Recipes and Cooking Tips

Here is a much more concise answer than the article gives (the article clearly needed an excuse to show more ads):

“Stuffing” and “Dressing” are often used interchangeably. There is nothing ingredient-wise that differentiates one from the other. Some people think “stuffing” should only be used if it’s cooked inside a turkey [or other poultry, I would think] and dressing should be used if it’s not.

My take: Since people use these terms interchangeably, don’t assume that when someone refers to “stuffing” or “dressing”, that person is specifying how it was cooked. You’ve gotta ask or read the recipe.

Edit: and, of course, you can prefer the “specific” interpretation — that stuffing is specific to having been used to stuff. I agree that differentiating the techniques that way makes sense. But having a preference for how the terms are used isn’t going to dictate how people actually use the terms.

It shouldn't be called "dressing" unless the turkey is wearing it.

I agree with your take on it but I'd like to add this as well.

Stuffing is both the act of and what is going to be put into the cavity of whatever animal. Dressing is the stuff that's going to get stuffed into the cavity of whatever animal so really there is no difference. It may also be a regional thing as I never hear anyone call it dressing where I'm from.

Something to consider about cooking it inside the bird vs outside is that cooking it inside the bird will affect your cooking time. It's especially a consideration when cooking a whole turkey - it's already difficult to get the dark meat up to temp without drying out the breast.

Having said that, stuffing cooked inside of a bird does taste amazing. You can kind of split the difference by pouring some of the roasting juices onto the dressing and letting it soak those up, but then you don't get to use them for gravy.

It's a regional thing. This is the first I've ever heard Stove Top referred to as stuffing rather than dressing (although it would be blasphemous to serve at thanksgiving).

I've never known dressing to be cooked outside the bird. You cook dressing by putting as much in the bird as will fit and then let the rest cook around the bird in the juices in the roaster.

Maybe it's a north vs south thing. I've always seen it referred to as dressing exclusively on menus as well

You're not wrong.

About stuffing versus dressing, I mean. I respectfully disagree with your enjoyment of Stove Top Stuffing; however, as it does not affect me in any way, I bear no grudge against you for enjoying it.

Living in the mid-Atlantic region of the US, it is always stuffing. Dressing is what you put on salads. I have never heard stuffing called dressing around here.