Posted on 11/23/2016 10:37:02 AM PST by Sybeck1
AUBURN, Alabama — Thanksgiving is a time where friends and family gather together to give thanks, enjoy one another’s company and share a good meal. It takes a village to bring these great holiday meals together, and the thought of overwhelming amounts of leftovers keeps everyone motivated to prepare.
Two main dishes found at most Thanksgiving meals are stuffing or dressing. Here is the inside scoop on what defines these two dishes.
Difference between the two
“The major difference between the two dishes is that stuffing is popular in the north and dressing is popular in the south,” said Darlene Minniefield, an Alabama Extension agent in Human Nutrition, Diet and Health.
Stuffing is the bread component baked inside the turkey. That is why it is called, “stuffing.” Dressing is cooked by itself in a separate dish with or without the meat inside. Northerners cook stuffing on the stovetop, and southerners typically cook dressing in the oven.
Both dishes contain a large amount of carbohydrates because of the high amount of bread components such as bread or cornbread.
A cornbread base is more commonly found in the southern region. Whichever bread component you choose to make for your perfect dish, homemade bread will help bring a nice, fresh taste.
To make either dish healthier, add in vegetables. The combination of turkey or ham and stuffing or dressing with added vegetables results in a well-balanced meal.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.aces.edu ...
CRACKER BARREL
You will over cook the bird and the stuffing will pull every drop of moisture it can grab.
Stuff the cavity with onions, celery and apples to add moisture and flavor.
Cook the dressing in a separate dish or in the pan, just not in the bird.
I could envision a cornmeal based stuffing that might turn out OK, so long as it didn’t get too thoroughly soaked in peanut oil.
Southern cornbread dressing. MMMMMMMMM. I probably wouldn’t turn my nose up at some good northern stuffing, though. Both can be delicious.
In Louisiana we usually add ground gibblets to our cornbread dressing
Add some oranges and some candied ginger for more aroma. Also use the celery tops with the leaves - tons more flavor there.
A large turkey that has been well brined shouldn’t be dry even with stuffing. But, large chunks of onion, other vegetables or even fruit in the stuffing can work and do help keep it moist as you say.
It is dressing in southwestern Ohio, whether it’s cooked inside the bird, or a casserole, or both, which is what my mother did.
Dressing is for salads, stuffing is for birds.
Maybe next year I will try adding the candied ginger. There is already allspice in the rub.
You need to baste the turkey eveyday hr. And cover with foil. Stuff the bird dressing in the over.. turkey and dress in sanswichs for days
I have lived in the North and in the South.
We mix the two together.
I call it “Stressing”.
My Son calls it “Duffing”.
My wife calls it “The Red Box”.
“I’d love to try oyster dressing, I don’t think I’ve ever had it.”
Hard to go wrong with Paula Deen on this sort of thing, and hers isn’t much different at all from the oyster dressing that I know, maybe even a little simpler. The reviews are very favorable, with one reviewer mixing in shrimp as well which sounds great:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/oyster-dressing-recipe.html
I love both but I have a Brioche/Wild Rice and Sausage dressing that is so good that I’ve simply gone that direction now. It would be great as stuffing too, but doing it as dressing with the Bourbon Gravy makes is simpler, easier and cleaner.
Thank you!
“And”
... with gravy
Embrace the power of “and”.
That is not an either/or proposition.
Neither looks like its been ate at least once already
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.