I’m a traditionalist when it comes to stuffing, and I still use the bread stuffing recipe in my 1976 Betty Crocker Cookbook. Betty Crocker calls for combining bread crumbs with lots of butter, minced onion and celery; and then seasoning with sage and thyme. That recipe is tasty – but this year I wanted to make an authentic hundred-year-old recipe, so was thrilled to find a Bread Stuffing recipe in a 1919 magazine.
The hundred-year-old recipe skips the onion and celery – and uses poultry seasoning instead of the individual spices that I usually use. It also calls for an egg that acts as a binder to help keep the stuffing from falling apart.
The seasoning for the old recipe was just right, and is perfect for those who want an authentic, old-fashioned bread stuffing recipe.
Here’s the original recipe:
And, here is the recipe updated for modern cooks:
Bread Stuffing
Note: This recipe makes enough stuffing to stuff a 2-3 pound chicken. Double recipe for a 5 – 6 pound chicken; quadruple for a 10-12 pound turkey.
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
2 cups soft bread crumbs (tear bread into 1-inch pieces)
1 egg, beaten
In a large bowl stir together, butter, salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning. Add bread crumbs and egg; stir gently until thoroughly combined. Scoop stuffing into chicken or turkey body and neck cavities. Cook poultry thoroughly. Remove stuffing from poultry, and place in a bowl. Fluff with a spoon or fork, and then serve. May also be served cold.
A Hundred Years Ago 
My mother always used Bell’s Seasoning, and used it for her stuffing, and I always have some among my own herbs and spices. It’s great for flavoring chicken broth when making soup as well!
Bell’s Seasoning is an old-time regional favorite.
I still like the addition of celery and onion.
So do I – though I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised by how tasty the old recipe was.
This is great for a beginning — and I always use egg, too. But no celery and onion? That just can’t happen!
Quite right!
Good point – additional ingredients can always be added to liven up a basic recipe.
Down here in Texas, pecans sometimes are added, as are oysters. I do love a good oyster and mushroom dressing! And of course cornbread is the bread of choice.
mmm. . . these all sounds like wonderful additions. There is definitely regional variation in the bread of choice for stuffing. 🙂
What is ‘poultry seasoning. please? And Shoreacres is right. No celery or onion? What dos it taste of then?
Poultry seasoning is a spice mixture that is available in the U.S. The exact spices vary from brand to brand, but poultry seasoning typically includes thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, and pepper.
Ah, that sounds pretty much like the idiom of good old British sage and onion stuffing then. Thanks.
sounds like a great stuffing base! thank you for sharing Sheryl.
It’s a nice basic recipe.
🙂 thank you again for sharing.
I understand not adding celery one hundred years ago, especially in Rural America where it must have cost a pretty penny, if you could even obtain it! But….EVERY rural home had bags and bags of onions in the root cellar that they bought or grew themselves! All that I can think of, as to the exclusion of onions, is that 100 years ago, food was VERY SIMPLE and wasn’t seasoned the way that we’re used to doing, now.
I had similar thoughts. My sense is that foods were often seasoned less a hundred-years-ago than what they are now. I also think that some people back then worried about onions causing gas and bloating.
My mom also used Bell seasoning for anything poultry. I always have a box on my shelf as well, and when I cook with it, my house smells just like my mothers and that’s a really good thing.
Good food aromas can bring back so many wonderful memories.
Just rememering Mum hoarding her stale bread for the eventual crumbs. Wonder if she added more moisture, as this recipe is for soft crumbs. Hers had a wonderful mouth feel, and was ever so tasty.
Funny my mom used Pepperidge Farms bagged stuffing crumbs as a base and then augmented it. I still do the same. Whatever we had growing up seems to be how we expect stuffing to taste. I did have to wean my Southern husband off cornbread stuffing though since I do the cooking.
My mum predated Pepperidge Farms for awhile. Good on the cornbread stuffing.
I think she didn’t use it until well into my growing up. But the one she made tasted just like it.
Some foods that I make are similar to the dishes my mother made; others are similar to dishes my husband’s mother made.
I have never mastered the food from the deep South (Alabama) that my husband’s mother made. He does occasionally and I enjoy them.
I remember my mother tearing bread heels into small pieces. She’d put the pieces in an open canister to dry, and then she’d use them later to make stuffing, apple betty, and other dishes that used bread crumbs.
Nuthin like stale bread!
My Dad did not like onions or celery, so it was never in the stuffing. Did your PA family ever call it filling? I’ll bet we have the same Betty Crocker cookbook. My Mom gave me one around that time and I still use some of the recipes.
Yes, my family called it filling. I’ve lived enough other places over the years that I now refer to it as stuffing – but back when I was a kid it central PA, it was definitely called filling.
There have been many words I had to remove from my vocabulary. Now I must go redd up the house.
My house could stand a little redding up, too. . . . Maybe tomorrow. 🙂
yummy
It’s tasty.
Interesting…I didn’t realize that commercial mixed seasonings were popular a hundred years ago.
Similarly to you, I was surprised to see poultry seasoning listed as an ingredient in a hundred-year-old recipe.
One of the oldest spice mixes in the country, Bell’s dates back to 1867, when William F. Bell of Newton, Massachusetts created the blend from an old family recipe. Since then, nothing has changed…and come to think of it, neither has the box. Immediately recognizable with its colorful, (now) vintage looking label, lettering, and hand-drawn turkey, Bell’s is the throwback that never left.
So what’s in Bell’s Seasoning? Each box contains a savory, salt-free, and all-natural blend of rosemary, oregano, sage, ginger, marjoram, thyme, and pepper with no added preservatives, additives, or artificial ingredients. Combined, the aroma is pure Thanksgiving.
The stuffing is very like one that my family has used for years. Usually we leave out onion and celery but we added fresh chopped ginger. It was interesting to learn why the egg is added to stuffing.
I’m intrigued – I never would have thought of adding ginger to stuffing, but it sounds good. The egg definitely did help the stuffing maintain its shape.
The ginger adds a little zing to the stuffing.
I am not a big stuffing eater but this sounds like the dressing my friend has always used and I liked hers. So maybe this year I will try it. I do not buy a whole turkey but the turkey roast that Butterball makes – fresh turkey boneless breasts put together. So I am thinking this will still be ok to make by putting it in a pie pan and baking. My dad did that with his leftover stuffing that would not fit in a bird.
It should work fine if you make sure the stuffing is moist. You may want to use some chicken or turkey broth for the added liquid for more flavor.
Interesting recipe but my family likes all the goodies such as celery and onions. I even will add sausage to it and cranberries.
The stuffing you make sounds delicious.
My husband doesn’t care for it but the stuffing / dressing is one of my favorite dishes during the holidays. I love how it pairs well with the cranberry sauce! I always have onion and celery in mine, which has been tradition in our family. I’m sure your family looks forward to enjoying your tried and true stuffing at your holiday table!
Stuffing has really grown on me over the years. When I was a child, I didn’t care much for it. Now, similarly to you, it is one of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes.
Poultry seasoning ,onions and celery all go into my dressings unless it’s an oyster dressing. I can imagine though that celery may not have always been available back then.
I’ve seen several hundred-year-old recipes for Oyster Stuffing. Maybe I’ll have to try making Oyster Stuffing next year. 🙂
I do end up with some drool on my laptop reading your posts, Sheryl:) Traditional, simple recipes that have withstood the test of time are often the best. Thank you for sharing🙂
It wonderful to hear that you enjoy these posts. They ate some tasty foods a hundred years ago.
I think that I’ve read through all the comments but I may have missed one or two.
What I have NOT seen is anyone adding giblets to their stuffing! My Gran added them all the time, mincing them up very fine and sauteing them in butter, and then added to the bread cubes. She’d use the turkey neck to make a rich broth and would use THAT to moisten the stuffing before it went into the turkey.
My mother also cut giblets into very small pieces and put them in the stuffing. She seemed to think that we won’t notice the giblets if they were cut small enough – but we always found them. As I child, I think that the giblet pieces in the stuffing was a reason that I didn’t care much for stuffing. Now as an adult, I want to try making giblet stuffing. I might discover that I actually like it. 🙂
As a farm kid, I had (and still have!) the appetite of a velociraptor, so I’d say, “Bring on the giblets!” LOL
I make my grandparents cornbread dressing with celery, onions and green peppers. Oh, and sage and thyme.
mmm. . .it sounds wonderful.
Looks yummy. A perfect dish for this time of year.
I like all types of dressing. I’m partial to cornbread dressing though.
I use ‘Poultry Seasoning’ all through the year in several different recipes. It’s one of my favorite seasonings.
Poultry seasoning is very versatile.
Oh my my this looks amazing! I’ve gotta try!!
It’s a tasty very basic stuffing recipe.
Oh wow, bread is my absolute favorite thing to indulge on, thank you so much for sharing.
You’re welcome. It’s nice to hear that you liked this post.
Dear Sheryl, I have NO IDEA if you receive notifications from past columns that you have written, but, finger’s crossed, you see THIS one!
I got this article in my IN BOX yesterday and found it fascinating! It explains SO MUCH about the lack of celery in your 100 year old dressing recipe, as I had initially suspected.
Enjoy the history lesson! https://www.tastecooking.com/celery-was-the-avocado-toast-of-the-victorian-era/
Thanks for sharing the link. It’s fun to read about how celery was considered a luxury vegetable during the Victorian era, and then became very popular before falling out of favor. Food trends are so fascinating. I personally like celery, and am glad that its popularity seems to currently be on a bit of an uptick.
Looks absolutely delicious thank you Sheryl, I was looking for a new bread stuffing recipe.. enjoy your weekend.
It’s yummy.
This is a great recipe, Sheryl. I also love old recipes.
It’s wonderful to hear that you also enjoy old recipes. Old recipes provide such a wonderful window into the past.
Love this recipe. Thanks.