My dad makes this stuffing and it’s freakishly good. With such an easy method and minimal ingredients, it’s surprising just how delicious this stuff is. He uses dried, cubed white bread so that all of its moisture comes from the butter and chicken stock. Be careful with the salt, as sodium is already coming from the sausage, seasoned stuffing cubes and chicken stock. It’s a perfect make ahead too, just mix it all together, refrigerate, and then bake day of. (It also freezes really well!) This was originally posted on November 17, 2012 but was updated on November 17th, 2015.
The Best Thanksgiving Sausage Stuffing Ever
Serves 8-10
Total Time: 45 minutes
• 16 oz refrigerated sage sausage
• 1 large onion, peeled, medium dice
• 3 medium celery stalks, trimmed, medium dice
• 2 medium carrots, peeled, medium dice
• 2 teaspoons dried sage
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 3-4 cups chicken stock, divided (if reheating, use extra stock to moisten)
• 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
• 1 bag (12 oz) herb seasoned dried stuffing cubes
• salt and pepper, to taste
Cook sausage over medium high heat in a dutch oven, breaking it up into small pieces (no need to add oil). Once cooked through, remove the meat into your final baking dish (if the dutch oven is your final serving dish, place meat aside in a bowl). Add the onion to the same pan in the sausage fat and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Add some olive oil (about 1 teaspoon) if there isn’t enough sausage fat (optional). Add celery, carrot, sage, and cayenne. Saute another 3 minutes, seasoning with a bit of salt and pepper, to taste.
Add 1/2 cup chicken stock to the pan to deglaze. Scrub up all the brown bits on the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Let vegetable mix simmer for a minute or until most of the additional stock moisture has evaporated. Add butter to pot and let melt. Turn heat off. Add cubes and mix to evenly distribute the butter mix. Add sausage and 2 1/2 cups chicken stock. Mix well and bake, covered, at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes, until warmed through.
If reheating, add some extra chicken stock to moisten first.
B&B: Beakers&Bouillabaisse 