Help With Stuffing

neuro-praxis

Hi. I've never made stuffing and all the recipes I've googled are American and include brand-named products...or they're full of ingredients I simply don't have in the cupboards.

What I have got is:

Stale bread (and a food processor)
Butter
Bacon
Onions
Dried herbs

What I was thinking was:

1. Make breadcrumbs
2. Finely chop bacon and onions and fry them with butter
3. Combine the bacon and onions with the breadcrumbs and herbs
4. Bake?

Help? Should I use an egg to bind? Should I toast the bread first? I really have no idea.

Nevyn

What are you making the stuffing to stuff into ?

the stuffing I usually make is a stick it all in the food processor one.
breadcrumbs, onion, carrot, garlic, fresh rosemary, sage, thyme, parsely
salt and pepper. Sometimes I will add some red/yellow bell pepper if I have some hanging around asking to be used up.

With the carrot, onion and the fresh herbs I have never found the need for an egg to bind it. My sausage stuffing for turkey is the above with sausage meat and mayeb more breadcrumbs to even out the moisture.

The only time I did stuffing which wasn't going into meat for cooking I wrapped it in streaky rashers and cooked it that way.

neuro-praxis

It's for a whole roast chicken. I'm nervous about stuffing the cavity...I was planning to cook the stuffing in a dish and bake it.

Do you need to add extra time to the chicken if it is stuffed?

I'm new to cooking a whole bird/joint thing...I've avoided it up until a few months ago!

Nevyn

Then don't stuff the cavity.
I would suggest raming a potatoe in to cavity to help it cook quicker.
or stuff with things to flavour the chicken like as in this.

http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-stuff-and-truss-a-chicken

I always stuff the top of the chicken/duck/goose/turkey, where the head/neck was,
stretching the skin away from the meat and stuffing up under the skin, which is very strechy and then you can bend it back over and secure with cocktail sticks if need be.

Pretty much this method.
http://uktv.co.uk/food/item/aid/587156/displayVideo/Hi

Carawaystick

I'd add the herbs to the pan with onions and fat, and after a minute add the breadcrumbs to the pan and mix up well. Thyme and Sage ( fresh if you can) are the best.
I put the mix into a container and add some of the fat from the roasting tray over the top of the mix. So you don't need to pour it off before making gravy.

then put it in the bottom of the oven, so it crisps up while the bird finishes and rests.

bonkey

neuro-praxis wrote: »

What I have got is:

Stale bread (and a food processor)
Butter
Bacon
Onions
Dried herbs

What I was thinking was:

1. Make breadcrumbs
2. Finely chop bacon and onions and fry them with butter
3. Combine the bacon and onions with the breadcrumbs and herbs
4. Bake?

Help? Should I use an egg to bind? Should I toast the bread first? I really have no idea.

For someone with no idea, you're pretty damned close to how I'd do it...

I'd go with steps 1-3, just as you have them there, with the exception that I'd make sure and use far more butter than I need for the frying....and I'd sautee rather than aggressively fry. The butter (and bacon fat) is going to be soaked up by your breadcrumbs, so it'll be pretty tough to use too much.

I tend to use sage, sometimes with a bit o' rosemary and/or thyme...and salt and pepper, of course.

Put the whole lot in an ovenproof dish, and add some chicken stock (if you have proper chicken stock) just a table-spoon or so, to make sure everything is moist. (If you don't have stock, don't worry too much...use a bit o' water for now...deglaze the pan you did the onions/bacon in with it or something.)

Cover with tinfoil, stick in the oven with your bird while its roasting. It doesn't need more than 30-40 minutes all told, so it doesn't need to go in at the start if your bird is a bit on the large side.

Stuff the cavity of the bird with whatevr takes your fancy...I often use a half or a quarter of an orange, a half or a quarter of a lemon, a handful of herbs, and maybe a knob of butter and some cloves of garlic. If you don't fancy all of that, leave out whatever you don't fancy in there...or go a completely different route. Its up to you.

As the bird cooks, it'll drip some juices. If you've used the lemon, orange and butter in the cavity, there's no shortage of juice...just tip the bird up slightly. Every so often, take the tinfoil off your stuffing, and spoon off these juices, into the stuffing.

If you want the stuffing crispy instead of moist, then leave uncovered for the last 20 mins. of cooking (or last 10 minutes, plus while the bird rests). I'm not a fan of this...for me, stuffing should be moist, but each to their own.

Fantastico.

thehamo

A nice bit of saussage meat mixed in there too goues a very long way! Seriously tasty!

barbiegirl

I find adding some chopped dried apricots and a few chopped pistacios really adds to a stuffing, makes it extra special :-)

olaola

I find mammys recipe works well.

Stale bread
Thyme
Parsley
Salt & pepper
Butter
Onion - very finely diced

Mix em all up - you'll know how much you'll need when you start adding them. Then rub some butter in as if you're making pastry. If going for a healthier option - you can omit this. I sometimes add some lemon zest in too. Don’t add the onion in until you're going to use it.

Stuff the chicken cavity (not too tightly) and fix the skin with cocktail sticks (or thread if you want to sew it).
I'm personally not a fan of stuffing cooked ourside the bird, it doesn't have the same flavour IMO!

Pigletlover

olaola wrote: »

I'm personally not a fan of stuffing cooked ourside the bird, it doesn't have the same flavour IMO!

+1

For sage and onion stuffing I gently fry finely chopped onion in a little butter until soft, add some sage, fry for another minute and then add to breadcrumbs. Then stuff the chicken/pork steak/whatever and cook as normal. If you want your stuffing to be more moist you can use some more butter or a add a tablespoon of milk to the breadcrumbs.

olaola

If you're cooking your stuffing and then stuffing the bird with warm stuffing (how many more times can I say stuffing in that sentence) then you need to cook the chicken straight away. Otherwise cool it before stuffing.

STUFFING!

neuro-praxis

What I did was fry off 2 thick slices of bacon in lots of butter. I then mixed this with the crumbs of 4 slices of stale white bread. I minced one onion, and added that, along with some dried thyme and rosemary, and black pepper. It was quite dry so I added a couple of tablespoons of milk. I then stuffed the chicken (up its arse - not under the skin - I'll try that next time) and cooked the remainder in a dish next to the bird during the last 25 minutes of cooking.

It was great.

Thanks everyone! I now feel as though I know a thing or two about stuffing, and look forward to trying out your variations and recommendations.