Two chefs told Fox News Digital their tips and tricks for making the perfect stuffing this Thanksgiving and holiday season.
While there's some debate over what kind of bread to use, or whether to literally stuff the stuffing inside the turkey, both chefs agreed that the bread itself needs to be dry.
“You want your bread to be dry. Some people recommend it to be stale,” Andrew Gruel, a California chef and founder of American Gravy, told FOX News Digital. (See the video at the top of this article.)
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Gruel says excess moisture in bread takes up space that could be filled with “the beautiful flavor of the filling.”
“Think like a sponge,” he said. “If you have a sponge that already has water in it, and you pour water into it, the water just flows away, leaving behind the water that's already there with the bread and stuffing. It's the same thing.”
California chef Andrew Gruel told Fox News Digital that using dry or toasted bread helps it absorb more flavor. (St. Petersburg)
If the bread is still too wet, “you'll end up with an eggy custard” instead of the filling, Gruel says.
Gruel said he prefers toasting bread rather than sitting around and letting it go stale.
“You take the bread, dice it up, put it in the oven and toast it. It gets dry,” he said.
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Another benefit of toasting the bread is that it gives it a “beautiful brown flavor,” she said.
Chef Todd English is also a proponent of non-baked bread, he told Fox News Digital.
Both chefs agreed that dry bread (preferably toasted) is best for stuffing. (St. Petersburg)
English is a multiple James Beard Award winner and operates numerous restaurants across the United States, including Bentley Residences Miami in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida.
“It’s made with cornbread,” he said, specifying “toasted cornbread.”
He said using toasted bread gives it a better flavor than fresh or stale bread.
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“What I've found is that toasted cornbread or toasted bread absorbs all of those flavors and makes for a filling that's a little more hearty and delicious than using fresh bread.” he said.
“Toasted bread absorbs all those flavors and makes for a better stuffing.”
“It absorbs flavor well,” English added.
The flavor may also vary depending on how the stuffing is prepared.
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“A lot of people will taxidermy the bird when it's raw and just starting to eat,” English said, noting that her mother preferred this method.
Chef Todd English told Fox News Digital that he likes to make toasted cornbread stuffing. (St. Petersburg)
“I tend to want to roast the turkey first and then make the stuffing for the sides,” he said.
However, there is some middle ground. That means stuffing the turkey “within the last hour” of cooking.
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By doing this, English says, the stuffing will benefit from the turkey's juices and the turkey itself will cook properly.
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“When you heat the stuffing, it also absorbs some of the juices,” he says.
