About the Recipe
I love French Bread Dressing, and this is what I make for our Thanksgiving Dinner. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. French bread dressing is that perfect combination of seasonings dominated by sage, complementing the flavor of the herb-roasted turkey.
As a kid, we never had cornbread dressing even though we ate a lot of cornbread. Perhaps cornbread was too common for us and french bread dressing was special. I just don’t know. But I do remember it being stuffed into the turkey. Please don’t do that. bake it separately to avoid salmonella poisoning, which is more prevalent with today’s poultry.
Make sure you buy your bread a day or two before preparing it so it can go stale. It holds up better in the mixture this way. You don’t want the dressing to be mush, but has some texture to give you the contract textures when you bite into it.
Variations
I have a hard time recommending variations of this recipe because I love it just the way it is. However, I know people like different things than I do and I’ve come up with some variations that you might enjoy.
You could try adding some different vegetables such as parsnips or turnips along with the diced carrots.
You consider some sweet variations with apples, cranberries, walnuts, and raisins. I look forward to hearing from you about your creations, and maybe I will create some of my own and let my family try them.
Equipment Needed
I love making this dish in a cast iron skillet, but if that doesn’t fit your theme then Corningware French White serving dishes make an elegant way to serve this dish. You can also use any stoneware bakeware that you have.
French Bread Dressing
This recipe is a great way to use stale breads that have a hearty structure. It is a savory bread pudding with sage.Â
Baking it open in the pan gives you different textures of crispy, soft, and light.
Ingredients
Option Substitution
Instructions
-
French Bread Dressing Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees if making immediately.
In a 10-inch cast iron skillet, melt the butter add the salt, onions, and celery (or mirepoix) instead of onions and celery) to the pan. Sautee the onions and celery on medium-low until they start to caramelize.
While the onions and celery are sauteeing, mix the chicken stock, poultry seasoning, sage, pepper, and eggs in a large mixing bowl.
Break the stale French bread into large chunks about the size of golf balls.
When the onions and celery are finished, add them to the chicken stock mixture and toss in the bread chunks until all the bread is thoroughly soaked but not falling apart. If you want to use the pan to serve it in, add 2 T of butter to the pan and spread evenly, then move all ingredients back into the cast iron skillet, and place in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees.
Bale for 30 minutes until the top is golden brown and the temperature is 165.
Remove from oven and serve in pan on a trivet.
You can also use the dressing in the pan as a bed for the carved turkey on the table.
If you prepare this ahead of time, prepare the day before, and let the pan cool before placing ingredients inside. Cover and place in the fridge until baking time. Do not store uncooked for more than a day. Place pan directly in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until internal temperature is 165.
Alternate Serving method. You can grease a Corningware French White casserole with butter and pour all the ingredients in it, cover with a lid, and store in the fridge for max one day. When ready to bake, remove the lid and place the casserole dish in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until the top is golden brown.
