Andrew Coppolino asks: to stuff or not to stuff (the turkey)?

There's an old joke that applies at Thanksgiving dinner in which a youngster sitting at the festive table with the family declines the offer of a second helping of turkey.

"No thanks," he says."But I'd like more of that bread he ate."

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No doubt turkey stuffing has a place of prominence on the Thanksgiving groaning board, but the question is: what is the best way to make it? Not the ingredients, necessarily, but whether it should be prepared inside the bird or outside.

In some cases it represents an issue of family unity, at least according to Gord Cooledge, executive chef at the University of Waterloo.

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"My daughter would leave home if we didn't stuff the turkey, because she loves it so much," Cooledge said, though he addedhe might "put in a good chorizo sausage or use a dark rye bread or a rosemary baguette to give it a different flavour and have a bit of fun with it."

Make dressing, not stuffing

Such weighty family matters notwithstanding, there are a few very good reasons for making stuffing outside of the turkey (in which case we might call it "dressing").

The first is that you can decrease the cooking time with an unstuffed bird by anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes.

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Next, with a stuffed bird, for health and safety reasons you need to the get the temperature of that stuffing to 165-degrees Fahrenheit (74 Celsius). That, in turn, can mean dry poultry of Chevy Chase Christmas Vacationproportions.

Regardless, if you choose to stuff your turkey in the traditional way you need about one-quarter pound of stuffing for every pound that your bird weighs remember it's a good idea to re-weigh the turkey after it is stuffed to get the correct cooking time per pound.

Or you can do both

Time-honoured turkey-stuffing techniques still seem to rule. Cooking instructor Donna-Marie Pye of Waterloo's Relish Cooking Studio calls herself a traditionalist and stuffs the turkey but also has an out-of-the-bird back-up at the ready.

"Any excess stuffing I'll put in my slow cooker. It depends on the size of the crowd that I have, but for large gatherings, I will make an extra side dish of stuffing in the slow cooker for sure," said Pye, who will add seasonal apples to the stuffing to give a boost to the standard sage, onions and parsley flavours.

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Across town at Kitchener's The Culinary Studio in Belmont Village, chef and instructor Kirstie Herbstreit hedges her betsand, with craft and cunning, preserves family expectations.

"I like to do both. I like to stuff the bird and do some stuffing on the outside because there's never enough," Herbstreit said when it comes to stuffing or dressing.

She recommends browning two or three turkey necks in a pan, adding the stuffing ingredients and roasting it separately, which gets the best flavour and keeps your guests happy.

"When the turkey is done, I'll mix both of the stuffings together so you get maximum flavour, and no one's the wiser."

Turkey stuffing for inside or outside the bird

Donna-Marie Pye's slow cooker country-style sage and bread stuffing (for slow cooker size: 3 to6 quart).

Ingredients
cup butter
2 onions, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 teaspoons dried rosemary, crumbled
1 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoons dried marjoram
1 teaspoons dried sage
1 teaspoons salt
teaspoon ground nutmeg
teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 loaf day-old sourdough bread cut into - inch cubes (about 10 cups)
1 cups chicken, turkey or vegetable stock

Method
In a large non-stick skillet, heat butter over medium-high heat. Add onions and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10minutesor until onions are softened. Add parsley, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, sage, salt, nutmeg and pepper. Cook, stirring, for one minute.

Place bread cubes in a large bowl and add onion mixture; stir to combine. Slowly add stock, tossing gently to moisten. Transfer to slow cooker stoneware. Cover and cook on high for one hour. Reduce heat to low and cook for two to threehours, or until heated through.

The slow cooker will keep the stuffing at serving temperature. Keep on low for up to three hours after stuffing is cooked.

Andrew Coppolino's Oktoberfest Sausage and Sauerkraut Turkey Stuffing

Ingredients
2 Oktoberfest sausages, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon butter
1 large white onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, including leaves, diced
teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoons caraway seeds, crushed lightly
1 tablespoon sweet Oktoberfest-style mustard
salt and pepper
cup German-style beer
3-4 cups sauerkraut, drained
8-10 cups dark or marble rye bread, cubed
1 cups turkey or chicken stock, as needed

Method
In a large pan, saut the Oktoberfest sausage pieces until just cooked. Remove and reserve warm.

In the sausage fat, saut the onion, garlic, celery, thyme and caraway seeds over medium heat until combined. Add butter to moisten, as needed.Add the mustard and stir. Season with salt and pepper and cook 10 to 12 minutes, or until vegetables are soft, but not mushy.

Pour in the beer and scrape the bottom of the pan to release the tasty brown bits. Cook for four to five minutes until ingredients are combined. Take the pan off the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the sausage, vegetables and sauerkraut. Add the bread cubes slowly and toss until you get the consistency you want. Season again with salt and pepper.

Stuff the bird with the sausage-sauerkraut mixture and cook as you would normally roast your turkey. Make sure the stuffing temperature reaches 165 F.

If cooking the stuffing outside of the bird, follow Pye's method for the slow cooker: add the stock a bit at a time and toss gently to incorporate. Transfer the stuffing to the slow cooker, coverand cook on high heat for about one hour. Reduce heat to low and cook for two to threehours longer, or until heated through.