How to Make Thanksgiving Stuffing from Scratch
Continuing along in our Thanksgiving dinner preparations, let’s talk stuffing.
If you’ve missed any recipes thus far, here they are:
This recipe is a very simple, but tasty way to make stuffing from scratch. The only thing we’re not doing is baking the bread ourselves. We’ll leave that to the qualified bakers. 🙂
This is enough stuffing to go with a 10-12 pound turkey and you can either stuff the bird with it or just serve it on the side. I always serve it on the side because it’s easier and your turkey is done faster. Plus, there is some concern that stuffing placed in the turkey may not reach the required internal temperature for safe eating. It’s a small worry, but enough to keep me from doing it.
What you need to get started:
• 1 loaf of bread
• 3 stalks celery
• 1 onion
• 1 cup butter or margarine
• 1 tbsp poultry seasoning
• 1 cup wine
• 1 egg (optional)
Also, keep on hand baking sheet, cutting board, sharp knife, measuring cups and spoons, large pot, large oven-safe bowl and mixing spoon.
Dry Bread
Dry bread from a full loaf of bread (we’re using whole wheat) on baking sheet at 200 F for about 30-40 minutes. Rotate the bread part way through.
Prepare the Vegetables
Chop the celery and onion into small pieces.
Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat.
Add the carrots and celery and saute until soft, about 10 minutes.
Soft vegetables will look something like this.
Turn the heat off before your add the seasoning and bread.
Preheat Oven
Preheat your oven to 350 F
Finish Preparing the Bread
Once your bread has finished drying, take it out to cool for a few minutes. Then you can break it up into smaller pieces by hand. How small is really your own personal preference. If you like a chunky stuffing, make the pieces a bit bigger.
Now you can add the bread to your pot of vegetables. Make sure the stove is turned off as you don’t want to cook the bread. You simply want to soak it with the butter mixture.
Stir it carefully and completely, so the butter is on all the pieces of bread.
Next, you can add your poultry seasoning.
Add the white wine. We use white wine to reduce the amount of salt from commercial chicken stock, but you can use it instead if you want.
And again, stir carefully and completely to soak all the pieces.
Get Ready to Bake
Place the stuffing into an oven safe bowl or if your pot happens to be oven safe, you can use that. At this point, you can add optional egg. The egg can help your stuffing stick together a bit better.
Stir egg until completely absorbed by bread mixture. Place in 350 F oven for about 45 minutes and serve.
