauce" up until the 18th century. For centuries, the word stuffing, farce and sauce was universally used without a problem. Then sometime in the 19th century, the rich, upper class societies in Europe thought that these words were too vulgar and 'lower class' to be used in the proper denotation of this, much enjoyed, bread dish. So what did they do? Well, they started calling it Dressing of course.
What I am trying to say is, the only difference between the words stuffing and dressing is how fancy you want to sound. Some chefs will tell you that stuffing is the product you stuff the turkey with while dressing is baked in a pan, separate from the poultry. If that is what you prefer, then I am all for it. But having said stuffing my entire life, as have the first and second Yankee Chefs, I find no need to differentiate the two words.

Thanksgiving by Doris Lee, 1935

So with meaningless banter out of the way, allow me to offer some great tasting, homemade STUFFINGS that truly brings many levels of taste and texture to the table. Now let's eat supper....suppah.....dinner....whatever! Let's just take repast.....dine....eat.....

No matter how you make your stuffing, keep a few basics in mind:

In general, plan on 3/4 cup to 1 cup cooked stuffing per person.
To give your stuffing casserole a crisp crust and a moist interior, bake it covered at first, but remove the cover and bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes.I prefer it cooked without a cover the entire time.
If you have any leftover stuffing, promptly cover and refrigerate. Use it up within two days. Freezing isn't recommended.


Turkey with Apricot Chestnut Stuffing

No-stick cooking spray
1 loaf (16 oz.) sourdough bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/3 c. butter or margarine
3 onions, chopped (about 1-1/2 c.)
1-1/2 c. chopped celery
4 t. poultry seasoning
1 t. salt
2-1/2 c. coarsely chopped chestnuts*
1-1/2 c. chopped dried apricots
1/2 c. raisins
2 c. chicken broth
1 turkey(16 lbs.), thawed if frozen



Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray large shallow baking pan with no- stick cooking spray; spread bread cubes onto bottom of pan. Bake 15 minutes, or until lightly toasted, stirring once. Set aside.
Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and celery; cook and stir 5 minutes, or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in poultry seasoning and salt. Place bread cubes, vegetables, chestnuts, apricots and raisins in large bowl; mix lightly. Add broth; mix well.
Reduce oven to 325° F. Remove neck and giblets from body and neck cavities of turkey; refrigerate for another use or discard. Drain juices from turkey. Fill neck cavity with some stuffing. Fill body cavity with remaining stuffing. Place turkey, breast up, on roasting rack. Place small pieces of aluminum foil over skin of neck cavity and over stuffing at body cavity opening to prevent overbrowning during roasting. If you have any extra stuffing, bake in separate pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. You should add and extra 1/4 c. broth as well. Bake covered at 325° F for 30 minutes or until hot.
Roast turkey 4-1/2 hours, or until meat thermometer reaches 160° F when inserted in center of stuffing and reaches 180° F when inserted in deep in thigh, covering breast and top of drumsticks with aluminum foil after 3 hours to prevent overcooking breast. Let turkey stand 15 minutes before removing stuffing and carving.



Sausage Cornbread Stuffing with Giblet Gravy

1 box (8.5-oz.) cornbread mix
1 lb. ground Italian sausage
1 1/2 c. chopped celery
1/2 c. chopped green onions
2 T. poultry seasoning
1 1/2 c. chicken broth




Remove the gizzards and neck from turkey. Cut the wings at the second joint(this includes the wing tips) and place them in a bowl: set aside for gravy.Prepare cornbread from mix, according to package directions. Cool completely in pan. While cornbread bakes, brown sausage in a medium skillet over medium heat. Stir sausage frequently while browning to break up any large clumps.
Crumble cooled cornbread into small pieces and lay on a baking sheet to air dry. In a bowl, combine cornbread, cooked sausage, celery, and green onions. Add poultry seasoning and broth. Mix well; stuff inside turkey cavities.
While your turkey is roasting, prepare gravy:


Phenomenal Pan Gravy

Reserved gizzards, neck and wings
2 carrots, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
6 c. water
2 c. chicken stock
1 1/2 c. turkey drippings from roasted turkey
1/4 c. flour
2 T. tomato paste
2 T. red currant or grape jelly
Salt and black pepper to taste



Make sure you are roasting your turkey in a high-sided roasting pan, at least 2 inches. Place the giblets, turkey neck, and clipped turkey wing tips into a large saucepan with the carrots, celery, water, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil over medium heat, skim off any foam that forms on the top, reduce heat to low, and simmer the stock for 3 hours. Strain the stock*, skim off the fat, and set aside. There should be about 4 c. of stock. If not, simply add enough chicken broth to make 4 cups.
Skim off and discard all but 1/4 c. of the fat from the drippings in the roasting pan, and place the roasting pan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour, then cook and stir the flour mixture 1 minute. Whisk in the stock and tomato paste; bring to a boil, simmer for 5 minutes, then whisk in the red currant jelly. Simmer for 10 more minutes. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

*Know what The Yankee Chef does? I take the vegetables from the stock(just the vegetables) and puree them in my blender or food processor. I then add them back into the strained stock. It has great flavor and a robust texture.

Apple Walnut Stuffing

1 1/2 c. chopped celery
1 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. butter or margarine
1 1/2 c. chicken broth
3/4 c. regular or sparkling apple cider
1 lb. bread cubes
1 T. poultry seasoning
2 c. chopped, peeled apple
1 c. chopped walnuts
1 c. dried cranberries



In a large skillet over medium heat, cook celery and onion in butter or margarine until tender, about 5 minutes. Add chicken broth and heat for 2 minutes. In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients, add celery mixture, and mix well. Loosely stuff turkey just before roasting. Place remaining stuffing in a greased baking dish and bake at 325º F for 30 minutes, or until thoroughly heated.


Here are some ideas to play around with:

Hot Bourbon Stuffing - Add some bourbon and chili powder for a punch.
Spicy Southwestern Stuffing - Add some chopped green chilies and whole kernel corn to your cornbread stuffing.
Mediterranean Stuffing - The addition of black olives, artichoke hearts, red wine and sundried tomatoes to your rice stuffing is a great alternative.
Italian stuffing - Parmesan cheese, squeezed spinach, oregano, basil, and white wine added to bread stuffing is super tasty.
Mexican stuffing - Add garlic, red mole and chayote squash for the WOW factor.
Hawaiian stuffing - Rice stuffing with coconut milk, macadamia nuts and pineapple.


Another great idea that helps control the portions is to bake individual stuffing portions in muffin tins. Not only will it give you an accurate count but the entire serving will be crisp all around.

Wild Rice Stuffing with Grapes and Hazelnuts

2 cans (28-30 oz. total) chicken broth
1 c. wild rice
4 slices bacon, diced
2 onions, chopped (1 1/2 c.)
1 c. chopped celery
1 1/2 c. button mushrooms, sliced
1 t. minced garlic in oil
1 t. chopped, fresh thyme
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. black pepper
1 c. shelled hazelnuts, coarsely chopped*
2 c. seedless grapes


In heavy saucepan, bring chicken broth to a boil. Add wild rice and stir. Cover pan and reduce heat to low. Let simmer for one hour, until rice is tender and has popped open. Meanwhile, cook bacon in skillet over medium until almost crisp. Add onions to bacon pan along with celery, mushrooms, garlic, thyme and salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes, until onions are translucent. Remove from heat and fold in hazelnuts and grapes. Add rice with any remaining liquid in pan to vegetable mixture and toss well to combine.
Stuffing may be used to fill turkey, game hens, or chicken. Stuffing may also be baked separately in a casserole dish covered with foil; bake at 350°F for 20 to 30 minutes until hot throughout.

* If you would like to toast hazelnuts, place in 350°F oven for 9 to 12 minutes. Rub in a clean dishtowel to remove skins.




Pure Holiday Stuffing

1 loaf dried white bread*
1 c. cooked white rice
1/2 sleeve saltines, crushed
1/2 lb. ground sausage
1 c. chopped celery
1/2 c. chopped, green onion
3 c. chicken stock
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 t. dried sage
1 T. poultry seasoning
2 eggs, beaten
2 T. butter or margarine, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Crumble oven-dried bread into a large bowl. Add rice and saltines. Cook sausage in a large skillet over medium heat until it starts to brown. Add celery and onion and saute until transparent, 8 to 10 minutes. Pour over bread and rice mixture. Add stock and mix well. Add salt, pepper, sage, and poultry seasoning. Mix well. Add the beaten eggs and melted butter. Mix well. Pour stuffing into a greased pan and bake until cooked through and golden brown, about 45 minutes.

*Place bread on counter overnight or place in a 200-degree F oven for 1 hour.




Hazelnut Sage Stuffing


1 (1 lb.) loaf multigrain bread, cubed
1/4 c. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 bulb fennel, chopped
2 t. minced garlic in oil
4 T. rubbed sage
1 lb. button or Cremini mushrooms, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1-1/2 c. vegetable stock
2 eggs
1/2 c. chopped hazelnuts



Preheat your oven to 250 degrees F. Spread the bread cubes over a cookie sheet and toast them in the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until they're light brown and slightly crisp on the outside. Set the bread aside and turn the oven temperature up to 350 degrees F.
Heat the oil in a sauté pan over medium heat and cook the onion, fennel and garlic until they're slightly translucent, about five to seven minutes. Add the sage and mushrooms and cook everything down for 10 minutes, or until the veggies are at about half of their original volume. Season with salt and pepper to taste as you go. Add the bread cubes to a large bowl and mix in the cooked vegetable mixture, and mix together well. Add the vegetable stock and two eggs over the bread mixture and stir everything one more time. You want it moist but not soggy. The eggs should coat everything. Spread the stuffing into a 9 x 13-inch dish and sprinkle the hazelnuts over the entire casserole. Bake the stuffing for 15-20 minutes, or until the bread is nicely toasted on top and moist in the middle.


I am saving the best for last. This time honored classic stuffing has been on our tables for many, many generations. Because oysters have been used as food in New England for centuries because of our location to the ocean, oyster heaps have been documented to have existed even previous to clam shell heaps. It was a "pick up" food, as lobsters were during our Puritan ear. All one had to do was bend over and either pick up a lobster or pry off an oyster off any beach along our shores. AS early as the mid-1600s, oysters were used as "sauces"(stuffings) for rabbit, fowl and fish.

I have taken the classic Oyster Stuffing and given it boost, in the style of Oysters Rockefeller. So with that in mind, go ahead and call it Oyster Dressing if you want.

Yankee Oyster "Dressing"

8 oz. fresh spinach, stems cut off
1 1/2 c. corn bread stuffing mix
1 lb. container of oysters, undrained
4 hard boiled eggs, peeled
Cooking spray
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped bell pepper
3 c. cooked wild rice
1/2 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. sliced green onions
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. black pepper
Parmesan cheese, to taste

Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. Blanch the washed, and still wet, spinach in a microwavable bowl for about one minute or until just soft. Squeeze out the excess liquid, coarsely chop. Prepare cornbread mix according to package directions, omitting fat and set aside. Drain oysters in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1/2 c. oyster liquid. Slice eggs in half lengthwise, discard yolks and finely chop the egg whites.
Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add chopped onion, bell pepper and cook 3 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in oysters and cook 2 minutes. Stir in prepared stuffing, oyster liquid, egg whites, wild rice and remaining ingredients including spinach. Add Parmesan cheese to your desire. Spread dressing in an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Turkey 101(and Pork too)

Having whetted my taste buds with W.A.Bean and Son's smoked products, I feel compelled to tell you that this chef will be enjoying Bean's Smoked Whole Turkey this year. I know many of you are hesitant about changing turkeys in mid-stream, and I fully understand you stubborn lot, us Yankees don't sell our soul easily. But at least give it a try sometime. The Smoked Whole Turkey and Turkey Breasts(along with individual chickens)are fully cooked. All you have to do is tightly cover with foil and bake. I will give you the instructions and tips below. The only drawback is that I wouldn't recommend stuffing the bird itself before baking. The smoky flavor will immerse itself throughout the stuffing and it's nice to have those different flavors melding together instead of one through.
If you don't care to change right now, Bean's also offers whole turkeys for sale and their price is aligned with all the supermarkets, and you know they are as fresh as you are going to get.
Let me give you some insight and recipes for you and your culinary adventure regardless of where you get your turkey this year.

Let's start with how much meat per person:

Now with the thawing of the bird.

For thawing in the refrigerator:

For thawing in cold water:

Cooking Fresh or Frozen Whole Turkey

Preheat your oven to 325-degrees F. This is the optimum temperature for cooking turkey because it doesn't significantly alter the cooking time(as opposed to 350-degrees F.) and it helps to keep the skin from browning. Remove your turkey from the package and drain very well. Place the turkey on a rack in a high-sided(at least 2-inches) roasting pan.
As for the wings. There just is no need to fold the wings back and tie them. some chefs will tell you this stabilizes the turkey while others tell you it keeps the wing tips from burning. How about a raise of hands here, who eats the tips of the wings? Thought so.....
If you aren't basting with your own marinade, then you can brush the skin with oil if you want, but I find this to be just a complete waste of time. They say it helps the skin from drying out. All I know, is that everyone I know loves to eat the skin when it IS dried out and crispy. I do, however, advocate covering the drumsticks and thighs with tin foil when the turkey is about 3/4 of the way through with cooking. Being I am a dark meat kind of guy, I am turned off by dry leg or thigh meat when I sit down to the table. I am one of the very few who enjoys that large turkey leg on my plate but most of the time, the cook pays no heed to this part of the turkey, giving me a dried up ol' leg that's chewier than Charlie Chaplins shoe.

Insert oven-safe meat thermometer deep into the lower part of the thigh muscle but not touching the bone. When thigh is up to temperature and if turkey is stuffed, move thermometer to center of stuffing. Stuffing should be 165 degrees F when done.

Use this roasting schedule as a guide and start checking for doneness about 30 minutes before end of recommended cooking times. Lift roasted turkey onto platter with turkey lifter if you have one and discard lifter. If not, use very sturdy spaghetti forks. Before removing stuffing and carving, let your turkey stand 15 minutes to allow juices to set. Your turkey is done when the meat thermometer reaches the following temperatures:

180 degrees F deep in the thigh. At this temperature juices should be clear, not reddish pink, when thigh muscle is pierced deeply.

165 degrees F in the center of the stuffing, if turkey is stuffed.


Net Weight (lb.) Unstuffed (hrs.) Stuffed (hrs.)

4½ to 7 2 to 2½ 2¼ to 2¾
7 to 9 2½ to 3 2¾ to 3½
9 to 18 3 to 3½ 3¾ to 4½
18 to 22 3½ to 4 4½ to 5
22 to 24 4 to 4½ 5 to 5½
24 to 30 4½ to 5 5½ to 6¼

(Bean's Whole Smoked Turkeys run in at 8-10 lbs.)

Now for the Fully Cooked, Smoked Whole Turkeys I mentioned in my long-winded intro.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Remove wrapper. DO NOT STUFF. Follow the directions as listed above for Cooking Fresh or Frozen Whole Turkey. Place your turkey in the pre-heated oven at 325 degrees F and heat until hot (140 degrees F).

For Smoked Turkey: Cover pan completely with foil for the entire cooking time. Use the roasting schedule below as a guide and start checking for doneness about 30 minutes before end of recommended cooking times. Your turkey is done when the meat thermometer reaches 140 degrees deep in the thigh. Carve and serve immediately.

Net Weight (lb.) Smoked Thawed (hrs.)

8 to 10 1¼ to 1¾
10 to 16 1½ to 2
16 to 18 2 to 2½



Whole Turkey Breast

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Remove whole breast from bag. Drain juices and pat dry with clean paper towels. Place prepared breast, skin side up, on a flat roasting rack in a 2-inch deep roasting pan. Do not add water to pan. Roast uncovered according to time guidelines below or until meat thermometer in thickest part of muscle reaches 170 degrees F. If breast is stuffed, center of stuffing should be 165 degrees F.
Roasting time will vary from guidelines above if turkey is covered or placed in an oven-cooking bag.

Size (lb.) Time

3 to 5½ 1½ to 2¼
5½ to 9 2¼ to 2¾



You may roast your whole turkey breast from a frozen state as well. In that case:
Roast skin side down, uncovered, on a flat rack in a 2-inch deep open roasting pan at 325 degrees F for the first hour. Let breast stand 10 minutes before carving.

Size (lb.) Unstuffed (hrs.)

3 to 5½ 3 to 3¾
5½ to 9 3¾ to 4½



Fully Cooked Smoked Whole Turkey Breast

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Remove whole breast from bag. DO NOT STUFF. Cover pan with foil and place in oven. Heat until warm. Carve and serve immediately.

Size (lb.) Baked (hrs.) Smoked (hrs.)

4 to 7 1½ to 1¾ 1¼ to 1¾

(Bean's Smoked Turkey Breast weighs in about 3-4 lbs.)



Lest we forget Pork

Porks' cooking times have changed so many times over the years, it is hard for the consumer to keep up. Because today's pork is so lean, overcooking is detrimental to this great white meat. The Dept. of Agriculture now recommends cooking pork roasts, tenderloins and chops to an internal temperature of 145-degrees F. Allow it to rest for 3 minutes before cutting into this savory loin. this reference is for a 350-degree F oven.

For Bone-In and Boneless Pork Loin Roast, cook for 20 minutes to the lb. for a 2-5 lb. roast, or 145-degrees F.
Crown Roast, cook for 12 minutes to the lb..