After looking at the turkey pic on the main page, I am curious to know how many of you eat a stuffed turkey for thanksgiving. As oppossed to stuffing on the side.
I've never had a stuffed bird. My mother never cared for the idea and my wife says it's unsanitary (never heard that one).
So let's hear from you all, today. I know it's a real hot topic.
Grew up with my mom stuffing the bird every Thanksgiving. Once I moved out I didn't feel like stuffing the turkey and was just as happy with Stove Top stuffing made on the side. My wife could care less if it's stuffed or not either, but lately the kids have been clamoring for a stuffed bird simply because they have never had one.
Stove Top here as well. And sanitary concerns aside, there's no way we could get enough stuffing into a mere turkey as needed to meet demand.
Not to mention we use bottled gravy, canned cranberry sauce, Potato BudsŪ granulated mashed potatoes, packaged cole slaw mix, grocery store brand half-baked dinner rolls and frozen pies. Haven't found a suitable substitute for yams, so we cook that. And the bird.
We do stuffing in the bird, with extra stuffing either in a casserole dish or the slow cooker if there's a crowd.
I have cooked Stove Top for myself in the past, but if I ever served it to company on a holiday, my mom, my dad, and my grandparents would take turns killing me.
As Alton would tell you, stuffing is evil. It makes you have to overcook the turkey itself so you can make sure to get the stuffing cooked to the proper temp to be safe to eat. Save your turkey. Make dressing instead.
You gotta stuff the bird. You stuff it because then the stuffing tastes of turkey (or chicken, or whatever). This makes the stuffing extra delicious. And I've never run into a problem drying out the bird while cooking the stuffing.
Originally posted by Tenken347You gotta stuff the bird. You stuff it because then the stuffing tastes of turkey (or chicken, or whatever). This makes the stuffing extra delicious. And I've never run into a problem drying out the bird while cooking the stuffing.
Turkey stock will work just fine to give that flavor without the need to stuff the bird. I buy a fresh bird a few days before, take the neck, heart, etc out and use them to make turkey stock. Since I brine the bird and can't make gravy out of the drippings, I use the stock to make gravy and flavor other things like stuffing.