Chicken Stuffing

Chicken stuffing

• 2 loaves white bread
• 5-6 lb fryer chicken
• 2 cups water
• 1-1/2 cups chopped celery
• 2 diced onion
• 3 sticks butter
• 2 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground sage 

2-DAY AHEAD PREPARATION

Start this recipe 2 days ahead by tearing fresh bread into 1″ pieces and putting them in a big bowl or large pan. Leave the bread cubes sitting out for 48 hours so they dry out. Stir them 2-3 times a day so all of the bread dries out evenly. (My bread cubes aren’t ever super crispy when I start making the stuffing. They’ll just be a little dry and “stale”.)

Thaw 5-6 lb chicken in a bowl in the fridge.

1-DAY AHEAD PREPARATION

Remove neck, gizzard and heart (along with any other items) from inside the chicken and rinse the inside/outside of chicken with cold water. Pour 2 cups of water into a pressure cooker (with grate in bottom) and insert the chicken ribs down. Heat pressure cooker at high heat until the the weight begins to "sway" or "chatter." Turn heat to medium and cook for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and run cold water over the top of the sealed pressure cooker in the sink until the pressure valve(s) depress. Continue running cold water over top for another minute, remove the weight, and insert into fridge for cooling overnight.

DAY OF INSTRUCTIONS

In the morning, remove chicken from pressure cooker and let stand to warm up for 30-60 min. Tear chicken into 1/2" to 1" pieces and set aside in a bowl. Warm the leftover chicken broth and set aside.

Dice and saute onions and celery in butter over medium heat until tender. Pour the chicken and vegetables over the dry bread cubes. Add the spices to the mixture and  thoroughly stir. Slowly pour 1 cup of chicken broth over mixture and mix with clean hands. Continue slowly adding broth until the bread mixture is "sloppy" and nothing is left dry. (You do not have to use all of the chicken broth, and if you need more to make the bread "sloppy," add water.)

Butter a 2-quart casserole dish. Put the stuffing mixture in the prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.