20 servings

Hands on: 1 hour

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Total time: 2 hours plus overnight

Tester's notes: Ron Currens cooks his stuffing two different ways. For his "inside" stuffing, he tucks half the mixture in the bird, for a soft, moist texture (for those who prefer to cook the stuffing separately, drizzle it with chicken broth and bake in a 13-by-9-inch pan). His favorite recipe is for what he does with the other half of the stuffing, which he calls "outside-the-bird stuffing." He cooks this portion after drizzling the stuffing mixture with turkey drippings while the turkey cools down after cooking. It cooks in a single layer on baking sheets until it becomes crunchy and crouton-like, heavily flavored by butter, herbs and turkey juices.

Currens loves loading his stuffing with fresh herbs, so feel free to add more if you share his sentiments. This makes a lot of stuffing, so you?ll need to split it among bowls for mixing unless you have a very large bowl. Lay out the bread the day before you plan to bake it, so it has time to get stale.

1 (20-ounce) loaf white bread

1 (20-ounce) loaf whole-wheat bread

3 (1-ounce) packages sage leaves or to taste, chopped

2 (1-ounce) packages rosemary leaves or to taste, chopped

2 (1-ounce) packages thyme leaves or to taste, chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cups (4 sticks) butter, melted

3 celery ribs, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 cup chopped walnuts, or to taste

1 (14-ounce) can reduced-sodium chicken broth (optional)

Remove bread from packages and leave out overnight to go stale. Tear slices into 1/2- to 3/4-inch pieces. In two large bowls or one very large bowl, combine white and whole-wheat bread. Add the sage, rosemary and thyme (divide evenly if using two bowls). Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Pour melted butter over bread/herb mixture and toss well to combine. If you haven?t already, divide the mixture into two equal portions.

For the "inside" stuffing: Combine half the bread mixture with celery, onion and walnuts and mix well. You can either stuff the cavity of the bird with this part of the stuffing or transfer it to a 9-by- 13-inch baking pan. If cooking separately, drizzle the stuffing with chicken broth, cover and bake for 1 hour at 400 degrees.

For the "outside" stuffing: Take two large cookie sheets, layer with foil and spray with nonstick spray. Spread the other half of the stuffing in a thin layer across both sheets. Cover with plastic wrap, and set aside until the turkey is done. When turkey is done, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Use a baster to suck the turkey juices from the roasting pan (reserving enough for gravy) and dribble the juice onto the stuffing in the cookie sheets, taking care to distribute it equally. Bake the stuffing, stirring every 5 minutes with a long wooden spoon, for 10-20 minutes, or until the stuffing turns a rich golden brown and is crunchy.

Per serving: 362 calories (percent of calories from fat, 59), 7 grams protein, 31 grams carbohydrates, 4 grams fiber, 25 grams fat (12 grams saturated), 50 milligrams cholesterol, 496 milligrams sodium.