BREAD STUFFING (No. 2)

A plain sage stuffing of the sort meant to be mixed in a bowl and packed into a bird or a split fish just before it goes into the oven. The recipe is complete as written; the only real decisions are crumb texture and how much it makes.

• "Crums"An older spelling of crumbs. The recipe does not say whether they are dry crumbs from stale bread or fresh soft ones; fresh soft crumbs are much lighter for the same volume, so the choice will change how much bread the measure actually represents.
• Rubbing in the fatThe butter should be soft, not melted, and worked into the crumbs with the fingertips until the mixture looks sandy. Melted butter soaks into a few crumbs and leaves the rest dry.
• The onionA tablespoon of raw chopped onion in a small quantity of stuffing stays sharp and slightly crunchy. Softening it in the butter first, before rubbing it through, is a common modern approach.
• Powdered sageA full teaspoon of powdered sage in 1 1/2 cups of crumbs is assertive by current tastes. Rubbed sage is bulkier and milder by volume; if using it, the same teaspoon is a safer starting point than an equivalent weight.
• YieldRoughly 1 1/2 to 2 cups loosely packed, about enough for a 3-4 lb chicken, a pair of small fish, or a rolled pork or veal breast. Double it for a bird of 8 lb or more.
• MoistureAs written this is a dry mixture, which will absorb juices from the meat or fish. Cooked outside the bird in a dish, it needs a few tablespoons of stock or it will bake to crumbs.
• If stuffing poultryPack loosely and put the stuffing in immediately before roasting, never in advance. The centre of the stuffing should reach 165F, which usually means checking it separately from the thigh.