Honestly for me, it’s simply a matter of how it’s cooked. If it’s “stuffed” in the bird, it’s stuffing. If it’s in a dish on the side, it’s dressing. But I do reserve that stuffing can be pulled out and served on the side. And you can also eat stuffing without ever “stuffing” it. Stove Top Cornbread Stuffing is my weakness and I use it as a quick and easy side often with a protein. Or when making crab cakes.
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.
