What’s the difference between stuffing and dressing? It’s in the cooking. If you stuff it inside a turkey or chicken, it’s stuffing. If you bake it on the side, it’s dressing.
For many, cooking at least some of it inside the bird is an unwaivering holiday tradition despite very real concerns about food-borne illness. Problems arise when the dense stuffing, deep inside the cavity, is not able to reach and maintain a high enough temperature to kill pathogens. So here’s how to make the stuffing safe: partially cook it outside the bird to jump start its temperature.
Place your stuffing in a microwave-safe dish and microwave on high for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring once or twice. Your goal is a stuffing temperature of 120 to 130 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. Without a thermometer, that means stuffing that’s too hot to handle with bare hands.
Carefully stuff the bird while the stuffing is still hot, roast as usual and enjoy. I found this tip many years ago in Cook’s Illustrated and it’s a good solution to a perpetual problem.
Related post on From Scratch: Be Safe and Do NOT Wash the Turkey
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I love your blog. Very well written and I find a lot of your tips and recipes very useful. Ill be coming back for more
Alisa’s last blog post..Comin? round the mountain
Thank you, Alisa, and welcome. I do hope you’ll be back but more important, I hope you and yours have a wonderful Thanksgiving.