Sausage, Apple, and Herb Stuffing

By sandy_h

From Cooking Light November 2018

Ingredients

• 8 oz sourdough bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 6 oz sweet Italian pork sausage
• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 1 cup chopped celery stalks and leaves (about 3 stalks)
• 2 medium Granny Smith apples, cut into 1-inch cubes (3 cups)
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh sage
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups unsalted chicken stock, divided
• 3 large eggs
• Thyme sprigs (optional)

Details

Servings 12
Preparation time 25mins
Cooking time 70mins
Adapted from

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 300. Spread bread cubes in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 300 until dry and slightly toasted, 12 to 14 minutes. Remove from oven; transfer bread to a large bowl. Increase oven temperature to 350.

While bread cubes bake, cook sausage in a large skillet over medium-high until browned, about 6 minutes, using a spoon to break sausage into small pieces. Transfer sausage to bowl with bread cubes. (Do not wipe skillet clean.) Reduce heat to medium. Add butter, onion, and celery to skillet; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender and translucent, 6 to 8 minutes. Add apples; cook until soft but not mushy, about 10 minutes. Stir in sage, thyme, salt, and pepper; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add 1 cup stock, stirring and scraping bottom of skillet to release browned bits. Transfer apple mixture to bowl with bread cubes and sausage.

Whisk together eggs and remaining 1/2 cup stock in a bowl until combined; stir into bread mixture. Transfer mixture to a 2-quart glass or ceramic baking dish, cover with aluminum foil, and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Remove foil, top with thyme sprigs, and continue to bake until stuffing is lightly browned on top and set, 15 to 20 more minutes. Let stuffing stand 5 minutes before serving.