Stuffing vs. Dressing (2024)

FAQs

Stuffing vs. Dressing? ›

"Stuffing is cooked in the cavity of the turkey, so the juices soak into the ingredients, making it more flavorful. Dressing gets cooked on its own and needs extra liquid to make it flavorful." So stuffing is cooked inside the bird. Dressing is cooked outside the bird, usually in a casserole dish.

The primary difference between stuffing and dressing is that stuffing is cooked inside a bird and dressing is made on the side. As with many food traditions in the U.S., regional loyalties to stuffing vs dressing abound.

Some people insist that it should be called dressing when it hasn't actually been stuffed inside a bird. But many people insist on one term or the other regardless of how it's prepared or what's in it. The term dressing is most commonly used in the South, but it's popular in pockets throughout the US.

The stuffing mixture may be cooked separately and served as a side dish, in which case it may still be called 'stuffing', or in some regions, such as the Southern US, 'dressing'. This is from Wiki. Basically, everyone except a tiny percentage of Black people with family in Alabama calls it stuffing.

One funny thing about “stuffing” is that, in Texas, some people say “stuffing” and some people say “dressing.” Traditionally, it was called stuffing, because you stuffed the turkey with it. Other families don't like to stuff the turkey at all – and prepare it in a pan, calling it dressing.

Dressing is made with cornbread, and is baked in a pan instead of inside the bird. I view Stove Top stuffing as a totally distinct entity from this most beloved of holiday dishes. It is not the stuff of celebrations, but it is a perfectly suitable side dish the rest of the year.

Broth: Chicken broth keeps the stuffing moist without making it soggy. Eggs: Two lightly beaten eggs help hold the dressing together and add moisture.

But for the Thanksgiving side dish in the South, the term dressing was adopted in place of stuffing, which was viewed as a crude term, during the Victorian era. Although dressing and stuffing are interchangeable terms, the signature ingredient of this Thanksgiving side dish in the South is cornbread.

Go south of the Mason-Dixon Line and in the Midwest and many call it dressing, regardless of if it is prepared in the bird or alongside in a casserole dish. Likewise, northern or northeastern states and the west coast typically lean toward stuffing.

In England, a stuffing is sometimes made of minced pork shoulder seasoned with various ingredients, such as sage, onion, bread, chestnuts, dried apricots, and dried cranberries. The stuffing mixture may be cooked separately and served as a side dish. This may still be called stuffing or it may be called dressing.

What are the three basic types of dressing? ›

In Western culture, there are three basic types of salad dressing: Vinaigrette; Creamy dressings, usually based on mayonnaise or fermented milk products, such as yogurt, sour cream (crème fraîche, smetana), buttermilk; Cooked dressings, which resemble creamy dressings, but are usually thickened by adding egg yolks and ...

Ironically, the term “dressing” replaced stuffing because many folks found it offensive. (Can you see all of the social media posts and hashtags that would have been made?) As far as stuffing/dressing becoming a regular staple of the Thanksgiving Day meal, there are written records as far back as 1836.

Why do Americans call a dish 'stuffing' if it is not stuffed? Stuffing was originally made, and often still is, by stuffing it into the cavity of the turkey, and letting it cook inside the turkey, absorbing its flavors while adding some of its own to the turkey.

The term dressing, per the History Channel, originated around the 1850s, when the Victorians deemed stuffing too crude for the dish to be named. This happened around the same time that the term “dark meat” began to refer to chicken legs and thighs.

This is down to a science: A 2015 survey conducted on behalf of the poultry company Butterball revealed that, regardless of how the dish was cooked, most of the country—including 100 percent of New Englanders—refers to the side as stuffing, while Southerners are devoted dressing fans.

In the South, it's called dressing. In the Northeast, it's called stuffing. MS: But I think you have to divide the country into thirds, because you're forgetting about filling, which is what they have in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, where the stuffing is supplemented by mashed potatoes.

Even when the meat reaches a safe temperature, the stuffing can still harbor bacteria, and if the meat is cooked until the stuffing reaches a safe temperature, the meat may be overcooked. For turkeys, for instance, the USDA recommends cooking stuffing separately from the bird and not buying pre-stuffed birds.

Stuffing is a mix of edible ingredients such as herbs, bread and a binder such as egg, traditionally stuffed into a meat cavity before it is cooked. Other ingredients in stuffing might be meat, nuts, butter, chopped vegetables and even fruit or oysters.

Stuffing should be moist, not dry, because heat destroys bacteria more rapidly in a moist environment.

Dressing: Dressing typically includes ingredients like cornbread, white bread, or biscuits, mixed with vegetables, herbs, spices, and sometimes sausage or other meats. It is often moistened with broth or stock and baked in a casserole dish until it forms a crust on top.