Moms Old German Stuffing Recipe 425

Steps:

• This is a family recipe that my mother learned from her Swiss/German mother in Milwaukee. Everyone who eats it never wants that boring old bread stuffing again. It contains smoked oysters from those cute little flat tins, pork sausage, ground beef, mushrooms, celery, onion, apples, raisins, pecans and some seasoned breadcrumbs, garlic salt and pepper to taste. It's Sauteed together till cooked and mixed. Then you let it cool and stuff it into the bird so it absorbs all the wonderful turkey juice. It comes out very moist and delicious.
• In a little saute pan you take a few (4-5) smoked oysters and brown in butter, then mash up really well with a fork.
• In a large dutch oven, brown 1/3 sausage to 2/3 parts ground beef (probably 2 1/2-3lb burger and a roll of sausage).
• Add 2 cups each onion, celery, mushrooms and stir well.
• Season meat with garlic salt and pepper to taste.
• Toss in the mashed oysters, 1 or 2 large apples, cored and diced (you can leave on the peel), and a healthy handful of raisins and a cup of chopped pecans.
• When this is all thoroughly cooked and well mixed, put in about 1 cup of seasoned bread crumbs and stir well. The crumbs should absorb most of the juice. If not, you can add a bit more until it all sticks together nicely.
• Nibble a spoonful or two to judge taste and season if needed. (We always knew it was perfect when my father wouldn't put his spoon down after sampling, until mother took it away from him and chased him outta the kitchen.)
• Set aside to cool. (Outside is great if it's cold enough, with a lid on to keep out varmits lurking on the back porch.) After it has cooled enough to handle, stuff into both cavities of the bird, the inside front first. Really pack it in. I use my hands for this. Put the balance into the neck cavity, pulling the skin to cover and fasten the skin securely.
• If you can't get it all in the bird, put in a little pie pan, cover with foil and let cook in the oven. Add to what comes out of the bird after cooking. Butter the bird and season with salt and pepper. We cook ours in a cooking bag so we don't loose any juice (follow the directions for cooking bag). After the bird is cooked and browned, let it rest appropriate amount of time. Spoon out dressing into serving dish. Garnish with a bit or two of fresh parsley. Wonderful with gravy over the top. Makes excellent leftovers if it isn't all eaten up at dinner. It's also great cold when raiding the fridge in middle of night.

Steps:

• Brown the above three ingredients in ¼ cup butter Mix all above, salt & pepper to taste. You can add Raisin's (or not)..... We let sit over night in refrigerator, then before baking add 2 eggs and mix, pour in pan and bake 350 degrees for approx. 45 minutes (until mixture is done and crusty on top).

Steps:

• Allow the toasted bread to sit approximately 24 hours, until hard.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
• Crush the bread into crumbs with a rolling pin. Place the crumbs in a large bowl.
• Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and celery and slowly cook until soft. Remove from heat and drain.
• Mix the eggs and chicken broth into the bread crumbs. The mixture should be moist, but not mushy. Use water, if necessary, to attain desired consistency. Mix in the onion, celery, rubbed sage, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
• Press the mixture into the baking dish. Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until the top is brown and crisp.

Steps:

• Saute sausage until brown; remove from pan and cut into small bites.
• In a large skillet, melt butter and cook onion, celery, and mushrooms over medium heat for 3 minutes or until softened.
• Transfer sausage and veggies, including any butter that is left in the pan to a bowl.
• Add stuffing mix, bread cubes, sage, thyme, poultry seasoning, salt, pepper, pecans, turkey stock, and eggs.
• Toss well and adjust seasoning.
• Stuffing should be moist but not soggy. Add more stock if needed.
• Transfer to a baking dish.
• Bake in a 325 degree Fahrenheit oven for 20 minutes covered and 10 minutes uncovered until heated through and crust forms on top.
• Or better yet stuff it into a big fat turkey.