WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN STUFFING AND DRESSING?

[left-of-center2012]

STUFFING VS. DRESSING

At its most basic and technical level, stuffing refers to the side dish that is stuffed inside the body cavity of a turkey (or chicken). It cooks while the bird cooks, soaking up juices that supposedly make it more flavorful.

There’s a catch though: food safety experts say that this method of cooking raises the risk of food-borne illness (you are, after all, cooking the stuffing instead a raw bird).

Dressing is cooked outside the bird, often in a casserole dish or other baking pan. It’s got tons of flavor because it’s prepared with seasonings and mix-ins that give it flavor. As you can imagine, food safety experts prefer this method of cooking.

But could there be more to the difference between stuffing and dressing?

In an analysis by Southern Living, the magazine ruled that the real difference between stuffing and dressing isn’t how it’s cooked, but where a person lives. They looked at search terms in all the states and determined that — no surprise — northerners tend to call it stuffing, and southerners call it dressing (regardless of whether it’s cooked inside or outside the bird).

https://www.thanksgiving.com/recipes/side-dish-recipes/what-is-the-difference-between-stuffing-and-dressing

[Major Nikon]

1. The turkeys I buy always seem to have the stuffing already in them

[Arkansas Granny]

2. For those who prefer stuffing, but worry about food safety, we have adopted the following method.

When that glorious bird comes out of the oven when the meat thermometer reads 165F, we remove the stuffing to a separate, shallow casserole dish and continue to bake it at 350F while the turkey rests before carving. The turkey will continue to cook (the temp increases about 10 degrees) while resting and the stuffing will be completely cooked when it's time to bring the bird to the table.

IMO, the stuffing that's cooked inside the bird is more moist and flavorful than the dressing that is cooked outside the bird. In the end, however, it's all good.

[flotsam]

3. Dressing is putting on clothing normally

Stuffing is a pair of extra pair of socks for men or 1/2 a roll of toilet paper for women...

[NRaleighLiberal]

4. "Stuff" and "Dress". Both have "ing"

[left-of-center2012]

5. Stuffing is ...

Me trying to fit into a pair of jeans I wore last year.

[Freddie]

6. Don't forget "filling"

That’s what we Pennsylvania Dutch call it. Mine is onions, potatoes and celery sautéed in loads of butter, mixed with soft plain bread cubes, beaten eggs, seasoned to taste with enough milk to moisten and cooked outside the bird. Others make a “potato filling” which is the same idea but instead of sautéed potatoes, the bread, onions and celery are mixed with mashed potatoes and baked.

[elleng]

7. One's family, prolly, and/or

where a person lives!

Soda/Pop?

[dem in texas]

8. Its called Dressing in Texas

My mother used to stuff some dressing in the turkey cavity and then make a big pan of dressing, always made with cornbread I don't cook turkey anymore, after 30 years of turkey cooking, my son has taken over the job. I used to put an onion and some celery inside the turkey for flavor I always look at the dressing as a savory bread pudding. Big difference in baking dressing inside the turkey and dressing baked in a dish: inside the turkey it is dryer and more firm. I have made cornbread dressing many times, in fact I still make it in small batches to go with smothered pork chops.

Here is my recipe for a Thanksgiving day batch. Will feed 8 to 10 people

Need to bake a pan of cornbread 1 or 2 days before (I use Martha White Corn Bread mix, one packet). Have on hand, some white bread several days old. Breads are better if toasted the day before. I use 3 or 4 parts cornbread to 1 part white bread. Dice the breads and put on a cookie and toast them in the oven at 350 degrees, stirring often, this should take about 15 minutes.

On "turkey day", make the dressing.

You will need :
The toasted bread
large onion, finely chopped
3 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 or 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
4 eggs, beaten
about 3 tablespoons sage
2 or 3 shakes of Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste.
Mix well and add milk, enough to make a good wet mixture (3 to 4 cups) - it will dry out more as it bakes and the liquid is absorbed by the bread mixture.

Put in large baking dish that is spayed with Pam. Cover with foil and bake in 325 oven for about 30 to 40 minutes, stirring once or twice during baking. Remove from oven, mixture should be fairly dry, add enough turkey drippings and stock to moisten. Taste and add more seasoning if needed. return to oven and bake another 30 minutes, you can cover if you need to speed up baking, but take off cover last 10 minutes to brown a little on top.

[catbyte]

9. Food safety people would've been horrified at my house. 😅

My dad always made the best turkey on the planet. He'd make a big bunch of stuffing, stuff it in the bird & all around it. put it in the oven set to 180F or so at about midnight or 1 a.m. the night before Thanksgiving. The best thing about Thanksgiving was waking up to that heavenly aroma. In all of the 40 Thanksgivings I can remember, nobody ever got sick.

[shanti]

10. I call it stuffing here in CA

And used to love the 'inside the turkey' kind of stuffing best because it was so moist. My sister, an excellent cook, clued me into making it in a separate casserole now. She said that the secret is adding extra butter, we're talking a LOT of butter! By golly, it works! That's the way I make it now.