makes about 12 cups
This recipe is from COOKS’S ILLUSTRATED The Best Recipe. I used to follow a stuffing recipe from the Joy of Cooking that had apples & sausage in it, but this one has been my go-to for the past 15-20 years. The sage, thyme and marjoram seasonings combined with the apricots and sweet Italian sausage hit the spot especially when combined with the gravy made from the roasted turkey stock.
Ingredients
- 1 pound sweet Italian sausage, removed from casing and crumbled
- 6 TBL unsalted butter
- 1 large onion, chopped (about 1½ cups) ← I use a Vidalia onion
- 4 medium celery stalks, chopped (about 1½ cups)
- ½ tsp each dried sage, dried thyme, dried marjoram
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- ½ cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped fine
- 2 cups pecans, toasted and roughly chopped ← I leave these out, not a pecan fan & my mom is allergic
- 1 cup dried apricots, cut into thin strips
- 1 tsp salt
- 12 cups dried French or other white bread crumbs
- 1 cup chicken stock or low-sodium canned broth
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
Instructions
- Cook sausage in large skillet over medium heat until browned, about 10 minutes
- Transfer sausage to large bowl (really large, I use a stock pot) with slotted spoon
- Discard fat and in the same pan melt butter
- Add onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat until soft and translucent, 6 to 7 minutes
- Add dried herbs and pepper and cook for another minute
- Transfer contents of pan to bowl with sausage
- Add parsley, [pecans], apricots, and salt and mix to combine
- Add bread cubes to bowl
- Whisk stock and eggs together in small bowl
- Pour mixture over bread cubes
- Gently toss to evenly distribute ingredients