Betty Crocker's Classic Bread Turkey Stuffing

"This is the stuffing that my mom makes very Thanksgiving, and it's absolutely divine. The holiday just isn't the same without the taste of this dish. The day after it's cooked, it's wonderful cold, too! This recipe makes enough for a 12-pound turkey, about three quarts of stuffing."
 
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photo by Cooking Creation photo by Cooking Creation
photo by Cooking Creation
photo by DeeBee photo by DeeBee
photo by Carla C. photo by Carla C.
photo by Cooking Creation photo by Cooking Creation
photo by PSU_Lioness photo by PSU_Lioness
Ready In:
15mins
Ingredients:
9
Yields:
3 quarts

ingredients

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directions

  • In a large, heavy skillet over medium heat melt the butter, then sauté the onion and celery (and mushroom, if using) until the onion is soft, stirring occasionally.
  • Stir in the salt, pepper, and sage and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
  • Place the bread cubes into a large, deep bowl.
  • Pour 1/4 cup of the butter/celery mixture over the cubes and toss well, then repeat steps until all of the butter mixture is used.
  • Toss the cubes thoroughly to coat.
  • (Regarding the optional chicken broth: for dry stuffing, add little or no liquid; for moist stuffing mix in lightly with fork just enough chicken broth to moisten dry crumbs.) Let cool and use as stuffing for the turkey.
  • We've made this stuffing in the crockpot, as well, adding the chicken broth for moistness.
  • Adapted from Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book, circa 1950.
  • Note: regardling the amount of salt - yes, the amount listed above is correct and is what is listed in the original Betty Crocker recipe. When the butter mixture is first added to the bread, if you taste it at this point it might seem salty (because it is sitting right on the surface of the bread) but remember that the liquid and butter soaks into the bread and redistributes evenly. Also, this recipe, being from the 1950s, is specifically for cooking *inside* the turkey, which a lot of people no longer do, and again the salt will redistribute from the juices in the meat. If you use a crockpot for cooking your stuffing, I'd recommend reducing the amount of salt.
  • Note #2: again, regarding the salt. You're going to have to decide for yourself about the salt. Having eaten this recipe for every year of my life I know it tastes wonderful as it's written. But that's just me.

Questions & Replies

  1. How much chicken broth do I use.
     
  2. Is this recipie for a 12 pound turkey?
     
  3. when making a white bread stuffing can i use sausage and thyme as well as the fresh sage
     
  4. And how much broth at a time lol
     
  5. How many slices of bread is 12 cups?
     
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Reviews

  1. Very tasty and very easy to make. The stuffing that came out of my turkey was the first thing on my table to disappear. The only ingredient that I added was leek. 3 stalks, finely chopped and sauteed with the onion. {I love leek and try to use it as often as possible)
     
  2. Simple. I always hated stuffing until I discovered this recipe! I upped the bread to 16 c., added 1/2 c. of butter, reduced the salt to 2 tsp, dampened with chicken broth, and baked in casserole dishes at 350 for 20-ish minutes. I think next time I'll throw in some poultry seasoning and pork sausage for fun, but it's amazing as is.
     
  3. I'm Mom, and this is how I make our dressing every year. We now use the crock pot rather than stuffing the turkey, but it still comes out wonderful. If you think your dressing is a bit too dry, try adding a mixture of broth and a little melted butter, mix well, cover, and let it sit for a few minutes before fluffing with a fork for serving. My kids won't let me make stuffing any other way but by using this recipe, and I love it, too.
     
  4. Love this dressing! I have to make a triple batch for my family but they all love it. The first item to disappear and more popular than the turkey itself.
     
  5. This is, like many here, the stuffing that my family has used for 40 years and the only stuffing recipe I use. We do have our own way of making it (of course!), I use a little more butter and blend one egg per loaf of bread used to the broth before I mix it in with the bread. Plus we use A LOT of broth, the stuffing ends up almost being a solid lump of bread that is NOT fluffy at at but it's so good! :)
     
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Tweaks

  1. I tweaked this recipe with a specific balance between flavor and health: Sodium compounds are pure poison, but, let's be honest:—they're great flavor enhancers. That being said, leave out the salt to the stuffing recipe, but use salted butter; there will be enough flavor from the stuffing being baked in-bird and the gravy you'll make from baking the turkey. Besides the sage, add a little rosemary, thyme, and garlic powder (garlic POWDER, not salt). Keep in mind that manufacturer-ground-and-dried spices have different potencies of flavor than do fresh-ground herbs and spices. Caution regarding salt (and other sodium compounds): You don't need it in the stuffing (you might add a little in the gravy, but that's a different recipe)., but REMEMBER: If you put in too little, you can always add more later—on the plate—too much, and it's ruined. Cook to ENHANCE flavor, not overpower it.
     
  2. Did I not add enough broth? Should I have used white bread instead of wheat? I don't know, for some reason it didn't satisfy. Don't get me wrong, it will get eaten. It wasn't bad. But, it didn't have the "wow" factor.
     
  3. I added poultry seasoning, reduced the salt and used apple juice instead of chicken broth! Always turns out amazing:)
     
  4. see above. I suggested using pork sausage, add liquid, place in 8.5" X 11" dish cover with chicken pieces.
     
  5. I think this is the recipe my mom used to make but she used a can of mushroom soup instead of the mushrooms. It doesn't surprise me as she never used mushrooms! Her stuffing was always very moist. She would add a can of mushroom soup and then water (she never used chicken broth either) to moisten it. I know she used poultry seasoning instead of the sage. Anyway, it's fantastic to find it.
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

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