Zino's Stuffing

I fucking love stuffing.  I love that shit right out of the box. I love it dry. I love it cooked.  I’m disgusting. I still remember the first time Zino made me homemade stuffing instead of the box.  It went something like this:

Young Angsty me: “What is this?”
Zino: “Stuffing”
Young Angsty me: “No its not”
Zino: “I assure you it’s stuffing”
Young Angsty me: “I wish I was never born”

Real talk I wasn’t happy about this sudden shift from the boxed stuff to this “homemade” shit. That being said, this recipe is on point.  It’s a crowd pleaser and its super simple to make.  But to take it to the next level you will need a bit of time.

The keys to making great stuffing are using old dry bread and homemade stock. The dryer the bread, the better it absorbs the flavors and liquids you put into it. Hence, why homemade stock makes it taste even better.

Qty	Ingredient	Procedure
2 gallons	cubed bread	Make sure to cut the bread up into 1x1x1 inch cubes and fill a gallon sized bag. This will be enough for a 9x13 pan of stuffing. Let this sit out with the top open for 12-24 hours to thoroughly dry. The type of bread is irrelevant; in fact every time I make this I buy the bread that is being pitched soon at Kroger to save money.
1 tsp	thyme	Preheat the oven to 350°F and dice the veggies. Melt the butter over medium heat and add the veggies. You want to sweat them out nice and easy. I normally do this for 10-15 minutes before adding the sage and the thyme. Add a generous pinch of salt. Combine the bread chunks with the veggies and butter coating as evenly as you can.  Place in a 9x13 baking dish.  I like to drizzle olive oil on top of bread but its not necessary. Put the two cups of stock over the bread and place in the oven until the top is crispy and the bottom is nice and moist. Approximately 20-30 minutes.  Feel free to broil to get the top as crusty as desired.
1 tsp	sage
3 stalks	celery
3	carrots
1	medium white onion
2 cups	chicken stock

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