Having grown up in the Deep South, I’m used to calling ladies “Ma’am,” soda “pop,” and stuffing...”dressing.”
Of course, there’s a difference between “stuffing” a Turkey on Thanksgiving, and “dressing” it.
Do you know the difference?
Stuffing is when you cook inside the bird...and dressing is when you cook outside of it. If you’re reading this...I’m willing to bet you never tried a properly dressed Turkey.
Now I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with stuffing per se. It’s just that for a holiday of traditions...sometimes mixing it up a little bit is exactly what you need.
Haven’t you ever tried the best stuffing recipe...only to realize the juices of the bird made it come out too....moist?
With dressing you don’t have that problem, it’s always fresh-baked and crispy, perfect for serving it with the Turkey. Not to mention it will add some unique Southern flair to your table.
In my family, making a holiday chestnut dressing was the thing to do.. The recipe we use is at least 140 years old, and probably a lot older than that.
1) Start with some fresh baked bread. Preferably a couple of loaves. One sourdough, one pumpernickel, and one Jewish Dill Rye. Don’t remove the crust. Now start to tear small pieces off with your hands until you have a nice little pile.
2) Heat a pan with butter or olive oil, then fry the bread and add seasonings (salt, pepper) to taste.
3) Add in some chopped green apples.
4) Now fire roast or bake some fresh chestnuts. If you don’t own a chestnut roaster, you can get one at the Girolami Farms online store. Or, if you prefer, you can simply bake the nuts. Make sure you cut incisions into the chestnut shells either way so that air can get out and the natural sugars of the chestnut can turn into a seared glaze.
5) Remove the chestnuts from the shell and add into the stuffing.
6) Saute mushrooms with garlic and butter, add into the stuffing.
7) Fry a few (not many) pork sausages, with onion, and chop fine into the stuffing. Do not chop sausages before you fry or you will lose the juices.
The main thing to remember about dressings, is that they all start with a foundation of great bread. Do not go cheap on the bread! Make sure you get it fresh-baked, even if you have to drive 20 miles out of your way. It’s the one day of the year where every dish should be perfect!
The chestnuts are critical because they provided the much-needed CRUNCH.
The crunch is hugely satisfying because without it, the whole meal lacks balance.
The butter or oil can obviously be of any brand...but don’t try to fandangle out of this one and cook on some new-age, low-fat hemp oil. The saturation and richness of the dish is the reason it belongs on the Thanksgiving table!
And as always, feel free to innovate with your own ideas...I have had friends take this recipe and add dried cranberries, maple syrup, rice, okra, squash, ginger, vanilla, even sage! And it always turned out great!
Let us know how it turns out!
