Description
This Sausage Stuffing recipe combines savory pork sausages with toasted white bread, apples, pecans, and fresh herbs for a delicious traditional side dish perfect for Christmas or Thanksgiving dinners. The bread is lightly toasted for texture, while the sausage and creamy herb mixture bring rich flavor to every bite.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients
- 8 heaped cups plain white bread, crust on, cut into 2.5cm / 1 inch cubes (~600g/1.2lb)
- 500g / 1 lb pork sausages, good quality
- 50g / 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 onion, finely diced
- 1 large celery stalk, sliced 3mm / 1/8 inch thick
- 1 granny smith apple, skin left on, diced into 0.5 cm / 1/5 inch cubes
- 1/3 cup pecans, roughly chopped
- 1 cup (250 ml) chicken stock/broth, low sodium
- 1/3 cup (85 ml) heavy/thickened cream (low fat also okay)
- 1 tbsp fresh sage, finely chopped
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1/4 tsp cooking/kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Garnishes (optional)
- 30g / 2 tbsp butter, melted (extra for brushing)
- Thyme leaves, small sage leaves, chopped parsley
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced) to prepare for baking the stuffing.
- Toast Bread: Spread the bread cubes out on a baking tray and bake for 8 minutes until lightly toasted, pale golden with a crispy outside but soft inside. Transfer the toasted bread into a large bowl.
- Cook Sausage: Heat about 1 teaspoon of butter in a large skillet over high heat. Once melted, add the pork sausages, breaking them up as you cook until browned with some golden bits. Pour the cooked sausage, including the fat, over the toasted bread cubes.
- Sauté Vegetables and Apple: Reduce heat to medium and add remaining butter to the skillet. Once melted, add the diced onion and cook for 2 minutes. Then add the sliced celery and diced apple and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
- Add Liquids and Herbs: Stir in the chopped pecans, chicken stock, cream, sage, thyme, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for 2 minutes. Pour this mixture over the bread and sausage in the bowl, mixing well to coat all the bread evenly. Use your hands if needed.
- Taste and Adjust: Taste the mixture and add more salt if necessary, depending on the saltiness of the sausage used.
- Bake: Transfer the stuffing mixture into a 2 litre / 2 quarts baking dish. Cover with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes.
- Brown the Top: Remove the foil, brush the top with extra melted butter if desired, then broil or grill on high for 2 to 4 minutes until the top is nicely browned. Watch carefully to prevent burning.
- Serve: Serve warm, garnished with chopped parsley, fresh thyme, or small sage leaves if desired.
Notes
- Use plain white sandwich bread preferably slightly stale or day-old for the best texture; artisan or sourdough breads may be too tough.
- Measure bread by heaped cups, not weight, since bread densities vary.
- Choose good quality pork sausages with visible meat and fat for better flavor; plain sausages are classic but flavored varieties also work well.
- Pecans can be substituted with walnuts; chop before measuring.
- To make ahead, store bread and sausage mixture separately. Combine and bake on the day of serving.
- Leftover stuffing can be transformed into stuffing muffins by mixing 2 cups of stuffing with 1 egg and 1 tbsp milk, then baking in a muffin tin at 180°C/350°F for 15-20 minutes.
- Storing leftovers in the fridge will keep well for 3 to 4 days.
