[Sca-cooks] Stuffing

[Wanda Pease]

I know, this is one of those grumpy messages again,

But how come I  have been making and stuffing the Thanksgiving and Christmas
Turkeys for nearly 50 years now (I was 10 and my mother cheerfully turned it
over to me), my mother did it for the 30 years before that, and my
grandmother, a pioneering farm wife did it as a did it while they homestead
in South Dakota in the 1898 (one word - DON'T South Dakota is a great place
for buffalo and prarie grass) and to out knowledge no one ever had a case of
food poisoning?  I make my stuffing with everything including the chicken
stock the night before, mixing it by putting all the ingredients in a brand
new small plastic trash bag (hey, it just got torn off the big roll in the
pantry, never been near the garbage) and immediately put it in the
refrigerator alongside the thawing turkey (still in it's store bag).  My
mother used paper grocery bags.  My grandmother used the dough trough she
made the bread in (probably pine since it was a gift of her father), and it
was set in the "cold room" (November can be bitterly cold in South Dakota).

In my home ec classes, mumble years ago, they were warning not to stuff your
turkey the night before because of the "nasties".

I found I like the taste of truly roasted turkey better than the brown in
bag steamed ones.  Trick is a meat thermometer.  I love those "instant read
things :-).  Don't overcook the turkey and you will be fine with juicy,
tasty turkey even if it is the store brand and much cheaper than butter
ball.  The turkey has to feed around 20 people so I get the huge ones that
remind you of Baby Huey if you are near my age!

Regina Romsey

>
> >Your best bet is probably a
> >fully thawed bird (if it was ever frozen), and stuffing that is at
> >least partially cooled, if not cold.
>
> This is pretty much my thought. Hot stuffing, cold bird, bacteria
> playground. Bringing it all up together will reduce the chance of
> several differnent temp zones.
>
> >I'd be interested in seeing inside and
> >outside temperature differentials... my theory is that they might not
> >be as great as some people suppose.
>
> That shouldn't be hard to check. Just two probe thermometers.
> I agree that it would be interesting to see. I would think that it
> would cook much as a roast would. From the outside in, as a
> solid mass.
>
> That's why I prefer to just stuff my bird with aromatics and then
> make the dressing seperately with the pan juices.
>
> >I think on Friday we'll be truly disgusting and try an honest-to-Gosh
> >larded bird, with a pound or so of fresh pork fatback and a larding
> >needle...
>
> Very cool. I'd like to get hold of a larding needle at some point and
> play with it. Mainly with pork loin and venison. But the turkey idea
> has merit. I usually just rub butter and garlic under the skin.
>
> >I'm sure in a few years this is going to be the in thing; the new brine.
>
> Yeah. Trendiness, sigh.
> I think Jack In The Box gets the prize for the most buzz-worded product:
> The Ciabatta Chipotle Chicken Sandwich.
> They just need the words "Tuscan" and "Extreme" to cover all the bases.
>
> But I don't care if it's trendy, brining is good. I can see the whole
> "fried turkey" craze someday being looked at with embarassed nostalgia.
>
> >Adamantius
>
> Gunthar
>
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