# Dressing or Stuffing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 20, 2013, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dressing-or-stuffing/674365 "2013-11-20T18:14:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dressing-or-stuffing/674365/41 "2013-11-21T00:06:02Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Good enough for me. “I’m willing to admit I was wrong.” -Alton Brown, _Stuff It_, Good Eats Episode #119 Good enough for me. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dressing-or-stuffing/674365/42 "2013-11-21T00:11:20Z")
Well played, **Labrador Deceiver**. Well played. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dressing-or-stuffing/674365/43 "2013-11-21T00:14:20Z")
I like goose and we always cook the stuffing separately. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dressing-or-stuffing/674365/44 "2013-11-21T01:02:28Z")
Stuffing is in the bird; dressing is on the stove top. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dressing-or-stuffing/674365/45 "2013-11-21T01:14:38Z")
Another vote for “I don’t care what you call it or whether it’s inside the bird or not, as long as there’s plenty”. And my family mostly cooks it outside the bird, so as to accommodate the many vegetarians in the family. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dressing-or-stuffing/674365/46 "2013-11-21T01:18:17Z")
I stuff the bird. My mother stuffed the bird and I stuff the bird. Nobody has ever gotten sick from eating my stuffing. If somebody is poisoning guests, it’s because he’s a moron who can’t read a thermometer. When the turkey is done, the dressing comes out. Check the temp with an instant-read: if too low, stick it in the microwave and blast it until it’s hot enough to kill Jesus. End of problem. Sometimes I mix the bird stuffing with the extra that has been cooking in the oven. The bird stuffing does indeed have a different flavor because all the juices that would have pooled in the cavity are now in the stuffing. That’s why you don’t make it too moist to begin with. As for giblets in the gravy, _that’s why it’s called giblet gravy._ The bits can always be strained out if your sensibilities are too delicate. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dressing-or-stuffing/674365/47 "2013-11-21T01:38:02Z")
Stuffing. Sometimes its all in the bird. For Thanksgiving that wouldn’t be enough for everyone so more is made outside of the bird. But its still stuffing. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dressing-or-stuffing/674365/48 "2013-11-21T01:57:28Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Stuffing is in the bird; dressing is on the stove top. Then why is it called, “Stove Top Stuffing”? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dressing-or-stuffing/674365/49 "2013-11-21T02:28:20Z")
Stuffing, in the bird. Because otherwise, it’s not stuffing, it’s dressing. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dressing-or-stuffing/674365/50 "2013-11-21T03:59:27Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > Stuffing, in the bird. > > Because otherwise, it’s not stuffing, it’s dressing. Dude, do not piss off your Grandmother. :dubious: ``` This forum requires that you wait 60 seconds between posts. Please try again in 3 seconds. ``` ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dressing-or-stuffing/674365/51 "2013-11-21T13:39:31Z")
Dressing, but only when my grandma makes it. She makes hers in patties so they’re cooked dry in the middle and have tons of gorgeous crispy crust. Then when you dunk 'em in the gravy, they soak it up without getting all sloppy or goopy or otherwise TEXTURE FAIL like a great big pan of the stuff tends to get. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dressing-or-stuffing/674365/52 "2013-11-21T15:27:38Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **Chefguy** : > > As for giblets in the gravy, that’s why it’s called giblet gravy. The bits can always be strained out if your sensibilities are too delicate. I volunteered at a Thanksgiving meal for the hungry, once, where the diners were given the choice of smooth gravy or giblet gravy. Far more opted for the giblet gravy than the actual giblets would accommodate, so the “giblets” were supplemented with hard-boiled eggs. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dressing-or-stuffing/674365/53 "2013-11-21T15:38:02Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > As for giblets in the gravy, _that’s why it’s called giblet gravy._ The bits can always be strained out if your sensibilities are too delicate. My mom always ground up the giblets and put them in the stuffing/dressing/whatever you call that bready stuff. I kind of liked it but my brother hated it. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dressing-or-stuffing/674365/54 "2013-11-21T15:41:56Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > Dressing, but only when my grandma makes it. She makes hers in patties so they’re cooked dry in the middle and have tons of gorgeous crispy crust. Then when you dunk 'em in the gravy, they soak it up without getting all sloppy or goopy or otherwise TEXTURE FAIL like a great big pan of the stuff tends to get. Crazy. Stuffing balls were a big tradition at our table growing up. The final product, if not the exact shape, is the same idea. Yours is the only other family I’ve heard about who does this. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dressing-or-stuffing/674365/55 "2013-11-21T15:44:11Z")
That actually sounds kind of good. I’ll have to try that on my own sometime. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dressing-or-stuffing/674365/56 "2013-11-21T15:52:56Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > Whether it’s cooked in the bird or not (and it really shouldn’t be), it’s stuffing. > > [This](https://www.hiddenvalley.com/products/dressings/) is dressing. Agreed. Even as a child, I never liked the term dressing for that reason. And we never actually stuff the bird anymore because the stuffing doesn’t get to a safe temperature. These days we’re brining or frying or curing and smoking the turkey. A cured/smoked turkey is the best. Stuffing is an afterthought for me unless there’s oysters in it. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dressing-or-stuffing/674365/57 "2013-11-21T15:55:20Z")
> [@Motorgirl](#): > > You might want to define how you mean the two terms. I know that some people use them interchangeably while others maintain there is a clear distinction. And I’m one of them. When you mix up the stuffing/dressing; part of it goes into the bird, and part of it is cooked in a pan. They’re the same thing to me from a preference POV. (as long as I get some) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dressing-or-stuffing/674365/58 "2013-11-21T16:22:51Z")
The stuffing/dressing distinction is relatively new to me–maybe within the last decade and a half I learned it. We always had stuffing, and we always called it stuffing because it was, well, stuffed in the bird. Plus there’s the whole “Stove Top Stuffing” marketing that solidified my idea of stuffing. It seems to me that true “dressing” is almost invariably of the cornbread variety. That is, the people I’ve known who’ve referred to “dressing” were always referencing the cornbread concoction, not the stale bread crumbs/croutons concoction. I may refer to stuffing cooked outside the bird as “dressing” in a tongue-in-cheek manner with my brother, but, colloquially, it’s “stuffing” around here, so far as I’ve noticed, whether it’s cooked in the turkey or not. As for the turkey discussion, as much as I love smoking meat–and I do love smoking meat–Thanksgiving needs a regular roast turkey for me. I’ve done the smoked turkey, and while my family was very happy with it, it just didn’t feel right to me. High heat roast turkey all the way for me, although it’s been years since I got a chance to make Thanksgiving dinner (we’ve been going to my in-laws for the last five years or so, and you just don’t mess with someone else’s Thanksgiving routine. 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dressing-or-stuffing/674365/59 "2013-11-21T16:24:35Z")
[Here’s the high-heat method, BTW](http://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/27/garden/high-heat-roasting-makes-tom-turkey-a-bird-of-paradise.html) Cook at 500 all the way through. Best. Bird. Ever. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dressing-or-stuffing/674365/60 "2013-11-21T16:27:36Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > [Here’s the high-heat method, BTW](http://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/27/garden/high-heat-roasting-makes-tom-turkey-a-bird-of-paradise.html) Cook at 500 all the way through. Best. Bird. Ever. Do you use a convection oven? Also, do you get a lot of smoke? I cook all my chickens at 500 or 550, and I often have a problem with smoke in the kitchen. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dressing-or-stuffing/674365.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dressing-or-stuffing/674365.md?page=4)