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Thanksgiving: Extra-Crispy Skillet Stuffing

Source of Recipe

From "America's Test Kitchen Thanksgiving Playbook"


Recipe Introduction

"To maximize the crunchy, buttery portion of our holiday stuffing, we started by toasting bread cubes (we used a baguette for its high crust-to-bread ratio) in a hot oven, instead of simply drying them out. We then moistened the bread cubes in a mixture of chicken broth and eggs. We melted butter in a skillet, packed in the stuffing, and let it fry for a golden-brown bottom crust. Finally, we brushed the stuffing with melted butter and transferred the skillet to the oven to crisp up the top."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 1 ½ pounds baguette, cut into ½-inch cubes (18 cups)
â—¦ 3 ¾ cups chicken broth
â—¦ 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
â—¦ 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
â—¦ 2 onions, chopped fine
â—¦ 3 celery ribs, minced
â—¦ 1 ½ teaspoons salt
â—¦ 1 ½ tablespoons minced fresh thyme
â—¦ 1 ½ tablespoons minced fresh sage
â—¦ 3 cloves garlic, minced
â—¦ ¾ teaspoon pepper


Recipe

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Arrange bread evenly on rimmed baking sheet and bake until light golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes, stirring halfway through baking. Let bread cool completely. Do not turn off oven.

Whisk broth and eggs together in large bowl. Stir bread into broth mixture until evenly coated. Set aside, stirring occasionally, to saturate bread.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in 12-inch oven-safe nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onions, celery, and salt and cook until browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in thyme, sage, garlic, and pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir onion mixture into bread mixture.

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in now-empty skillet over low heat. Add stuffing to skillet, pressing firmly into even layer with spatula (skillet will be very full). Cook until bottom of stuffing is browned around edges when lifted with spatula, 7 to 10 minutes.

Melt remaining 3 tablespoons butter in microwave and brush evenly over top of stuffing. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until center of stuffing is hot and top is golden brown, about 20 minutes, rotating skillet halfway through baking. Let cool for 10 minutes. Serve.

Serves 8