Stuffings are made with a wide variety of ingredients – breadcrumbs, sausage and other minced (ground) meats, fruit, herbs and rice. As well as adding an interesting flavour, a stuffing can help the cook by holding the food in shape, keeping it moist and making it go further.
It is important to mix and handle stuffings lightly so as not to compact them, and to leave room for the stuffings to expand during cooking and stay light. If some stuffing is left over after filling food, cook it separately in a greased baking dish.
It is best to cook onion and garlic lightly before adding them to a stuffing, as this improves their flavour and aids digestion. You should also pre-cook pork or sausage mince until it changes colour, to make sure that it will cook through. Always stuff poultry just before cooking; this is a safety measure.
Make fresh breadcrumbs for stuffings, using bread that is 2–4 days old, by pulling it apart very lightly with your fingers or with two forks. Do not put bread through a mincer, as the stuffing will be too compact. Of course, if you have a blender or food processor, beautiful crumbs can be made in a trice.