LOVED IT! --yes--I read all 200+ reviews before I made it. The issue with the ammount of broth does depend on the kind of bread you use. Use less for fresh bread and more for store bought hard packaged. I used the packaged and used all the broth. I think taking the time to mix it thourghly to absorb the liquid is essential also. I also got the feeling it was on edge of being over cooked, so I skipped the 45 min high setting and I put the crock pot on Low for 4 hours and it was perfect.
I have not made this particular recipe yet but I have made dressing in a slow cooker. As people will be checking here for Thanksgiving ideas I thought I would give some advice. Just moisten the dressing at first and add the reserved stock as you go to control the moisutre. Check on it after the first couple hours and peek at it hourly after that. Also, I have read that if you put a cloth kitchen towel over the top and then put the lid on, condensation will be absorbed by the towel. I think the soggy texture people are experiencing is due to adding too much broth at the beginning and the condensation accumulating on the lid and dripping back down. Add less broth at first and try the towel trick. And at the end...Too dry? Add more broth. Too soggy? Cook last 40 minutes uncovered. Happy Thanksgiving to All!!
I think the 4 1/2 c. broth is a misprint. I followed the advice of those who have gone before (and the back of the bread cubes package) and used 2 1/2 cups broth. It was still a little moist for my liking, so I recommend starting with 2 cups broth and adding more as needed. I also cooked and added 1 lb. sage-flavored Jimmy Dean sausage and reduced the amount of sage in the recipe to 1/2 tsp. I got rave reviews from the whole family on Christmas, including my extremely fussy stepdaughter, who had seconds! It also freed up precious oven space. This recipe will feed a LOT of people. Don't try to make this in a small 3 1/2 qt crock pot.
I was nervous to try this and take the chance my stuffing wouldn't turn out on Thanksgiving but just had to give it a try. I'm so glad I did. It was perfect and so easy. I used about 10 cups of dried, cubed bread from Whole Foods and I also bought a fresh loaf of french bread and added about 3 cups of that. The french bread has a good consistency and you don't have to worry about drying it out ahead. I omitted the mushrooms but followed the recipe otherwise as written but added about 2 tsp. minced garlic to the onion celery mixture and added the spices into this mixture while it was cooking before pouring over bread. DON'T ADD ALL 4-1/2 CUPS CHICKEN BROTH. Just add enough to moisten the bread because you'll be checking on it all day and can add more as needed. I cooked it on high for 30 minutes then switched to low for another 5 hours till we were ready to eat. I stirred about once an hour and added more chicken broth as needed. By the end I had only added about 2-1/2 or 3 cups total. I will definitely use this method again. It's so nice to have one less thing to worry about at the end. When you are mashing potatoes, baking rolls and making gravy the stuffing is sitting in the crock pot ready to go!
Could this BE any easier? YES!
Prepare it the day before the feast AND line your pot with a cooking bag!
To do this, add all ingredients (in a bowl - not the pot) as directed EXCEPT for the eggs! Cover and chill the mixture until completely cold in the fridge and THEN add the eggs and mix. Spoon the mixture into the lined crock pot. Cover and refrigerate until morning. The next morning put the crock pot on Low heat and let cook all day.
The only problem was that personally we found the stuffing too wet. Next time I will reduce the amount of broth to 3 cups. Before serving, I will add more if I feel it's too dry.
Perfect recipe for a slow cooker or those who are counter constrained. Used 3.5 cups of broth and it was perfect... HELPFUL HINT: Laying a dish towel over the top of the crock and then putting the lid on, helps keep extra moisture out of the stuffing. Thanks Gayle for a nice addtion to my recipe box!
This recipe is so popular and famous in my family that I have to make at least 2 crock pots of it. One for Thanksgiving and one for left overs.
This is a pretty moist stuffing as is. If you like drier (fluffy) stuffing, use only about 1/2 of the chicken broth. Also, I've made this with both fresh and dried herbs...and fresh is the WAY TO GO with this. It tastes so awesome. If you use fresh herbs double the amount given for the dried as fresh herbs are not as pungent as dried. It is also imperative that very stale dried bread is used. It helps soak up all that broth. If you use fresh bread it will be very, very soggy, even if you cut the amount of broth in half. This recipe does not need to be cooked for 8 hours. Make sure mix up the stuffing every so often so the edges don't form a crust...although some people in my family like it kinda crusty.
Also, the size of the bread cubes matters. My family likes it best when the cubes are about half an inch by half an inch. I personally like them bigger. Don;t make them larger than 1 inch by inch though, otherwise it is much harder to mix up the spices and butter and you will end up with pieces of bread that have no real taste to them.
AWESOME!!! If you use your common sense this will NOT turn out soggy. The recipe says 4 1/2 cups of broth OR AS NEEDED DEPENDING ON HOW DRY YOUR BREAD IS. I did in fact use 1/2 of the broth called for & kept it on low for 4 hours... PERFECT! Just like it was from the bird, the picky family loved it! Thanks for making my life simple Gayle!!
This recipe RUINED my first Thanksgiving dinner for the inlaws last week. 4 1/2 cups of broth!!?? I added just 2.5 cups before realizing it was already WAY too much. It calls for 4.5 cups then says "add enough to moisten." I ended up with stuffing soup - totally inedible. It smelled delicious but....there has to be some sort of mistake.
