For the birds
Stuffing is meant to be cooked in a turkey ... or chicken, or duck
Thanksgiving, as we observe it today, doesn’t have much in common with the original feast of 1621. The temperature of the vibe between the pilgrims and Wampanoag was above comfort level at the dinner table, with some participants arriving ready to rumble. Come to think of it, maybe today’s Thanksgiving table hasn’t strayed too far, being notable for bringing together people from warring political tribes to break bread together, with notoriously mixed results.
There was no pumpkin pie, because butter and flour were unheard of or sorely missed, depending on one’s affiliation, but wild fowl was likely on the menu, which leads me, among others, to conclude there was stuffing. Historians point to their evidence, while I point to the simple fact that both Pilgrims and Indians are human beings, and human beings know how to cook. And cooks don’t let an empty body cavity go unstuffed, especially during a three-day feast.
Unfortunately, we seem to take this for granted in today’s America, where we think nothing of passing around side dishes filled with savory bread pudding called “stuffing” that has never seen the inside of a bird. That’s the fight I’ll pick this year.
On the East Coast, the local diet was heavy on seafood like clams, scallops, seaweed, oysters, mussels, eels and fish. I grew up in coastal Massachusetts, where we would sometimes dig a hole in the beach and fill it with ingredients like those above, and hot rocks, and have a clambake.
Somewhere along the way, in my Thanksgiving ruminations and experimentations, I decided it would be a good idea to stage a clambake inside a bird. In order to make it taste more like stuffing, I add breadcrumbs, herbs, lemon and aromatic veggies: onions, carrots and celery.
Whatever bird you are able to stuff, large or small, you might find yourself with more stuffing than you can possibly cram into your bird. The easiest thing to do is to stuff it around the bird, along with potatoes, and let it melt in the pan juices. Although not literally stuffed, it sucks up enough of the juices to potentially rule out gravy, and tastes like all the flavor and fat it absorbs.
Another option for too much stuffing: Pull the skin away from the bird and stuff it underneath. If basted properly, this layer of stuffing can help keep the bird moist. The skin might split, but the crusted stuffing becomes a new skin, absorbing as many bastings as you care to pour.
My favorite part of this dish is the clam juice brine, which keeps the meat moist and adds delicious authenticity to the feast.