Swap Some Stock For This Boozy Upgrade To Give Boxed Stuffing A Deeper Flavor

Boxed stuffing is your secret weapon to an easy Thanksgiving side that'll free up prep time for other dishes on the menu. And there are plenty of ways to make boxed stuffing taste homemade, from a simple butter addition to fatty meats like bacon and pancetta. However, the boozy upgrade that you should be swapping in for some of the standard chicken stock is beer.

With so many unique and creative ways to cook with beer, the beverage is no stranger to culinary applications. Its malty, yeasty foundation will only enhance the bread in your stuffing, while more nuanced tasting notes like citrus, coriander, pepper, and even coffee will bring more depth of flavor. While the bubbles in beer are known leavening agents for baked goods, they aren't needed to help lift stuffing. So, the best way to prepare beer for stuffing is to pour it into a measuring cup to rest so that the carbonation can dissipate. That way, the beer's tasting notes will further concentrate and make it an even more powerful flavoring agent.

The best way to ensure the perfect texture for stuffing lies in balancing your ingredient ratios, both dry and wet. Traditionally, stuffing involves a ratio of 1 cup of broth for every 4 cups of dry mix, you should plan your beer swap accordingly. For a boxed stuffing mix with 8 cups of dry mix, you'll need around two cups of liquid, so you could pour anywhere from a 25-75 to 50-50 blend of beer to broth into the dried mix before baking. You can go all out and replace all the broth with beer, but keep in mind that this will give the finished product a very rich, malty taste, which isn't for everyone. 

There are many different types of beer that you could add to a boxed stuffing mix. The balanced bitterness of an amber ale would bring a subtle yet rich depth to the savory bread and veggies. If you're a skeptic, you can start with a more neutral lager. At the other end of the spectrum, use a high abv beer like stouts or porters if you really want to taste the underlying beer flavors. A citrusy hefeweizen will brighten up the richness of stuffing and complement the herb seasoning. Of course, there are plenty of artisanal chili, herb, and fruit-infused beers that you can add to stuffing for a more exact flavoring agent. Whatever you do, you should avoid IPAs when cooking with beer because their bitterness tends to overpower the other ingredients in your dish. A helpful tip is to taste the beverage before you incorporate it into your recipe to get a sense of the tasting notes you're bringing to the table.

Beer can also help dictate other delicious and novel ingredients to add to your stuffing mix. For example, both cheese and pretzels are famous pairings that will likewise amp up the flavor and texture of stuffing. You could thus adorn a spiked boxed stuffing mix with shredded cheddar cheese and crushed pretzels. Brats are often cooked in beer, which probably means that adding sausage to beer stuffing is bound to be a hit.