Do you stuff your turkey?

[sljones]

Do you stuff your turkey or not, and why? My husband loves the stuffing from the turkey, so I'm considering stuffing the turkey using cheescloth so that I can easily remove it. I was thinking that while the turkey rests, I could continue to heat the stuffing in the oven to achieve a safe temp of 165 degrees.

Any pitfalls to this approach? What do you do?

sljones

[sheiladeedee]

I don't stuff the main cavity anymore but I always put a little stuffing in the skin of the neck cavity to plump it out, and that piece of skin/stuffing is MINE.

The suggestion to heat the stuffing in the microwave is a good one - I used to do that before I decided to not stuff. It cuts down the time the stuffing is in the dangerous temperature zone as well as decreasing the roasting time.

[missclaudy]

How much do you LOVE that sacred piece of neck skin? I also adore the tail. We used to fight over it in my family, you could get killed, or get a fork through your hand trying to be the first one at it.

[sheiladeedee]

Fortunately, I am the cook, and I make the rules. This is why the turkey gets carved in the kitchen!

[HaagenDazs]

There are many fond memories of myself, Dad and a cousin: the "eaters" in the family, and we'd sit down and pick the carcass clean.

As for stuffing - I say no.

[Karl S]

Those choice morsels belong to (1) Cook, or, if Cook delegates, to (2) Carver, in that order.

[missclaudy]

Heat the stuffing in the microwave right before you are ready to stuff it into and bake the turkey. This will absolutely make roasting time shorter.

[Val]

Yes, I stuff both ends with Pepperidge Farm stuffing because
1) it's the way I've always done it and 2) there would be an uprising if I didn't do it the way I've always done it!
(heh, my 27, 25 and 23 year old sons are pretty adventurous food-wise, but not for Thanksgiving! One year I tried adding chopped celery and onion to the stuffing and I got a unanimous "Don't change anything, PLEASE!) Sheesh!

[Janet from Richmond]

We always stuff the turkey because it's so much more flavorful and have no problem getting it out. If there is any that won't fit in the bird, we bake it separately and then mix the two together.

[Mr. Cookie]

The stuffing from inside the turkey is the best because it's full of hot turkey juices. We've never had any difficulty removing it with a long-handled spoon.

We always stuff but we usually have so much stuffing that we bake some separately, too. If the stuffing inside the bird hasn't reached the right temp when the bird is done, you can bake it separately in the oven while the bird rests.

Use a covered baking dish in either case.

[ipsedixit]

No - b/c it dries out the stuffing.

[Candy]

I don't stuff. The cheese cloth is a good idea and Bed Bath & Beyond Believable Prices is selling a stufffing cage that you can put the stuffing in and easily remove.

[missclaudy]

All due respect but Stuffing Cage? What would grandma say? What's so hard about taking the stuffing out of a turkey with a big spoon??????