Mark’s Sausage and Crusty Bread Stuffing
Pairs well with 2016 Stagecoach Cabernet Sauvignon
The quintessential side to every turkey, stuffing evokes so many fond food memories. Debating over how much butter is too much butter to add, only to be fighting over a scoop of the corners for those perfectly crunchy bits. Each year several incarnations of stuffing are created in our house, but the one tried and true that gets requested year after year is my Sausage & Crusty Bread Stuffing. Enjoy!
Ingredients
12" Skillet
Large Bowl
9" x 13" Baking Dish
1 (16-oz.) loaf crusty Italian bread, cut into 1" pieces and left to dry uncovered overnight
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
12 oz. sweet Italian or hot breakfast sausage, casing removed
1 carrot, cut into 1⁄4" dice
2 stalk celery, cut into 1⁄4" dice
2 1⁄2 cups turkey or chicken stock
1⁄3 cup olive oil
1⁄2 cup roughly chopped parsley, plus more for garnish
2 tbsp. roughly chopped fresh rosemary
3 tbsp. roughly chopped fresh sage
1 tbsp. savory
1 tbsp marjoram
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions
Heat oven to 375°F.
Melt 1 tbsp. butter in a 12" skillet over medium-high heat. Cook sausage, stirring and breaking up meat into medium pieces, until browned, 8–10 minutes. Transfer sausage to a large bowl; set aside.
Add remaining butter to skillet; cook carrot, onion, and celery until soft, 5–7 minutes, and transfer to bowl with sausage.
Add stock, oil, parsley, rosemary, sage, bread, salt, and pepper to bowl; toss to combine.
Spread evenly in a 9" x 13" baking dish. Bake until golden brown and bread is slightly crisp on top, 30–35 minutes. Garnish with more parsley if you like.