Can You Freeze Turkey Dressing? The Easiest Way to Save Your Thanksgiving Leftovers

This Thanksgiving, when you count your many blessings, don’t forget your freezer. It could be your ticket to a memorable feast — without sacrificing time with family and friends.

Editors note: This story was originally published Nov. 19, 2010. Were bringing it because … its Thanksgiving week!

This Thanksgiving, when you count your many blessings, dont forget your freezer. It could be your ticket to a memorable feast — without sacrificing time with family and friends.Advertisement

True, you could refrigerate many dishes prepared the day or two before Thanksgiving – if you have those days off from work. But chances are, youll be busy enough sprucing up the house, meeting relatives at the airport and juggling your usual responsibilities as Thanksgiving draws near. By cooking and freezing part of The Big Meal a week (or weekend) ahead, youll breathe easier when it counts.Advertisement

“If you find yourself having 25 people over for dinner and youve got kids, push comes to shove and you have to do some things in advance,” says Tina Wasserman, a Dallas cooking teacher and home economist. She advocates freezing only the traditional Thanksgiving dishes that wont suffer textural changes after thawing and reheating – and the ones that make sense.News Roundups

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“The trick is to find out what takes the most time and uses the most utensils; if that dish can be frozen, do it,” Mrs. Wasserman says. Making such dishes well in advance not only trims Thanksgiving Day preparation time, but also clean-up time.Advertisement

Mashed sweet potatoes, yeast rolls and most baked goods top her list. But forget about pumpkin pie and other custard or cream pies.

“You might think these are good freezers since theyre sold frozen in stores, but theyre not good choices for the home cook,” she says. “The [commercially prepared] pies have added stabilizers, so you cant expect a home-baked pie to freeze with the same results.”

If you do want to freeze a pie for Thanksgiving, Mrs. Wasserman recommends pecan. Fruit pies also freeze well, she says. If pumpkin pie is essential to your holiday buffet, “then buy a frozen one,” she says. Or pick up one at a bakery.Advertisement

An egg-free dressing will also survive the freezer, says Mary Kimbrough, director of nutrition services at Zale Lipshy University Hospital and coauthor of In Good Taste – A Contemporary Approach to Cooking.Advertisement

“Dressing lends itself perfectly to freezing; we do it here at the hospital,” she says, noting that the hospital, renowned for its food, markets Thanksgiving dinners to its staff.

Although you can bake the dressing ahead of time and freeze, she prefers preparing it up to the point of baking, then freezing it. Once its defrosted in the refrigerator, the dressing goes into the oven on Thanksgiving day for the final baking step.

“The celery, onion and herb flavors are stronger after you freeze it,” Ms. Kimbrough says. “I like that, since I prefer my dressing really flavorful. If you dont, you could back off on the herbs by one half the recipe amount, but I dont think its necessary.”Advertisement

Ms. Kimbrough isnt afraid to freeze gravy, either. “If you make a simple gravy, with no eggs and lots of pan drippings, you can freeze it. It may not be optimum, but I dont think its going to hurt it. My mother and I froze gravy.”

Although gravy may separate after freezing, it will recombine when stirred during reheating.

As for the turkey, home cooks are better off leaving cooking and freezing to the pros. “You could do it [the turkey], but you really need to know what youre doing,” says Brian Coggins, owner of The Personal Chef Inc., a catering and home-meal replacement company.

Replicating the packaging and freezing conditions necessary to preserve turkey flavor and avoid bacteria growth is a challenge in the home kitchen. If you dont have time to prepare or buy a fresh turkey on Thanksgiving Day, consider buying one already cooked. If you want to bypass the Thanksgiving rush on freshly cooked turkeys, consider buying a smoked (fully cooked) frozen turkey ahead of time. All you do is defrost it (a couple of days before Thanksgiving) and heat it.Advertisement

Once youve cooked a dish, take no shortcuts getting it to the freezer. Cooling a dish just to room temperature is especially important; placing a hot dish in the freezer could raise the freezer temperature to unsafe levels, promote bacteria growth and defrost the other foods.

As soon as your food cools to room temperature, place it in the freezer. (Leaving food at room temperature too long increases the risk of bacteria growth.) But if you plan on serving a dish in a special piece that isnt oven- or freezer-safe, there are other options. To freeze dressing, mashed sweet potatoes and corn casseroles, Mr. Coggins prefers disposable aluminum foil containers, sold at supermarkets.

“Its very important to spray the bottom with cooking spray before filling the container,” he says. That way, the contents are easily transferred to a serving dish.Advertisement

Wrapping the container properly is crucial to preventing freezer burn – which can ruin the flavor and color of foods.

“Wrap in plastic wrap from the bottom and over the top,” says Mr. Coggins. “Seal it well, then wrap again in foil to cover the top and sides tightly.”

To avoid punctures, be sure to use only heavy-duty aluminum foil.

Alternatively, you can freeze food in zip-top freezer bags, “one inside the other, for double strength,” says Mr. Coggins.Advertisement

To store the bags of food in the freezer, lay them down flat so that the food is in a thin, even layer. This helps food defrost evenly, too, a key to preserving texture.

Successfully freezing food is only half the equation. Unless its properly defrosted, its texture could be ruined.

“The best way to defrost is in the fridge,” says Ms. Kimbrough. “Its better for the consistency of food and better for health purposes, since it eliminates the risk of bacteria growth.”Advertisement

Defrosting slowly in the refrigerator keeps ice crystals from cutting into the food, says Mrs. Wasserman. “Ice crystals can be sharp, and if you defrost rapidly, they can cut into the food and harm texture. Thats why fish sometimes has that mushy consistency when you freeze it.”

Taking shortcuts by defrosting in the microwave or under water compromises the texture of many foods. To avoid a last-minute panic over still-frozen food at dinner time, plan ahead by defrosting in the refrigerator the day before Thanksgiving.

“The biggest mistake people make is not starting early enough,” says Ms. Kimbrough.

If youre defrosting a turkey (whether cooked or uncooked), allow two to three days (depending on size) to defrost it in the refrigerator. For a casserole, like dressing, allow one to two days, says Mr. Coggins. “It depends on how large the container is.”Advertisement

Once a casserole is defrosted, Mr. Coggins advises draining off any condensation that may have accumulated during thawing to prevent food from getting soggy. Alternatively, you could wipe the condensation from the sides of a casserole with a paper towel.

Choosing the right method for reheating is as important to good texture as proper freezing and defrosting. For most dishes, the oven works best. And, as convenient as the microwave may be for reheating many foods, its not for every dish.

“The microwave isnt for everything – like yeast rolls. You toughen them when you heat them in the microwave,” says Mrs. Wasserman. “Microwaves work by agitating water molecules. Dishes with high moisture content do well in microwave.”Advertisement

If you need to save oven space by reheating in the microwave, consider soups, vegetable purees and moist casseroles. Be sure to stir (for soups and purees) or rotate the dish (for casseroles) periodically as it reheats in the microwave. Mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, winter squash and pumpkin can also be reheated in the top of a double boiler, or in the oven.

“I would reheat a bread stuffing (dressing) in the microwave with no problem,” Mrs. Wasserman adds.

Her microwave method works best if youve cooked the dressing before freezing it. (If you freeze your dressing after its

assembled, but not baked, its best to bake it in the oven.) And whether your dressing is pre-baked or just assembled, the oven is your best bet if you prefer a drier dressing with a crusty top.Advertisement

“Its a personal thing,” says Ms. Kimbrough. “Some people like their dressing wet, some a little crunchy and dry.” To achieve a crust, she suggests cooking the dressing covered with foil halfway through the cooking time until its hot; then remove the foil for the last half of the time to get the crisper texture on top.

For a moist, prebaked stuffing thats been frozen and defrosted, Mr. Coggins has this tip: “I ladle fresh chicken stock or fresh turkey stock over the top of the stuffing before reheating it.”

He reheats it uncovered at 350 degrees “until the stuffing has browned on top.”

If you have several items to reheat, you can put them in the oven together. “But when youve got all those things in the oven at the same time, it will take a little longer,” cautions Ms. Kimbrough.Advertisement

“Some people dont account for that.”

But even with the freezer as one of your cooking tricks, she concedes that “trying to get all of the meal done at the same time is an art.”

Tina Danze is a Dallas free-lance writer.

YES, these dishes freeze and reheat well, with no loss of flavor or texture:Advertisement

* Mashed sweet potatoes, vegetable purees, mashed potato casseroles

* Pecan pie, fruit pies

* Simple fresh cranberry relish

* Corn or squash casseroles

* Breads, rolls, tea breads, muffins, cakes

* Gravy, unless it includes eggs

* Herbed butters, flavored butters

NO, these dishes are poor candidates for freezing:

* Fresh fruit or vegetable saladsAdvertisement

* Baked potatoes, potato gratins

* Pumpkin pie, cream pies, custard pies

* Soups with diced potatoes or chunks of potatoes

* Fresh cranberry relish with fresh apples or other crisp fresh fruit or vegetablesAdvertisement

* Hard-cooked eggs (the whites turn rubbery)

* Fried or breaded food

* Cream cheese, soft cheeses

Sources: “The Freezer Cookbook” and “The Fannie Farmer Cookbook”Advertisement

* FREEZER TEMPERATURE: Set your freezer on the lowest temperature setting the day before you plan on adding food. If possible, food should be frozen at zero degrees Fahrenheit or lower. Set it from -5 degrees to -10 degrees to give yourself a safety margin. When you add unfrozen foods to the freezer, it raises the temperature and slows freezing time. Quick-freezing keeps ice crystals from forming and ruining texture. To check the temperature of your freezer, buy a freezer thermometer.

* ADDING UNFROZEN FOOD TO THE FREEZER: Never put hot food in the freezer. Foods should be cooled to room temperature, then promptly frozen. Add only as much food as will freeze in 24 hours – about 3 pounds for every cubic foot of interior space. Try to add no more than 10 percent of the freezer capacity. Whenever possible, let newly added

food packages touch the freezer walls or shelves for quicker freezing. Set them apart from each other so air can circulate around them. After they are frozen, you can stack them.Advertisement

* DEFROST IN THE REFRIGERATOR: Exceptions to the rule are cookies, muffins breads and tea breads.

* IF USING FREEZER BAGS: Always squeeze out all excess air before sealing zip-top freezer bags.

* OTHER TIPS: Dont remove food from the freezer with wet hands; your fingers might freeze on contact with ice or metal parts.

Sources: “The Freezer Cookbook” and “The Fannie Farmer Cookbook”Advertisement

Can you cook cooked stuffing from frozen?

Can you freeze turkey stuffing before baking?

If you want to prepare your stuffing in advance of Thanksgiving, freezing it uncooked will ensure it stays nice and moist. Simply follow the steps of your stuffing recipe, but before baking it, wrap the baking dish in plastic wrap first, then aluminum foil to make it air tight. Store in the freezer until you’re ready to bake.

Can You reheat dressing if it’s frozen?

Whichever method you choose, remove the dressing from the freezer the night before you plan to serve it. Allow it to thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating. If you froze the dressing unbaked, bake for the full allotted amount of time in the morning. If you froze the dressing baked, reheat in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Can you put stuffing inside a Thanksgiving turkey?

If you plan to actually stuff your stuffing inside the cavity of your Thanksgiving turkey, you need to take some specific steps to ensure food safety. USDA guidance says that the wet and dry ingredients for the stuffing can be prepped ahead of time, but should be stored separately and in the freezer until you’re ready to stuff the turkey.

Can You reheat a fried salad dressing?

Allow it to thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating. If you froze the dressing unbaked, bake for the full allotted amount of time in the morning. If you froze the dressing baked, reheat in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Baked or unbaked dressing will last for 2 to 6 months in the freezer.