Much has been written about "do you stuff" or "don't stuff" your turkey.
This, I thought might be of interest from Christopher Kimball, Editor
Publisher of "Cooks Illustrated".

What's your stance on stuffing?

Stuffing takes longer to cook than breast meat and that usually results
in overcooked turkey. However, if it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without a
stuffed turkey on your table, you can reduce the roasting time (and the risk
of dry turkey) by heating the stuffing before spooning it into the cavity of
the turkey. Heat the stuffing in the microwave on high power until very hot,
(120 to 130 degrees) or 6 to 8 minutes. Another solution is to follow the
butterflied turkey recipe above, placing the rack or broiler pan over a
large disposable aluminum roasting pan filled with stuffing. Once the bird
is done, remove the rack and put the stuffing back into the very hot oven
for 10 to 15 minutes to crisp up the top.

Kent

One time on Usenet, "Kent" > said:

> Much has been written about "do you stuff" or "don't stuff" your turkey.
> This, I thought might be of interest from Christopher Kimball, Editor
> Publisher of "Cooks Illustrated".
>
> What's your stance on stuffing?
>
> Stuffing takes longer to cook than breast meat and that usually results
> in overcooked turkey. However, if it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without a
> stuffed turkey on your table, you can reduce the roasting time (and the risk
> of dry turkey) by heating the stuffing before spooning it into the cavity of
> the turkey. Heat the stuffing in the microwave on high power until very hot,
> (120 to 130 degrees) or 6 to 8 minutes. Another solution is to follow the
> butterflied turkey recipe above, placing the rack or broiler pan over a
> large disposable aluminum roasting pan filled with stuffing. Once the bird
> is done, remove the rack and put the stuffing back into the very hot oven
> for 10 to 15 minutes to crisp up the top.

To be honest, I don't really *like* stuffing from the bird -- it's
steamed and wet, ugh. I like dressing, cooked in a casserole, in the
oven. So not stuffing the bird is no hardship for me...

--
"Little Malice" is Jani in WA
~ mom, Trollop, novice cook ~

Kent wrote:
> Much has been written about "do you stuff" or "don't stuff" your turkey.
> This, I thought might be of interest from Christopher Kimball, Editor
> Publisher of "Cooks Illustrated".
>
> What's your stance on stuffing?
>

To me, it's part of the tradition, like cranberry sauce and sweet
potatoes. And it should have chestnuts and oysters in it, too. If I
wanted a perfect meal, I'd make boullibaise ;-)

I read the Cooks article and thought that like a lot of articles there,
it was way too fussy. Sometimes I wonder about these new ways they find
to do dishes that others have had success with for many years- like
their secret to perfect hamburgers: Milk and breadcrumbs? I don't think
so ;-)

I'm sure a great many people have had success with traditional ways of
cooking a stuffed turkey.

mike

http://smsfr.blogspot.com

Kent wrote:
> Much has been written about "do you stuff" or "don't stuff" your turkey.
> This, I thought might be of interest from Christopher Kimball, Editor
> Publisher of "Cooks Illustrated".
>
> What's your stance on stuffing?
>
> Stuffing takes longer to cook than breast meat and that usually results
> in overcooked turkey. However, if it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without a
> stuffed turkey on your table, you can reduce the roasting time (and the risk
> of dry turkey) by heating the stuffing before spooning it into the cavity of
> the turkey. Heat the stuffing in the microwave on high power until very hot,
> (120 to 130 degrees) or 6 to 8 minutes. Another solution is to follow the
> butterflied turkey recipe above, placing the rack or broiler pan over a
> large disposable aluminum roasting pan filled with stuffing. Once the bird
> is done, remove the rack and put the stuffing back into the very hot oven
> for 10 to 15 minutes to crisp up the top.
>
> Kent
Seems like things would be in the danger zone at the beginning...
Stuffing a bird with hot stuffing sounds like a PIA, too. That's why
thermometers are so handy- stuff if you want, but internal temp should
be 165-170 to be considered done.

Kent wrote:
> Much has been written about "do you stuff" or "don't stuff" your turkey.
> This, I thought might be of interest from Christopher Kimball, Editor
> Publisher of "Cooks Illustrated".
>
> What's your stance on stuffing?
>
> Stuffing takes longer to cook than breast meat and that usually results
> in overcooked turkey.

That's not true if the bird is stuffed properly... do NOT cram the
stuffing in, fill the cavity *loosely*.

> However, if it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without a
> stuffed turkey on your table,

Bull Shit. Lot's of folks don't much care for turkey so they roast
some other meat; ham, fresh pork, beef, and all other types of poultry,
duck, goose and chicken of course. I often forego the turkey and
instead do a stuffed crown roast of pork.

> you can reduce the roasting time (and the risk
> of dry turkey) by heating the stuffing before spooning it into the cavity of
> the turkey. Heat the stuffing in the microwave on high power until very hot,
> (120 to 130 degrees) or 6 to 8 minutes.

A lot of wasted effort (see above method), and filling a raw poultry
cavity with hot stuffing is a big food safety no no.


> Another solution is to follow the
> butterflied turkey recipe above,

What butterflied turkey recipe above... hmm, you didn't even read what
you copied and pasted. duh

> placing the rack or broiler pan over a
> large disposable aluminum roasting pan filled with stuffing. Once the bird
> is done, remove the rack and put the stuffing back into the very hot oven
> for 10 to 15 minutes to crisp up the top.

Gobbledy gobbledy gobbledygook.

Sheldon

On Nov 22, 2006, Kent wrote:

> * *What's your stance on stuffing?

I make a lot and I get as much as I reasonably can in the bird
cavities. Stuffing is my favorite part of the meal. I make it pretty
dry. Anything left over goes into a casserole dish and into the oven. I
prefer the stuffing from the bird. I don't have a
problem with dry turkey or over- moist stuffing. I remember the
stuffing/dressing from grade school lunches. Tasted OK but was on the
pasty side.

On Wed, 22 Nov 2006 18:09:15 GMT, unge (Little
Malice) wrote:

>To be honest, I don't really *like* stuffing from the bird -- it's
>steamed and wet, ugh. I like dressing, cooked in a casserole, in the
>oven. So not stuffing the bird is no hardship for me...

I don't like pure dressing, it's too dry, and there is never enough
stuffing for all the leftovers... so I make both and mix them. IMO:
that's the perfect consistency.

--
See return address to reply by email

Kent wrote:

> Much has been written about "do you stuff" or "don't stuff" your turkey.
> This, I thought might be of interest from Christopher Kimball, Editor
> Publisher of "Cooks Illustrated".
>
> What's your stance on stuffing?
>
> Stuffing takes longer to cook than breast meat and that usually results
> in overcooked turkey. However, if it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without a
> stuffed turkey on your table, you can reduce the roasting time (and the risk
> of dry turkey) by heating the stuffing before spooning it into the cavity of
> the turkey. Heat the stuffing in the microwave on high power until very hot,
> (120 to 130 degrees) or 6 to 8 minutes. Another solution is to follow the
> butterflied turkey recipe above, placing the rack or broiler pan over a
> large disposable aluminum roasting pan filled with stuffing. Once the bird
> is done, remove the rack and put the stuffing back into the very hot oven
> for 10 to 15 minutes to crisp up the top.
>
> Kent
>
>

I don't understand the idea that stuffing has to "cook" in the bird i
saute the onion, mushrooms, garlic & celery in butter before adding to
the bread with any wine or stock and seasonings. So my stuffing goes in
the bird warm if not hot.

I like the meat juices that get incorporated into the stuffing from the
bird as it cooks. To me it is always better than the extra that goes in
a pyrex bowl in the oven near the end of the cooking of the bird.

I stopped using raw egg in my stuffing years ago, saw no real reason for it.

But i don't get the idea that stuffing takes longer to cook than the
breast meat, its 3/4 done before it goes in the bird.
--
JL

Joseph Littleshoes wrote:

> I don't understand the idea that stuffing has to "cook" in the bird i
> saute the onion, mushrooms, garlic & celery in butter before adding to
> the bread with any wine or stock and seasonings. So my stuffing goes
> in the bird warm if not hot.

To a certain extent you are right, Joseph. The issue has to do more with raw
turkey and *its* associated pathogens which contaminate the stuffing mix
when placed into the bird. That requires a heating of the stuffing to assure
that things like salmonella and camphylobacter are destroyed. The other
issue is simply the increased mass that stuffing creates in the birds
cavity. This increases the time it takes to heat the bird to the proper
temperature.
--
Dave
www.davebbq.com

> To be honest, I don't really *like* stuffing from the bird -- it's
> steamed and wet, ugh. I like dressing, cooked in a casserole, in the
> oven. So not stuffing the bird is no hardship for me...
>
> --
> "Little Malice" is Jani in WA
> ~ mom, Trollop, novice cook ~

That's me too...I make it up, put it in a casserole, top with butter
and bake until golden...i like the crispy top and edges. It holds up
to the gravy...lol..

ravenlynne wrote:

> That's me too...I make it up, put it in a casserole, top with butter
> and bake until golden...i like the crispy top and edges. It holds up
> to the gravy...lol..

Put me in the "bake my dressing" column, too. :-)

--
Dave
www.davebbq.com

Dave Bugg wrote:
> Joseph Littleshoes wrote:
>
> > I don't understand the idea that stuffing has to "cook" in the bird i
> > saute the onion, mushrooms, garlic & celery in butter before adding to
> > the bread with any wine or stock and seasonings. So my stuffing goes
> > in the bird warm if not hot.
>
> To a certain extent you are right, Joseph. The issue has to do more with raw
> turkey and *its* associated pathogens which contaminate the stuffing mix
> when placed into the bird. That requires a heating of the stuffing to assure
> that things like salmonella and camphylobacter are destroyed. The other
> issue is simply the increased mass that stuffing creates in the birds
> cavity. This increases the time it takes to heat the bird to the proper
> temperature.
> --
> Dave
> www.davebbq.com


And it is precisely for these reasons that I don't stuff. I would
trust MY stuffing to be safe because I'd cook the shit out of it if I
stuffed the turkey with it. Other people's? Nope. I'll stick with
not stuffing.

Alan, wrote:
>
> On Wed, 22 Nov 2006 13:58:04 -0800, "Dave Bugg" >
> wrote:
>
> >Joseph Littleshoes wrote:
> >
> >> I don't understand the idea that stuffing has to "cook" in the bird i
> >> saute the onion, mushrooms, garlic & celery in butter before adding to
> >> the bread with any wine or stock and seasonings. So my stuffing goes
> >> in the bird warm if not hot.
> >
> >To a certain extent you are right, Joseph. The issue has to do more with raw
> >turkey and *its* associated pathogens which contaminate the stuffing mix
> >when placed into the bird. That requires a heating of the stuffing to assure
> >that things like salmonella and camphylobacter are destroyed. The other
> >issue is simply the increased mass that stuffing creates in the birds
> >cavity. This increases the time it takes to heat the bird to the proper
> >temperature.
>
> Oh, I don't know -- the turkey heats from the outside in, so I would
> expect that the increased mass of the stuffing means that the
> stuffing is the last to reach the "proper" temperature, whatever that
> is.
>
> I've never worried about it, though. The stuffing that is cooked
> inside the turkey is soooooo much better than the left-over that is
> cooked in a dish in the oven that I would never NOT stuff the turkey!
>
> Alan

In another post, someone mentioned a gadget that was featured on
America's Test Kitchen, that was a rod put through the stuffing in the
turkey, that conducted heat. This is something like those "nails" that
are sold to put into a potato for baking. I wonder if putting two or
three metal kabob skewers through the stuffing would accomplish the same
thing.
>
> ==========================================
> Haagen-Dazs translates roughly as:
>
> "one container, one serving"
>
> ==========================================

Oh pshaw, on Wed 22 Nov 2006 02:07:49p, meant to say...

> On Wed, 22 Nov 2006 18:09:15 GMT, unge (Little
> Malice) wrote:
>
>>To be honest, I don't really *like* stuffing from the bird -- it's
>>steamed and wet, ugh. I like dressing, cooked in a casserole, in the
>>oven. So not stuffing the bird is no hardship for me...
>
> I don't like pure dressing, it's too dry, and there is never enough
> stuffing for all the leftovers... so I make both and mix them. IMO:
> that's the perfect consistency.

I don't particularly like stuffing and I don't think it contributes as much
to the bird as does filling the cavity with vegetables, herbs, and spices.
I also don't much like traditional bread stuffing, preferring cornbread
dressing instead. The way I make it, it's moist enough on the inside, and
has a nice "crust" on the exterior. The moisture comes from homemade
stock, not much different than the effect of stuffing being cooked in the
bord. Besides, I like spooning gravy over it as well. As you say, there's
never enough stuffing anyway, so I just don't bother with it.

--
Wayne Boatwright
__________________________________________________

Useless Invention: Solar powered night light.

One time on Usenet, said:
> On Wed, 22 Nov 2006 18:09:15 GMT, unge (Little
> Malice) wrote:
>
> >To be honest, I don't really *like* stuffing from the bird -- it's
> >steamed and wet, ugh. I like dressing, cooked in a casserole, in the
> >oven. So not stuffing the bird is no hardship for me...
>
> I don't like pure dressing, it's too dry, and there is never enough
> stuffing for all the leftovers... so I make both and mix them. IMO:
> that's the perfect consistency.

That's not a bad idea! I'll keep that in mind for times that I
actually roast, rather than deep fry, my turkey...

--
Jani in WA