This recipe yields enough to stuff a 14- to 17-pound turkey. Many of the variations yield enough for an additional small casserole of stuffing. To stuff an oven roaster or 6 to 8 rock Cornish hens, halve the recipes. For a larger turkey, increase all the ingredients by half. The optional egg makes the stuffing firm. If you prefer the bread to be moist, skip the toasting step.
Yields: 8-10 cups
Ingredients:
- 1 pound sliced firm white sandwich, French, or Italian bread, including crusts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, or 10 cups lightly packed bread cubes
- 4 to 8 tablespoons (1/2 to 1 stick) unsalted butter
- 2 cups chopped onions
- 1 cup finely chopped celery
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried sage, or 1 tablespoon minced fresh
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme, or 1 tablespoon minced fresh
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated or ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/3 to 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 to 2 large eggs, well beaten (optional)
Position a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Toast bread until golden brown.
Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until the foam subsides. Add onions and celery then cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes.
Remove from the heat and stir in parsely, sage, thyme, salt, pepper, nutmeg and cloves.
Stir into the bread cubes and toss until well combined. Depending on how much butter you started with and how firm you want the stuffing, stir in stock and egg, a little at a time, until the stuffing is lightly moist but not packed together.
Adjust the seasonings. To use as a stuffing, reheat just before spooning it into the bird(s). Or moisten with additional stock and/or egg. Then turn into a large, shallow buttered baking dish. Bake in a 350°F oven until the top has formed a crust and the stuffing is heated through, 25 to 40 minutes.
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