Recipe: Casserole Stuffing with Giblets

Casserole Stuffing with Giblets
rec.food.cooking/Karen Selwyn (1997)

For years, people have teased me about my casserole stuffing, claiming I had been intimidated by the food police and insisting that my stuffing wouldn't be as good as stuffing in the bird. Every year they concede defeat. Here's what I do:

The day before Thanksgiving ...

Reserve the giblets when preparing your turkey the day before. I generally wash the turkey, dry it, rub fresh lemon juice inside and out and sprinkle salt and pepper in the cavity.)

Buy a package of chicken hearts or livers or mixed giblets (1-1 1/2 lbs.) Put the giblets from the turkey and the giblets which you purchased in a saucepan along with 3 cups chicken stock, 1 cup dry white wine, one peeled onion cut into quarters, one stalk celery, and one peeled carrot cut into large chunks. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for two hours.

Remove giblets from stock, cool and refrigerate. Cool stock. When stock is cool, skim scum off the top. Refrigerate. (Note: The stock will be cloudy, but that is not noticeable when mixed with the bread and the stuff that makes the stock cloudy adds more flavor to the final product.)

Clarify 6-8 tablespoons butter. Using the clarified butter (it will
yield approximately 3-4 tablespoons), saute 1 1/2 pounds thickly sliced mushrooms. (Note: I recommend wild mushrooms. This year I used crimini which are simply small-sized portabello mushrooms.) Saute the mushrooms in the clarified butter and season with salt and pepper. Allow the mushrooms to cool, then refrigerate.

On Thanksgiving day...

Combine 1 (16 oz) bag of Pepperidge Farm bread stuffing with 8 ounces melted butter and 2 1/2 cups of the stock from the step with the giblets according to package directions. (Note: If you have used home-made stock from lots of bones, the stock will have gelled overnight and it will be necessary to warm the stock for measuring and mixing.)

Lightly beat two eggs and mix with stuffing. Dice the chicken/turkey giblets. Add the giblets and the sauteed mushrooms to the stuffing.

Place mixture into casserole with a good fitting lid. Bake, covered, in 350 degree oven for 1 hour (Note: To coordinate my timing with the other dishes, I let the stuffing bake fifteen extra minutes this year with no loss of quality, but I wouldn't let it go longer than that.)