My first mother-in-law, Mary Cheatham, cooked this traditional family recipe. She learned how to make dressing from her mother. She always did everything the same way, and the results never varied.. (Because her name was Mary and for a few more reasons, I have reverted to the name Mary Lou Cheatham to avoid confusion.)
Mom’s Dressing, Her Original Recipe
2 batches cornbread prepared according to the instructions on the mix (Mom used Martha White buttermilk mix.)½ - ⅔ large loaf white sandwich bread
6 large onions
1 bunch of celery less 2 stalks
½ bunch parsley
1½ teaspoons thyme
1 teaspoon sage
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
Salt to taste
5 large eggs
Hot water or chicken broth (depending on the use of the dressing.)
Cooking oil
In a huge pan crumble the cornbread; tear the white bread into small pieces.
Sauté the celery and onions in oil but do not allow them to brown. Cut the long stems off the parsley and tear the parsley into small pieces. Stir the vegetables and the seasonings into the breadcrumbs. With vigorous stirring, add the eggs. Continuing to stir, add enough hot water to make a moist dressing. (Alternate directions: if the dressing is to be served as a side dish instead of stuffing, moisten it with chicken broth.)
Cook the dressing in a scant amount of oil in a large electric skillet until it is warm. Adjust the seasonings according to your mood.
Store the dressing in the refrigerator until it is time to stuff the turkey. (If the dressing is to be served as a side dish at a later time, bake it until it is light golden brown on top. Store it in the freezer.)
A Few Notes
To stuff or not to stuff. We quit stuffing our turkey years ago. Instead we cook our turkey separately. That way we can easily bring our dressing to the required temperature of 165°F.
About making the turkey taste not so gamy. (A little off the subject) When we cook our turkey, we rub olive-and-canola oil blend and sea salt all over the turkey inside and out and place big chunks of onion and celery inside the big turkey cavity and the little cavity after removing the giblet package. Also we slip slices of oranges, peeling included, under the turkey's skin.
Alternate ingredient: My friend Debbie told me she sautés the vegetables for her dressing in butter. That sounds yummy.
Just a reminder: Stuffing is cooked inside a bird, and dressing is cooked outside of it. My mother-in-law used this recipe to stuff a turkey, and she always had two cake pans of it left over no matter how big her bird was.
One more note. My daughter and I have stopped cooking the dressing in a small amount of oil when we bake it immediately after stirring up all that goodness. (See the last step of the recipe.) Mom did that to avoid food poisoning from stored raw eggs. Instead of frying it again, we mix it just before we bake it. Then there is no danger. I never stuff a bird. Instead I cook it in a separate pan. It’s lighter and lower in calories. Also there’s no danger this way. The problem of food poisoning arises when a bird is stuffed.
Embellishments. Mom never added meat to the dressing on Thanksgiving, but the day after she stirred leftover turkey into it, mostly dark meat, along with a small amount of giblet gravy. She called this hash. One year, my daughter and I stirred in some andouille and Tasso. It was delicious. My mother made a similar batch of dressing, in which she added dark chicken meat, possibly hen.
Safety. When the women and men in our family prepare dressing, we always adhere to strict safety rules. Mom was a stickler, who made sure we learned what we should and shouldn't do to keep this food safe. To make sure we kept it safe, we have prepared the dressing ahead of time by baking it, transferring it to a slow cooker, and keeping it warm and safe there while we served it at a leisurely executed Thanksgiving dinner, where family and friends kept returning for seconds and thirds. Of course, we had to stir it.
From the USDA.gov, here are some safety questions and answers:
Why is it essential to use a food thermometer when cooking stuffed meat or poultry?
Cooking stuffed poultry, pork chops, and other meat can be somewhat riskier than cooking them unstuffed. Bacteria can survive in stuffing that has not reached the safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F, possibly resulting in foodborne illness. Even if the meat itself has reached this temperature, the stuffing may not have reached a temperature in all areas sufficient to destroy foodborne bacteria.
If stuffing does not reach 165 °F when the meat itself is done, further cooking will be required for the stuffing to reach 165 °F.
For optimal safety and uniform doneness, cook stuffing separately.
Can you make stuffing in a slow cooker?
It is safe to make stuffing in a slow cooker if you follow these guidelines:
The stuffing needs to be very moist.
Fill the slow cooker loosely no more than 2/3 full.
The lid should fit tightly on the slow cooker.
Start cooking on the high setting for at least 1 hour before reducing the setting to low.
Cook until the center of the stuffing reaches 165 °F as measured with a food thermometer.
If these guidelines have not been followed, discard the stuffing.
Consult your slow cooker manual for approximate times.
NOTE: Never place frozen stuffing or other frozen food in a slow cooker.
For a more detailed discussion, please go to
USDA Information about Cooking Dressing
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