Sausage, Sage & Pecan Stuffing

By stancec44

This makes a ton of stuffing, so have a super huge, oversized mixing bowl on hand. Whatever bowl you just picked? Not big enough. Go another size up. If you’re really thinking ahead, make it early and refrigerate the unbaked stuffing up to a week, or stash it for months in the freezer. Knocking it out ahead of time makes Thanksgiving day much, much easier. The Sage Cornbread can be made in advance and frozen too, letting you tackle the project in stages.

Ingredients

• 12 ounces pecans (2 1/2 cups pecan pieces or 3 cups pecan halves)
• 1 pound country style white bread (Gluten Free breads work fine!), preferably stale
• 1 batch Sage Cornbread, preferably stale (see recipe in Breads & Breakfast)
• 2 pounds yellow onions (from 4 unpeeled, medium-sized onions)
• 1 pound celery, washed (from 6 medium stalks)
• 1 pound ground sausage; my dad always buys a mild, sage sausage
• 12 ounces (3 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1/4 ounce fresh sage (about 1/4 cup loosely packed leaves) sage
• 6 large eggs
• 12 ounces (1 can) evaporated milk
• 8 ounces (1 cup) chicken or turkey stock
• 1 Tablespoon freshly ground pepper, or to taste
• 1 Tablespoon kosher sal

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350° and lightly toast the pecans; about 8 minutes. Dump them into the bowl, then roughly tear the bread (a few slices at a time) into 1” pieces. Break the cornbread into eight big chunks and add them too; the pieces will crumble into smaller bits when you stir in the other ingredients. You can proceed with the recipe, or cover the bowl with plastic and pause for as long as you like. The breads actually benefit from a day of staling, especially if they were fresh to begin with.

Cut the onions in half through the root end, peel, and chop into 1/2” chunks. Next, trim the ends off each celery stalk and slice into 1/4” pieces. Set the vegetables aside for now.

Put the sausage into a 12” skillet over medium heat, and break into pieces with a fork. Cook until the sausage crumbles have browned on both sides, though the larger chunks may not be cooked through. The sausage will finish cooking as the stuffing bakes. Transfer the browned sausage to the bowl of bread, but leave the drippings in the skillet.

Toss the onions and celery into the pan with the drippings (yeah, I know. Look, it’s Thanksgiving, okay?) and place over medium-low heat. Stir with a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits of sausage left on the bottom of the pan. Sauté until the onions are translucent, but not brown; about 10 minutes. Add the vegetables to the bread.

Return the skillet to the stove, reduce the heat to low, and add the butter. While it melts, chop the sage as finely as you can. Add it to the melted butter and increase the heat to medium. Cook, stirring often if not constantly, until the butter starts to bubble and foam. If you like, you can continue to cook the butter until it browns, but this is not something The Gaffer would do.

Pour the foamy sage butter over the bread, and remind yourself that it will stretch into a million servings so you don’t have to feel guilty.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs until uniform. Add the evaporated milk, stock, salt and pepper; whisk to combine. Pour over the bread, and fold with a flexible spatula until evenly coated.

Portion the stuffing into two 9” by 13” glass or ceramic casserole dishes. Don’t pack the stuffing down or smooth the top; you want maximum surface area, with lots of jagged peaks that’ll brown into wonderfully crusty bits. (My friend Stephanie likes to scoop up individual Stuffing Balls.)

Whatever the case, cover the stuffing with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed; up to a week. Alternately, cover with foil and freeze up to six months.

Thaw the frozen stuffing overnight in the fridge before baking. Set the refrigerated stuffing out at room temperature while the oven preheats to 375°. Bake, uncovered, until the stuffing has browned on top and looks moist, but not gooey or wet inside (take it from the oven and use a fork to peek inside). About 30 minutes. If you plan to bake the stuffing as soon as you’ve made it, shave about 5 minutes off the clock as it will bake faster.