Thanksgiving Stuffing Balls
This post could get me in some trouble. You see, this is a serious traditional side in our family and I don't know how they'll feel about me putting it out "in the wild", as it were.

It might be surprising to some that, although I've been making these since I left home 24 years ago, I've never had a recipe. It's one of those things that I've always made by look and feel. Well, you can't share something you can't document and repeat, so tonight I actually cooked these scientifically and documented it.

The idea of stuffing balls might seem odd, but it really makes a lot of sense. First, let me say that I am not a fan of stuffing my turkey. It slows down the cooking and the meat is overcooked by the time the stuffing is at a safe temperature, but I digress. However, I am a great fan of stuffing, which leaves me with the prospect of making dressing (stuffing that isn't stuffed). This leads us to the perfect combination of crunchy and soft and moist stuffing (dressing) that is stuffing balls.

Enough of the explanation, let's get on the business end of some cooking.

Ingredients
1 bag (14 oz) Cubed herb stuffing (I prefer Pepperidge Farm)
2 cups Chicken broth
2 stalks Celery, diced to about 1/4" (approximately 1 cup)
1/2 medium Onion, diced to about 1/4" (approximately 1/2 cup)
1 can (10 3/4 oz) Condensed cream of mushroom soup (Campbell's of course)
3 Tbsp Unsalted butter, melted
2 Tbsp Olive oil
1 tsp Garlic salt
1/2 tsp Ground poultry seasoning
1/4 tsp Ground white pepper

Method
Heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium-high heat.

Add the celery and saute five minutes.

Add the onion and saute five minutes more.

Put the soup, broth, garlic salt, poultry seasoning and pepper in a large mixing bowl.

Add the sauteed celery and onion to the bowl and mix well.

Preheat your oven to 375º.

Add the stuffing cubes to the bowl and mix very well.

Let the stuffing sit in the bowl 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Using your hands, gently form the stuffing into 2 1/2" balls (about eight) and place them on a large non-stick or lightly greased sheet pan. Make sure there is at least an inch between each ball.

Note: Compress the balls just enough to hold their shape.

Bake on the middle rack one hour or until the balls are nicely browned.

Remove the pan from the oven and lightly brush each ball with the melted butter.

Serve and enjoy! (Makes 8 servings)BG7PV5WP9AB7

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4 Comments:
Anonymous Nick said...
Hi, just wanted to drop a note and idea for you. This recipe is also an old one in my family and have never seen it other than at family gatherings - so I couldn't help but have to write that these are awesome!

Short story for you and idea - last thanksgiving I was stuck in the city and had dinner with a few guy friends from work. It was a very much a dude day as we deep fried that turkey outside. I made these and decided to put a simple batter on them and we tossed the balls in after the turkey, I mean why not? Let me just say, if you like fried foods - these were abdurd - so good. I also took way too much time to do the same things with mac&cheese but that's a whole different story.

Love the blog, am a bbq beginner, and will be making your compound butter this weekend.
Anonymous Anonymous said...
I've made these today for Christmas Day. Of course I had to sample one, and I must say that I'm not disappointed. Very moist inside and crispy outside. If these reheat well, then this is definitely a keeper !
Blogger Unknown said...
They will reheat fine, just heat them slowly uncovered in a low oven. Or, heat them at 350* covered with foil for about 15 minutes, then uncover them and cook another 10 minutes or so to re-crisp the outside.
Blogger Unknown said...
Definitely trying these!

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