Alton Brown's Stuffing?

[bensdad]

Did anyone get a chance to see Good Eats last night after Paula Deen's special? I caught most of it but was unable to hear exacltly what he was trying to do or use. Seemed like a lot of extra work just for stuffing.

[sneezles]

I agree with you about this being a complicated recipe but it's still intriguing just the same. And sometimes I like a bit of complication ;) !

Here's the recipe:

Turkey with Stuffing Recipe
courtesy Alton Brown


Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
User Rating:




1 (10 to 12-pound) turkey, with giblets removed
1 quart chicken broth
2 ounces dried mushrooms
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus extra for rubbing on turkey
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning turkey
3 cups Challah bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (from approximately 4 to 5 slices)
4 ounces unsweetened dried cherries, approximately 1 cup
2 ounces chopped pecans, approximately 1/2 cup
2 whole eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons dried rubbed sage
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning chicken
Special equipment: 1 re-usable organic cotton produce bag*


*Cook's Note: The bag is optional. Once the stuffing is made, you can place the stuffing into the bag and then place the bag into the cavity of the turkey.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the turkey into a deep, high-sided bowl on its end with the stuffing end up. Set aside.

Heat the chicken broth in the microwave in a large microwave-proof container. Place mushrooms in a glass bowl and pour heated broth over them. Cover and allow to sit for 35 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl toss the onion, celery, and green pepper with the oil and salt. Place the vegetables on a sheet pan and roast for 35 minutes. During the last 10 minutes of cooking, spread the cubed bread over the vegetables, return to the oven, and continue cooking.

Drain mushrooms, reserving 1 cup of liquid. Chop the mushrooms and place in a large
microwave-proof bowl with the vegetables and bread, reserved chicken stock, cherries, pecans, eggs, sage, parsley and black pepper. Stir well in order to break up pieces of bread. Use your hands to combine, if necessary. Heat the stuffing in a microwave on high power for 6 minutes.

While the stuffing is heating, rub the bird with oil. Working quickly, place the stuffing into the cavity of the turkey to avoid losing heat. Place the turkey into a roasting pan, on a rack, and season with salt and pepper. Place the roasting pan on the middle rack of the oven. Roast for 45 minutes and then reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and cook for another 60 to 75 minutes or until the bird reaches an internal temperature of 170 degrees F. Serve immediately.

[wintersummer]

I make Alton Brown's Sweet Corn Bread Pudding all the time! I think he featured on a Thanksgiving show last year (maybe year before) and I just love it, so much that I serve it about once a month (with chicken or pork usually). It's so easy and so good!

[bensdad]

I wouldn't think it would work with the brined turkey though. and the bag sounds like a good idea, but it didn't look too appealing. Plus I was raised with traditional sausage/sage stuffing. Do i dare try something new at Thanksgiving? Plus one last thing, It's off the subject, but for years I've been toying with the Idea of having a christmas goose Any ideas on how to do it?

[gobluem82]

The idea of heating the stuffing before putting it into the bird is an intriguing one. I know many cookbooks don't recommend stuffing a turkey since by the time the stuffing inside reaches a safe temperature, the turkey is generally overcooked. I'll give this a try next time (although we generally cook our turkeys in the smoker and therefore can't stuff them).

[Just Mary]

Funny- He has mentioned in several episodes that "stuffing is evil!" (as far as inside a turkey).

We've made his cornbread stuffing several times. It's good.

[sneezles]

I wouldn't think it would work with the brined turkey though. and the bag sounds like a good idea, but it didn't look too appealing. Plus I was raised with traditional sausage/sage stuffing. Do i dare try something new at Thanksgiving? Plus one last thing, It's off the subject, but for years I've been toying with the Idea of having a christmas goose Any ideas on how to do it?


No, I don't think it would work with a brined bird either. I have also found it better to test new stuffing ideas with roast chicken at different times of the year (rather than be disappointed on T-day).

And I've never done a goose!


BTA: I began using cheesecloth for the stuffing a few years ago...makes it so much easier to remove after roasting. And I have alsways stuffed my bird with hot stuffing.

[Gilgamesh37]

I've done goose, a bunch of times. It's a lovely very British-y thing for Christmas (or it always feels that way to me). Downside: all dark meat, and a biggish-looking goose will actually yield a fairly small amount of meat. Also, potentially LOTS of smoke, so be sure you have a good hood.

Personally, geese are so fatty that I don't like doing stuffing inside, I do dressing in a separate casserole. Some sort of fruit dressing would be traditional.

[mbrogier]

Funny- He has mentioned in several episodes that "stuffing is evil!" (as far as inside a turkey).



He got so much hate mail from traditionalists that he decided to come up with a safe way to do stuffing in the bird without sending your family to the ER.

It just looked like way too much work for me. :D