Our Thanksgiving menu is almost complete, but I can’t decide on a stuffing. To make matters more difficult, I found a list of Award Winning Stuffing Recipes.
And here’s another set of stuffing recipes from an Emeril contest. The grand prize winner looks delicious and has an Italian theme, but the finalists look good too. Plantation stuffing is very similar to the stuffing I usually make and more traditional, while Maria’s stuffin’ muffins put a spin on the shape. Seafood lovers will like this one, but in the end, I’ll probably go with, is Ace’s Southern Cornbread Dressing. I voted for Ace’s stuffing because Ace is a friend of a friend and that friend asked me to. After I voted, I got an email from Ace himself saying “thanks for the vote” which was nice. Turns out he’s also the father of a long lost high school friend of mine. So there’s a good story there.
However, if I make Ace’s stuffing, I won’t get to try this stuffing I’ve been curious about for the past 5 days. Check it out. Slow Cooker Stuffing. What a great way make room in the big oven. And the reviewers on allrecipes.com seemed to like it. That is, all the reviewers who did not dump in all the broth at once. I might try making a half batch today.
What’s funny is only two people at our holiday table will be eating stuffing.
Mary M
Thanks- that looks yummy AND easy! I guess I’ll try the egg- I like moist. “Easy” is especially important as I am trying brining this year for the 1st time. I bought a frozen turkey at .49 cents a lb. Good deal- right? I boast to my BF- a chef in a former life- who replies “It’s not one of those Marvel turkeys like you got last year is it?” DOH! As I slap my forehead- “UMM…. yes?” remembering as I say it how dry last year’s turkey was, even though I DID NOT OVERCOOK it! Did you know the large salad bin in my ‘frig holds 15 qts- I’m cleaning that & lining with doubled plastic roaster bags & using that as the brining vessel. I thought that was pretty clever seeing as my ‘frig gets SO packed with stuff. I’m following Martha Stewart’s brining recipe.
Happy Thanksgiving Anna!
Anna
Hi Mary,
My friend Amy over at Not as Good as Pork Cracklin’s asked the same question. Below is the info I gave her.
I used the allrecipes version as a guide, but only made half. Most people will want to double what’s below, but since you are the only one who eats it, the measurements below would give you plenty. As far as the egg goes, it binds the stuffing and gives it moisture. The texture would be different if you left it out. If you want to go egg-free, you should probably just put together your original recipe and dump it in the crockpot.
This is how I did it. Crockpots vary, so adjust measurements to your tastes. But this is a basic guide.
1/2 cup each, onions and celery
1/4 cup butter
1/2 8 inch square (or round skillet) of cornbread, crumbled
5 ounces (weight)(3 cups) chewy baguette type bread –I liked the chewiness and it gave the stuffing some texture. If you like softer stuffing, use a softer bread. I didn’t bother to dry it out since day old baguette bread is already pretty dry.
A sprinkling of poultry seasoning (didn’t measure)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of salt (original recipe called for 3/4 tsp, but this seemed like a lot to me
1 large egg
broth — didn’t measure, but it was probably around 1/2 cup. Don’t add full
amount in recipe, just add 1/2 cup and keep adding as needed.
plenty of fresh ground pepper
Add marjoram, sage to taste
At the end, you might want to throw in some toasted pecans, cranberries,
sausage….whatever, to add more texture.
Melt butter in skillet. Saute onions and celery.
In large bowl, mix cut up bread and crumbled corn bread. Toss with some
poultry seasoning and whatever spices you like. Pour butter/vegetable mix
in and mix until moist. Add eggs and stir well. Pour in broth. Start with
1/2 cup and add more, depending on how moist you like your stuffing. It
will dry out a little as it cooks. I cooked mine for a good 4 hours.
Mary M
This Slow Cooker Stuffing will solve a plethora of space problems! Do you think the eggs are absolutely necessary? It appears to be a standard stuffing recipe cooked in the slow cooker; I was going to use my usual recipe, which contains all the same ingredients EXCEPT for the eggs. Since I’m about the only one who eats the stuff(-ing), I would prefer to use the flavors which which I am most familiar. Would you post your version?
Thanks ever so much!
Anj
I make cornbread dressing each year. But I season my cornbread with sage, poultry seasoning, salt, pepper, and garlic powder before I bake it about 2 days before I make the finished product. I like the idea of stuffin muffins too. I can’t wait to see how the slow cooker recipe turns out.
Debbi
Well, I just sent my husband to the store for ground cloves that I thought I bought awhile back too. I am actually going to make your pumpkin pie recipe today that you said you were going to make. I’m just going to use a frozen pie shell though. I have a ton of pumpkin to use up and was going to make muffins but just now decided on the pie. I’ll let you know how it turns out tonight.
Anna
Debbi, my mom and I will be eating it. Todd and Emma would rather eat mashed potatoes.
The good news is, the slow cooker stuffing worked very well. I made quite a few changes to the recipe, but the point of the experiment was to see how stuffing held up in the slow cooker. It was fine — not too mushy. I used a combination of really chewy baguette bread and cornbread. Unfortunately, I lost my bottle of marjoram which I bought the other night. I don’t think the bagger put it in the bag. Grrrrrrr. Now I have to go to the customer service desk and beg for a replacement bottle of marjoram.
Debbi
Please tell me that you are one of the two people eating the stuffing on Thanksgiving! I’m not doing stuffing on Thanksgiving but there are several recipes that I have been dying to try myself. I LOVE “real” stuffing but my stinky kids all just love Stove Top. If I make “read” stuffing they don’t eat it.
Anna
Ace’s will need some extra sage. There’s a little in the poultry season, but I like more. That is, if I make Ace’s. I need to go get started on that slow cooker stuffing.
Amelia
Which ever recipe you use MUST contain primarily corn bread and sage. Those two ingredients are what makes dressing – as far as my family is concerned.