WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: We usually prefer to cook our stuffing outside the turkey, since a stuffed bird takes longer and often results in overcooked meat by the time the stuffing has reached a safe temperature. For this recipe, we used fresh parsley, sage, thyme, and marjoram to create an herby stuffing with a great balance of flavors and textures. Half-inch cubes of bread made the stuffing pleasantly chunky and allowed the other ingredients to be distributed evenly throughout. Tasters preferred chicken broth to other liquid ingredients, since it gave the stuffing clean, savory flavor; a couple of eggs offered richness, moisture, and structure. The celery and onion boosted the herbs to give the stuffing a traditional flavor profile. Covering the stuffing for only part of the baking time ensured that it was moist throughout, with a crispy, crunchy top. Instead of oven drying in step 1, you can let bread stale overnight at room temperature. This recipe can be doubled and baked in a 15 by 10-inch baking dish for a larger crowd.
Serves: 8 to 10
Total time: 2 hours 45 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
- 1½ pounds hearty white sandwich bread, cut into ½-inch pieces
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 celery ribs, minced
- 1 onion, chopped fine
- ¼ cup minced fresh parsley
- 1½ tablespoons minced fresh sage or 1 teaspoon dried
- 1½ tablespoons minced fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried
- 1½ teaspoons minced fresh marjoram or ½ teaspoon dried
- 2½ cups chicken broth
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Grease 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Spread bread onto rimmed baking sheet and bake, stirring occasionally, until bread is dry, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let bread cool completely on sheet, about 30 minutes.
- Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees. Melt butter in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add celery and onion and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in parsley, sage, thyme, and marjoram and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Transfer to very large bowl.
- Add dried cooled bread, broth, eggs, salt, and pepper to vegetable mixture and toss to combine. Transfer to prepared baking dish.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until golden, about 30 minutes longer. Let cool for 10 minutes. Serve.
