Turkey Stuffing - in a slow cooker

Technically, it’s stuffing if it’s (stuffed) in the bird, and dressing if it’s cooked outside the turkey. But whatever you call it, there’s never enough to go around if you only make enough to fit inside the turkey.

For years, I’ve been making the dressing in a corningware casserole dish in the oven. It’s a bit drier than the inside-the-turkey-cooked stuffing, but with a giant splash of gravy, it’s not bad. And all the low-fat, low cholesterol people opt for it. This year at Thanksgiving I wondered if I could make dressing in the crockpot. The oven tends to dry things out, and the crockpot tends to keep things extra moist.  Hmmm. . . maybe the crockpot would approximate the environment of the inside of the turkey.

My mom always made stuffing with cubes.  Marilyn always made it with crumbs.  She never had a recipe - she said you just had to add poultry seasoning and smell it as you go along. But for the purposes of this blog, I actually followed a recipe and measured. And used the actual ingredients in the recipe. It only hurt a little. (You're welcome, daughters.)

Stuffing can be pre-prepared to a great extent, but should ONLY be stuffed into the turkey just before it’s popped in the oven.  Bacteria, and all that.
I made my own bread crumbs back in September by dicing the bread into small cubes and baking in a 200º oven until they were nice and dry.

Because I had 6 dozen buns (leftover from one of Tegan's events), and I got bored with  chopping, I also tore the bread into chunks and dried them in the oven too. Then on the day I made the stuffing, I threw the chunks into a food processor and turned them into crumbs. When you consider you can get a day old loaf of bread for a buck, but the same amount of pre-made bread crumbs costs about 4 or 5 bucks, it’s worth making your own. I stored both crumbs and cubes in plastic bags.

My little experiment turned out really well and the stuffing cooked this way was absolutely as moist and delicious as the turkey batch. I'm planning a repeat for Christmas.

I've got a very good chopper.

1/4 cup olive oil (You can also use margarine or butter)
2 onions, chopped
6 stalks celery, chopped
2 cups chopped mushrooms
pepper to taste
3 tsp dried thyme
3 tsp dried marjoram
3 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
12-14 cups dried bread cubes
1 1/2 c chicken, turkey or vegetable stock (I use a bouillon paste and mix it with boiling water. But bouillon cubes in water will work just fine.)
1 egg + 2 egg whites  (if you aren't worried about cholesterol, go ahead and use 2-3 eggs)
1 package frozen or fresh cranberries (not dried - they are too sweet)
2-3 cups roasted pecans

1. In large Dutch oven, cook the onions for 10 minutes to soften. Add celery, , mushrooms and pepper, stirring often, for about 25 minutes or until softened. 
2. In large bowl, toss bread cubes (or crumbs) with spices. 
3. Stir in onion mixture tossing until moistened. 
4. Toss in cranberries and pecans. 
5. Add eggs and broth, tossing with hands to mix. Always mix in by tossing gently with your hands: if you mix vigorously with a spoon, you might get a bit of a mash. 
6. Grease slow cooker with olive oil.
7. Spoon stuffing into slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour, then on low for 4-6 hours.  

If you want to put some in the turkey, remove giblets and neck from turkey; reserve for stock or gravy. Rinse turkey under cold water; pat dry inside and out. Loosely fill body cavity with about 3 cups (750 mL) of the stuffing; close opening using needle and kitchen twine or skewer. Loosely fill neck opening with some of the stuffing; fold neck skin over stuffing and skewer to back. 

Tuck legs under band of skin or tie together with string. Place, breast side down, (on rack if you have one) in roasting pan. Give the turkey a nice rub all over with olive oil or butter. Sprinkle with paprika or pepper, if desired.

For how long to cook a turkey, I defer to the Turkey Farmers of Canada.

Start by softening the onions

Cook the onions and celery and mushrooms until nice and soft.

Meanwhile, toss the bread with the spices. . .

Add in the nuts and berries. . .

And the egg and broth.

 

Grease the crockpot

Throw it all in the crockpot and cook.

If you want to do some in the turkey, make sure you don't pack it too tightly. Just stuff it in with your hands loosely.

Close up the turkey as best you can.  Use metal or wooden skewers. My mom used to sew it shut with needle and thread. Sometimes I use a nifty silicone food loop with a needle on the end, if I can find it. Allison gave it to me one year and it's pretty cool.

Tie up the legs and give it a good rub.

Place breast down. I know this goes against conventional wisdom, but I read it somewhere and it makes sense. The breast stays moist because the juices are running down into it.  Trust me. 

p.s. I just came across this recipe for stuffing from my mom, with edits from sister!