Do you stuff or dress a turkey?

Do you stuff or dress a turkey?   I ask this with Personal interest at stake.  When I grew up we STUFFED the turkey and we made an extra pan of stuffing on the side.  We LOVED the stuff.  My dad had his own recipe and it was GREAT….Ok, turns out he was using the recipe off the bag and switching celery for celery salt…but it was awesome.  Nothing like having that stuffing on a turkey sandwich the day after….MMMM.  hot or cold it was GOOD stuff.  

So that got me wondering, why do some people call it dressing.   Some call it a regional thing, like SODA and POP?? If you are from the North, you have SOOOOOdas.   Said in my best Fargo accent.  If you are from the south you drink Pop.  Midwesterners, we ask for Coke no matter where we are and it’s second nature to hear the reply….”is Pepsi OK?”   Yeah, whatever.  And where the hell did Slice suddenly come from?  Do you ever see a place that has RC Cola on tap?  I haven’t….But I digress.

Doing my usual research I find that technically it’s STUFFING, if and only if, it is cooked inside the bird, otherwise it is DRESSING.  Too simple.  Too Obvious….Too….(yeah folks, that means also and to the extreme. )  Now, health departments and restaurants really prefer dressing over stuffing, apparently there is some concern about the items in the stuffing thoroughly cooking and passing through the temperature danger zones(40-140) quick enough.  Plus I am sure the juices from the bird add to the concern.  The whole poultry concerns, ya know.  They recommend putting a second thermometer in the stuffing as well as the bird.  Please don’t use the mercury kind!  That’s a whole other batch of dangers.  
So, If you are going to stuff your bird, do it safely, always use protection.  If you are dressing your bird, do it to the 9’s.  Here’s a few Thanksgiving links to bring you some smiles.