Making Stuffing a Day Ahead and Reheating

[Philly Ray]

I'm sure this topic has been addressed many times, but I thought I would bring it up again for the benefit of those looking for the same timely information.

We are traveling for Thanksgiving this year and usually, I just make the stuffing when I get to my sister-in-law's house. But this year, I am making two versions of it and there might not be enough cooking/oven time and space.

If I make the stuffing the night before and refrigerate it, will it turn out ok when reheated the next day? Also, what is a good method for reheating (temp and time-wise)? Would I need to add more stock before reheating?

Here is the recipe I am using...

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/gi...

[Harters]

We generally make two stuffings to go with turkey. One is chestnut based - we make that up and freeze it well in advance, cooking it on the day. The other, sage & onion flavoured, is quick to prepare and gets made on the day.

[wahine88]

I posted a similar query. Do folks think it's OK to add bread cubes to wet ingredients the day before? Consensus seems to be to wait to add broth/eggs til right before waking.

Not sure about whether to add the bread cubes the first day, while the wet ingredients are hot (veggies/fresh herbs), or to add them the 2nd day, when they may not mix in as well. Suggestions? Thanks!

[greygarious]

Bread cubes will turn to mush if left in the wet ingredients overnight. You can prepare the three elements: drying the bread, cooking the veg, making the broth/egg mixture ahead of time but don't combine until no more than an hour before stuffing the bird or baking in a separate pan.

[Melanie Wong]

No, that's not true if you use high quality bread, lots of butter and appropriate amounts of liquid.

[wahine88]

Thanks for this advice, gregygarious! Happy Thanksgiving!

[Melanie Wong]

Ok, here's my sausage-sage-bread stuffing. It rested with the stock overnight in the fridge. I've transferred it to casserole dishes for baking today and smashed it down with a spoon to pack it in. As you can see the cubes of bread on the surface have sprung right back up after I pushed them down. Definitely not mush.

I will add that I'm in Northern California and our breads are heavier, denser and crustier than they may be in other parts of the country and maybe that accounts for our differences in results. Typically I'll use ciabatta, sourdough or Italian bread from a good bakery. They can drink up quite a bit of liquid and butter and still keep their integrity. I don't use a recipe, but when I've looked at the proportions in most recipes, I'm using nearly double the amount of liquid, gauging how much by the touch and look as it's absorbed. The bread doesn't turn mushy overnight and I'd think that with using half the amount I put in, even less of a chance. That's my experience spanning decades. This year, I had some La Brea french rolls saved in the freezer, cubed 'em and that's what you see in the photo.

Happy turkey day, y'all!

[jgg13]

I prepare mine right up to the step where it goes into the oven the day before. I pop it out of the fridge the next day for a few hours to come to temp and then pop it in the oven to cook at the appropriate time.

[Philly Ray]

Yeah, I think I might do something along those lines. Maybe do everything before the part where I add the eggs and broth the night before and then assemble and bake at my destination.

[Chocolatechipkt]

We always make the stuffing a day (or at least night) before. There haven't been any texture issues.

[smtucker]

I dont' really think reheating works for the "first" meal. The bread looses its special texture. You can however, cook the "wet" ingredients and have the bread, nuts, etc mixed together and then combine, along with the stock, just before they go into the oven the next day. The time it will take in your sister-in-laws oven to warm is actually about the same as cooking it for the first time after all.