Don't Stuff The Bird: Awesome Turkey Dressing In 4 Easy Steps

On Friday, I told you why you shouldn't stuff your turkey. I also promised that I'd tell you how to make a turkey dressing that is cooked outside of the bird that tastes at least as good as stuffing cooked inside the turkey.

It can be done, and it is not that difficult.

1. Turkey Infusion
   Why does stuffing cooked inside a turkey taste good? It tastes good because it catches a lot of drippings from the turkey. The stuffing soaks up that flavor. I made a rich turkey stock from turkey necks and wings. My dressing will get tossed and basted with some of this. The rest of it will go towards gravy. When the dressing is ready to be served, it will get tossed in a bowl with some of the drippings from the roast turkey. It isn't going to miss out on turkey flavor.
2. Use Fat
   Fat carries flavor. Turkey drippings will help with this, but we also want to get some in at earlier stages. Remember the turkey stock? I skimmed a good bit of fat off of that. I'll use this fat to saute vegetables that will go into the dressing. You can also mix a bit of sausage in with your stuffing if you want.
3. Let It Blend
   I'm going to start cooking my dressing before Thanksgiving day. I'll toss together most of the ingredients and bake it at a low temperature for a bit, basting it with my turkey infusion. Then I'll let it hang out in the refrigerator overnight. You know how some things are better the next day? This is one of them. That's an advantage you can't get when you stuff the bird. On Thanksgiving, I'll mix some eggs into the stuffing (maybe with some sausage), and bake it to get a nice crust.
4. Vary Texture
   Did I say crust? That's another thing you don't really get when you stuff the bird. Stuffing tends to be spongy and soggy. You don't get much texture variation. With dressing, you can... and I like to play to advantages. I'll use a ton of different ingredients with different textures. In terms of bread this year, I'm thinking challah and pumpernickel. I might throw some bagel in there, too.