At this time of year, conversations about what the best bits of a Christmas dinner are commonplace. For some, inexplicably, it’s the turkey. For others, the roast potatoes. For me, roasties are delicious for sure, but the Yorkshire pudding and stuffing are the stand-out stars of the Christmas dinner. Or indeed any roast dinner.
So let’s talk how seriously delicious stuffing is, and how it elevates a Sunday roast from good to mind-blowing.
Christmas Dinner 2023.
Turkey, ham, carrots and parsnips, stuffing, broccoli, and three types of potatoes (roast, mashed, dauphinoise). And gravy, naturally.
Excuse me while I go into a coma. I am exhausted from cooking everything and from eating.
Merry Christmas 🎄 pic.twitter.com/l65oIjDH63
— Chris Barrett-Molloy (@cr15bm) December 25, 2023
What’s the deal with stuffing?
Stuffing is basically the unsung hero of any meal. It’s a mix of breadcrumbs, herbs, and other tasty bits that sits proudly next to a meal’s centrepiece.
The ingredients that make the magic
There are different flavours of stuffing available, but some themes in stuffing recipes include:
- Breadcrumbs
- Herbs that’ll make your kitchen smell amazing, especially sage
- Chopped onions
- Butter
- Egg
- Seasoning
- Sometimes some extra bits like chestnuts or sausage meat to really rev it up
A bit of foodie history
Believe it or not, stuffing’s been around since the Romans were throwing epic feasts, which we know from recipes in the Roman cookbook, Apicius De Re Coquinaria.
In Britain, it became a way to make meals more interesting and fill up hungry bellies and the Victorians took stuffing and turned it into an art form.
Early Christmas Dinner roast 🙃 sausage, chick’n, cranberry and stuffing #veganfood pic.twitter.com/9gKyt6Fu0c
— Canal Boats and Artichokes (@NarrowEscapesx) July 30, 2023
No two stuffings are the same
Whether you buy it powdered in a box, ready made or make it from scratch, there’s a brilliant variety of stuffings available. Sage and onion stuffing is probably the one most associated with Christmas dinner, and it is probably my long-term fave (nostalgia is a powerful thing), but I don’t think I’ve ever had a variety of stuffing I didn’t like.
Many families have got their own secret recipe. Your nan’s stuffing? Totally different from your mate’s mum’s version.
That’s the beauty of it – it’s personal, it’s traditional, and it’s always delicious.
More than just food
Part of the appeal of stuffing is no doubt the associations we create around it. From fun, excitable childhood Christmas dinners to a Sunday lunch with friends at the carvery, stuffing is often on the plate when we’re having a great time.
So of course this is delicious stuff, but stuffing isn’t just something you eat. It’s comfort on a plate.
Getting creative
These days, people are going wild with stuffing. There are vegetarian and vegan versions, stuffings with cranberries, ones packed with nuts and mushrooms – the possibilities are endless.
It’s hard to beat the classic sage and onion, but I’m up for every iteration of this magical stuff.
The perfect texture
When it’s done right, stuffing is crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and packed with flavour. That’s unless it’s stuffed inside the poor turkey’s bum, but the less said about that, the better.
For me, I shmush a bit of stuffing onto my fork to enhance every bite of the meal I eat. Stuffing with potatoes, stuffing with veg, stuffing with whatever the centrepiece is, stuffing with the Yorkshire pudding. I ration it, and it’s worth it because with every bite, you’ll understand why Brits are obsessed with this stuff.
So next time you’re sitting down to a roast dinner, give that stuffing the respect it deserves. It might just be the best thing on your plate.
Images: Nick Bramhall, Andy Bullock