Ingredients

The following ingredients have 12 Servings
  • 3/4 cup butter
  • 2 1/2 cups onion (finely chopped)
  • 1 cup celery (finely chopped)
  • 1 cup fennel (finely chopped (or additional 1 cup celery))
  • 4 tsp dried sage
  • 1 tsp fine salt
  • 1 tsp dried savory
  • 1 tsp dried marjoram
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme
  • 14 cups white bread (cubed or torn into about 1-inch x 1-inch pieces)
  • 1 cup fresh parsley (chopped, or 4 Tbsp dried parsley for oven-baked stuffing)
  • 2 cups chicken or turkey stock or broth (low-sodium recommended)
  • 1-2 Tbsp butter (cut into small pieces)

Instruction

  • Tear bread into small pieces (about 1 inch x 1 inch) and place in a large bowl. *If bread is fresh, let sit on the counter for several hours, tossing several times to dry out a bit.
  • In a skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add onions, celery and all the spices and cook for 10 to 15 minutes until the vegetables are tender. *Taste test a piece of celery and make sure it is tender. Take the pan off the heat and let cool for a few minutes.
  • Pour the mixture over the cubed bread and stir to distribute with the bread. This is where you need to get your hands dirty! Dig in with your hands and “squeeze” the mixture together, so that the butter mixture gets right into the bread. You can also break up the bread chunks a bit.
  • Immediately add stuffing to turkey cavity or follow the directions below to bake immediately. *You can bake ahead, refrigerate then reheat later, but you should not make ahead and not bake, for food safety reasons.
  • For Oven-Baked Stuffing: Preheat oven to 350F. Spread warm stuffing evenly into a 9x13-ish casserole dish. Drizzle with 1 cup of the chicken stock. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven. Drizzle remaining 1 cup of chicken stock over-top and top with butter pieces. Return to the oven, uncovered, for an additional 25-30 minutes, or until golden. If you'd like it extra crispy, you can pop under a hot broiler for a few minutes.
  • If stuffing turkey, be sure to remove stuffing from the turkey as soon as the turkey comes out of the oven. Do not let it sit in the turkey. Eat immediately or cover and refrigerate.
  • For reheating oven-baked stuffing: remove from refrigerator for 15 minutes, then cover with aluminum foil and heat in 350F oven until warmed through, about 20 minutes. If it seems dry, you can drizzle a bit more chicken stock over-top before reheating.