Bread Stuffing Recipe

The rule of thumb for this stuffing recipe is you need a volume of stuffing equal to approximately 1/4 the weight of your turkey. If you have a 16 lb. turkey, you need approx. 4 lbs. of stuffing. If you have a 10 lb. turkey, you need approx. 2.5 lbs. of stuffing, etc. etc.

Calculating 3/4 of a cup of stuffing per person, this recipe serves 9. This recipe contains 484 calories per serving and 33 fat grams per serving using stick butter. You can reduce the calories to 410 and the fat grams to 25 by using whipped butter instead of stick.

1 1/2 to 2 lbs. stale bread cubes (3 to 4 quarts)
1 1/2 cups butter
1/2 to 3/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1 Tbl salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning

Heat butter in a large skillet; add onion and cook over low heat until soft but not browned.
Add bread cubes and seasonings. Thyme, marjoram, sage or savory may be substituted for poultry seasoning. Heat until bread cubes are lightly browned and butter is absorbed, stirring constantly.
Add 1 cup of water, milk or cream.

Makes enough for a 12 to 16 lb. turkey

Giblet Stuffing: Simmer the turkey giblets, allowing 1 to 3 hours for heart, gizzard and neck and about 5 minutes for the liver. Chop coarsely and measure. Substitute for an equal amount of the bread cubes.

Oyster Stuffing: Add 1 quart oysters, drained and chopped, and 1/2 cup chopped celery. Cook the oysters and celery with the onion. Decrease onion to 1/2 cup and decrease cubes to 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 quarts.

Sausage Stuffing: Break 1 lb. sausage meat into small chunks; brown lightly. Remove from pan and substitute fat for part of the butter. Decrease onion 1 1/3 cup and cook in the sausage fat and butter; add browned sausage with the bread cubes.

Southern Corn-Bread Stuffing: Substitute stale corn bread but into cubes or broken into coarse crumbs for the stale bread cubes; substitute 1 to 1 1/2 tsp thyme for poultry seasoning. If desired add 1/2 lb. of bacon diced and cooked until crisp and brown.