THE BEST Turkey Stuffing – - – EVER !!!

Down East Poultry Stuffing

Usually a day or two before a holiday I call my sister in Connecticut and we talk about what we are preparing for the “big dinner” and she always asks “are you making Grammies stuffing?” Our family and our extended family just rave about this stuffing that has been handed down from my grandmother, modified by my father, and over the last few years I’ve made some changes to it as well. Everyone wants a take-home bag of this stuffing!

In addition to being a delicious stuffing for turkey or chicken, it is a wonderful alternative to bacon or sausage with eggs for breakfast (just form it into a patty and fry). It also makes a wonderful filling for butterflied pork chops.

Back in the 1950s, my grandmother raised chickens in Rumford, Maine and sold the eggs. When we’d go to visit in the summer, she would prepare a big chicken dinner for us all and we’d eat outside in the small (snow) apple orchard in front of her house. She would always make this stuffing and my father would beg her for the instructions on how to make it. She always said, “oh, I just throw it together with some of this and some of that”. We were finally able to get it written down. Over the years my father changed the recipe a bit, but it was still that wonderful Maine stuffing!

Over the years I kept my father’s version of this recipe and made one small change (using chicken broth rather than water early in the cooking process), which really enhances the down home flavor.

Ingredients

1 pound of 90% lean ground beef

1 pound ground pork

1 large, or two medium yellow onions – medium dice

5 stalks of celery (with leafy tops), medium dice

1 large green bell pepper, medium dice

2 teaspoons coarse salt

2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper

1 tablespoon Bell’s Poultry Seasoning

2 14 oz. cans of prepared chicken broth OR 4 cups home-made chicken stock

¼ cup fresh chopped curly parsley

¼ cup real maple syrup

One large bag of Pepperidge Farm Corn Bread Stuffing

½ cup water or chicken stock (if needed at the end)

1 cup plain bread crumbs (if needed at the end)

Recipe instructions:

In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add the ground pork and with a wooden spoon break it up rendering its fat without draining it off. Add the ground beef also breaking it up until it is loose and blend the two meats together.

Next, add all of the vegetable ingredients (onion, celery, green pepper) and blend it into the meat mixture. Season with the coarse salt and black pepper and mix well.

Add the chicken broth (or stock) until the liquid just covers the other ingredients, cover and reduce the heat to medium-low. Let this simmer slowly until all of the vegetables are tender (approximately 20 to 25 minutes).

Remove the pot from the heat and add the chopped parsley, Bell’s Seasoning, and maple syrup and stir together until those ingredients are completely incorporated making sure that the seasoning and maple syrup are throughout the mixture.

Lastly, add the Pepperidge Farm Corn Bread Stuffing Mix and with the wooden spoon combine until all of the bread is soaked into the wet mixture. This should be a very firm but moist mixture. If too thin (wet), you can add some plain bread crumbs. If firm, you can add some additional chicken broth or water. This makes a large quantity of stuffing – serves 8 – 10, but you will want more for leftovers!!

Stuff chicken or turkey loosely with the stuffing and roast according to brand instructions.

Set aside additional stuffing in a casserole dish with a cover or foil and heat at 325 until completely warmed through.

For breakfast, form cold stuffing into 3 inch round patties of even thickness and fry on medium heat with a little butter or margarine until lightly golden on both sides – serve with your favorite style of eggs.

For stuffed pork chops – butterfly the chops, and fill with a ½ cup of room-temperature stuffing adding a pat of butter to the top. Bake at 375 degrees in a lightly greased casserole dish until the pork chops are thoroughly cooked. Serve with a side of steamed green beans.

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