Newfoundland Dressing a.k.a Summer Savoury Stuffing
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. A traditional savoury stuffing for poultry and game birds made with breadcrumbs, onions and summer savoury, a delicious, fragrant herb.
Originally published February 2008, in our first few months online.
Newfoundland savoury dressing as a stuffing for poultry is about as Newfoundland as it gets.
The scent of savoury stuffing or "dressing" as it is more commonly called, wafting from a Sunday morning Newfoundland kitchen is a universal experience for every born and bred Newfoundlander.
For many people there is no other kind of stuffing; it is that pervasive in our food culture.
Summer savoury is the annual herb that gives this stuffing it's unique aroma and flavour. This herb is not nearly as commonly found in other parts of the country, or in North America.
However, it has been grown by Mt. Scio Farm in St. John's for longer than most, if not all, can remember.
Try the recipe in roast chicken or turkey or as shown here, in stuffed chicken breasts.
A sweet addition. (optional)
You will notice small flecks of carrot in the dressing in this photo.
While I like to add a little garlic for flavour in my dressing, my mom and dad have used a little grated carrot for years both for sweetness and moisture.
You can still make the dressing without either ingredient to be purely traditional.
I also like to mix up the onions for other versions. In this one I've used red onions instead of the traditional yellow.
I've also tried sweet onions or shallots to keep this simple recipe interesting.
Newfoundland Dressing, a new twist.
NEW! I've used the basic Newfoundland Dressing recipe as a base to create this new flavourful Herb Cranberry Stuffing.
UPDATE Newfoundland Dressing, the oven method.
I very rarely cook this dressing inside the bird nowadays, especially with chicken where now I prefer to use this 1 hour method for juicy roast chicken. Instead I now make it in a small casserole dish in a low oven.
The warming drawer in our stove is also hot enough on high to do this. You just need to ensure that it hits 175 - 185 degrees F on a meat thermometer if you are adding chicken stock as we do.
I increase the chicken stock to about ¾ cup in this instance and cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil before adding the lid. This is in order to help keep the moisture in. Give the dressing a toss, once or twice during the cooking time.
Pre-cooking the onions and/or garlic is also essential in this method. Nobody wants to bite into raw onion in dressing. I sure don't.
Making Newfoundland Dressing Stuffed Chicken Breasts.
When using the stuffing inside chicken breasts as pictured, I like to use the largest breasts I can find and preserve as much of the skin as possible.
Usually, I debone the breasts myself. Then I butterfly cut the breasts in order to open them up into as close a rectangular shape as possible.
Next, I add the stuffing, fold it all together and use 3 pieces of butcher string to hold it all in place.
I rub the outside with a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper.
Then I open roast them at 400 degrees F for about 40 - 45 minutes depending upon the size of the breasts. Always use a meat thermometer to ensure the inside middle temperature is at least 170 F and leave them to ret for 10 minutes before serving.
The benefits of deboning your own chicken breasts.
The reason I like to debone my own chicken breasts is so that I can roast the bones and skins for stock later. I freeze them until I have enough to cover a baking sheet then use the instructions in my post on making Chicken Stock here.
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Newfoundland Dressing
Newfoundland Dressing. A very simple to prepare, traditional Newfoundland savoury and onion dressing (stuffing) for poultry.
Ingredients
- 4 cups coarse bread crumbs
- 2-4 tablespoon dried savoury
- ½ small onion chopped
- 1 clove minced garlic, optional
- 4 tablespoons melted butter
- ½ cup chicken stock
- Salt and pepper to season
Instructions
- In a small skillet, slowly sauté the chopped onion (and garlic if desired) in the butter over low heat until the onions are soft. Meanwhile combine the bread crumbs, savoury, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the cooked onions and chicken stock and toss well to combine all the ingredients.
- Use as a stuffing for any poultry including game birds.
- To cook in the oven just place in a small covered casserole dish and bake in a low oven 250-300 degrees F for about ½ hour. You may want to add a little more stock when using this method.
- The photo shows the dressing used to stuff chicken breasts but you will notice that I have added a little finely grated carrot to the mix...one of my Mom's ideas.
Notes
YES I PUT GARLIC IN MINE!
...and yes I know it isn't traditional, but I love garlic in anything and everything, so just leave out if it offends your traditional sensitivities.
I very rarely cook this dressing inside the bird nowadays, especially with chicken where now I prefer to use this 1 hour method for juicy roast chicken. Instead I now make it in a small casserole dish in a low oven. The warming drawer in our stove is also hot enough on high to do this, You just need to ensure that it hits 175 - 185 degrees F on a meat thermometer if you are adding chicken stock as we do.
I increase the chicken stock to about ¾ cup in this instance and cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil before adding the lid in order to help keep the moisture it. Give the dressing a toss, once or twice during the cooking time.
Making Newfoundland Dressing Stuffed Chicken Breasts.
When using the stuffing inside chicken breasts as pictured, I like to use the largest breasts I can find and preserve as much of the skin as possible. Usually, I debone the breasts myself, then I butterfly cut the breasts in order to open them up into as close a rectangular shape as possible. Then, I add the stuffing, fold it all together and use 3 pieces of butcher string to hold it all in place.
I rub the outside with a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper and open roast at 400 degrees F for about 40 - 45 minutes depending upon the size of the breasts. Always use a meat thermometer to ensure the inside middle temperature is 175 to 185 degrees F.
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Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
½ cup approximatelyAmount Per Serving Calories 273Total Fat 9gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 4gCholesterol 16mgSodium 500mgCarbohydrates 40gFiber 3gSugar 4gProtein 8g
The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.
I came to the site today wondering if you had a recipe for "newfoundland" dressing - and surprise surprise you did! I also cooked it outside the turkey, and it turned out wonderful. Thanks again!
My mum is from Newfoundland and I grew up with this dressing. So many people down here (in nyc dont understand Savory)
thanks
I have always used the grated carrot rather than sugar for my dressing. It's adds a nice sweetness. 🙂 I've never seen others use it!! I tried my own stuffing with chicken broth for the first time and it turned out delicious! Thanks for the great blog.
Hi! I was wondering if bread crumbs are dry or fresh/soft? Thanks!
In general we never use crumbs from fresh bread. I usually use bread that's at least a couple of days old.
thanks for all your great recipes.My husband is a Newfoudlander,so I have been introduced to many Traditional Newfoundland recipes .i recently started using this stuffing recipe as a topping for chicken pot pies and everyone loved them.Thanks for all the inspiration.
NEWFOUNDLAND DRESSING: I STILL DO NOT UNDERSTAND. CAN I USE DRY BREAD CRUMBS OR JUST USE WHITE BREAD & LET GET STALE, FOR A FEW DAYS AND THEN BREAK UP TO USE.. AM ANXIOUS TO TRY THIS RECIPE..
OLGA
Not canned bread crumbs, just make your own from white bread thats 2 or 3 days old.
Always old bread and let it dry out there girl and break into chunks for your dressing.
Yes, but cautionary use of the word "old". Bread thats 3 days old is fine.
I use white bread and break it up in small
Pieces to dry out day or so before I make the dressing
I live in Montréal and you're hard up to find good Summer Savory here...i have a shipment mailed up to me, just so I can have my dressing with Turkey/Chicken...and who can forget....fries, dressing and gravy!!!
Do you have a Bulk Barn? That’s where I find mine when I can’t get the savoury from NL. It’s just as good.
Thanks Barry for this bit of my childhood. My mom was born and raised in St John's. She married my American soldier dad in 1954 and emigrated to the States. Our Thanksgiving turkey always featured this Newfoundland dressing. It was always my favorite part if the meal. It absolutely ruined me for sage based dressing or "stuffing" as it's called in the States. My 92 year mom still insists on her Newfoundland dressing. My cousin mails it to us. Nothing else will do.
Just made your stuffing inside A small turkey.Really good thanks Barry
I make this dressing with milk and bake in a small loaf pan. I slice it and it also is nice cold and looks nice on your cold plate. Another use for this dressing that we enjoy is in turkey or chicken rolls. I throw any left over turkey in my food processor for a couple of pulses and add left over dressing in with milk and pulse all together until combined. I roll it up in phyllo pastry and cut into sections and brush with egg wash and bake until golden. Great hot or cold.
Oh Summer Savoury you elusive thing you. I live in BC and I grow my own - IF I can find seedlings at a nursery. Christmas turkey stuffing isn't the same without it.
We always add a bit of minced celery and diced apple. The apple is what we use to add a bit of sweetness.
Any idea how much I should make to stuff a 10-12lb turkey?
@Candee Backus, Use the whole loaf . You can always put any extra in an oven proof container an cook it separately
If I were to stuff a whole chicken with this stuffing, any idea how long would you recommend to cook it for and at what temp? Thanks!
I never heard tell of putting chicken stock or any liquid in dressing, but then again, I do stuff it in the turkey, hence it gets its moisture from there. The savoury adds a hint of flavour to the turkey that you non-stuffers miss out on! Another thing... Mama always told me to cut the crusts off the bread, so as to eliminate the “dark brown taste”. 🙂
What kind of stuffing can u use for squid 🦑?!?
Lots of people use this one.