While many agree that stuffing is the best part of the Thanksgiving meal, there’s little consensus about what the dish comprises, whether it should be called stuffing or dressing, or if it’s best cooked inside the turkey or outside of it. Stuffing is less a recipe, and more a method that lends itself to creative and cultural expression. Ingredients can be mixed and matched to make seemingly infinite combinations. The base is typically some kind of bread (though rice can also be used and is recommended for those who cannot eat wheat or gluten). The bread can be the source of most of the flavor, if you use sweet cornbread or pesto sourdough; it can also be a neutral canvas, if you use crusty French or Italian bread to which spices, herbs and seasonings may be added. Aromatics — especially celery and onions, and some kind of liquid — are not optional. Once you toss dried bread with sautéed vegetables and stock, you have a basic stuffing. But it’s the ingredients you choose to mix into that base that will ultimately determine the flavor of your stuffing, and this is the step where you can play around with proportions to suit the elements you want to emphasize.

Basic Method

Dry out the bread. Cut day-old bread or slightly stale bread (for best results) into rough cubes of 1–2 inches. If using fresh bread, bake cubes in oven at low heat (about 250 degrees) until lightly toasted and crumbly. If the bread is unflavored, you can sprinkle with olive oil and add salt, pepper, herbs, and other seasonings at this time. Place dried bread (or rice) in large bowl.

Sauté the aromatics. Brown the celery, onions, and other vegetables of your choice in fat (butter, olive oil, bacon drippings, etc.) until somewhat translucent but still crunchy. This step is another opportunity to add flavor. In addition to the flavor from the fat, you can also sauté the vegetables in wine, sherry, or broth — cook until some of the liquid evaporates and the flavors become more concentrated — and add spices.

Prepare the mix-ins. If incorporating meat or mushrooms, sauté in separate pan until cooked through. You can also do this step ahead of time. Roast chestnuts the day before (or buy pre-cooked in a bottle). Oysters can be added raw.

Toss it all together. Add the aromatics, meat, dried fruits, and nuts to the bread cubes and toss together. Allow to cool and mix in eggs, then gradually add liquid (broth). This is the most important step: You don’t want the mixture to become too wet. (If it does, however, you can add more bread cubes.) You can also add more seasonings, spices, and fresh, chopped herbs at this time.

Stuff the bird, or bake it in a casserole dish. Exactly how much stuffing you’ll need depends on the size of the turkey cavity. You can stuff both of the openings, but don’t overstuff the bird or pack the stuffing down. You want to leave room for it to expand. Any excess stuffing can be baked in a casserole, where it will develop a lovely crust. Stuffing cooked inside the bird benefits from the juices released while cooking. However, dressing cooked outside the bird has the advantage of an extra crispy surface.

Chef’s Favorites

Chef Tom Colicchio’s stuffing served on Thanksgiving Day this year at Craft (43 E. 19th St., between Broadway and Park Avenue South, 212-780-0880) and Craftsteak (85 Tenth Ave., between 15th and 16th streets, 212-400-6699) will be made with fennel and golden raisin semolina bread from Amy’s Bread for a flavorful base that is augmented with breakfast sausage, caramelized leeks, sage and thyme, and a touch of foie gras.

Meanwhile, chef Vincent Chirico of 212 Restaurant (133 E. 65th St., between Lexington and Park avenues, 212-249-6565) makes his sausage stuffing with breakfast sausage, but also adds ground turkey leg meat, smoked pig cheek and fresh parsley, chervil, and tarragon to a base of crusty baguette.

At Patsy’s Italian Restaurant (236 W. 56th St., between Broadway and Eighth Avenue, 212-247-3491), chef Sal Scognamillo mixes up his Italian-American interpretation with leftover Italian bread, sweet Italian sausage, pine nuts, dried oregano, fresh parsley, and basil, while at Gilt (455 Madison Ave., between 50th and 51st streets, 212-891-8100), executive chef Christopher Lee swears by French bread stuffing with spicy Italian sausage and dried quince, with orange zest and a touch of thyme.

Spiced Pecan and Sage Cornbread Stuffing

Courtesy of Chef Chris Santos, the Stanton Social (99 Stanton St. at Ludlow Street, 212-995-0099)

1 day-old loaf sweet cornbread
1 large Spanish onion, minced
2 shallots, minced
1/2 bunch celery, minced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup dried cherries
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 bunch chopped sage

Make a pan of your favorite Southern-style sweet cornbread recipe. Let sit overnight.

Cut cornbread into large cubes and dry slightly in 325-degree oven on a cookie sheet until lightly toasted.

Weigh the cornbread and place in a large mixing bowl.

For every pound of cornbread, mix in 1 egg and 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth. Set aside.

In a pan, sauté onions, shallots, celery, and garlic. Caramelize in butter, and cool.

Fold into the cornbread mixture.

Add brown sugar, pecans, dried cherries, vanilla extract, nutmeg, and sage to mixture.

Place in a casserole dish, glaze with melted butter, and bake for 30–40 minutes at 400 degrees.