Of all the Thanksgiving foods, Stuffing is honestly my most favorite! I love it on the day of , but even more so the next day on a sandwich with turkey, gravy , fresh cranberry sauce and a little bit of mayo on some sourdough bread! This recipe has a lot of ingredients , so I generally prep it all and put it together the day before so I don't have so much to do on Thanksgiving day. Just pop it in the oven @ 350 degrees !
INGREDIENTS:
1. 2 Tbs Unsalted Butter , plus more for patting on top of Stuffing
2 . 2 Medium Onions, diced small
3. 4 Cloves Garlic, minced 4. 2 Red Bell Peppers , diced small 5. 1 1/2 c White Mushrooms , diced small 6. 1 1/2 c Kale , chopped up small ( using the pre- chopped kale in a bag is always easier!) 7. 2 Tbs Flat Leaf Italian Parsley ,finely chopped
8. 1 Tbs Fresh Basil, finely chopped
9. 1 Tbs Fresh Thyme , leaves stripped from stem or 2 tsp Dried Thyme 10. 1 Large Sprig of Rosemary , leaves stripped and finely chopped
11. 1 Tbs Fresh Sage , finely chopped
12. 1 lb Sweet Italian Sausage layed out on counter for 30 minutes before cooking ( I like the sweet, you can also use either mild or hot )
13. 10 c Day old Sourdough bread, diced or torn up into 1/2 or 1 inch size cubes ( I used 1 regular sourdough round and 1 garlic sourdough round) Make sure they aren't the small personal sized rounds, they need to be the large rounds or you won't have enough bread.
14. 1/2 tsp Celery Salt
15. 1 pinch of Crushed Red Pepper
16. 1 tsp Kosher Salt
17. 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
18. 2 1/4 c Chicken Broth
19. 2 eggs
DIRECTIONS:
Now, trust me here, it's SO MUCH easier if you prep all the ingredients ahead of time ! Some recipes, you can prep as you go. This isn't one of them! Do all the prep first, then get started with the cooking. Make sure to put your cubed bread into a very large bowl . Now, Andiamo! ( Let's go!)
In a large pan , start cooking the Italian Sausage on medium heat , making sure to break it up as it cooks until cooked through. The reason I say to let it sit out for 30 minutes is so it's easier to break up in the pan as it cooks. Cold ground meat can be more difficult to break up in the pan and takes longer to cook as well. Do not over cook it! You don't want crusty sausage in your stuffing. In a dutch oven, melt the 2 Tbs of butter and add in the onions, red bell pepper and garlic. Cook until it all starts to become softened, about 3 minutes. Then add the mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes . Next add in the kale, rosemary, sage, thyme , celery salt , black pepper, crushed red pepper and parsley . Cook until the kale is wilted a bit, about 3 minutes.
Once the sausage is cooked through, add it to the pot of vegetables , pour in some of the grease from the sausage along with it ( the bread will absorb it) and turn off stove . Mix it all together to incorporate it well.
Add the veggie and sausage mixture into the bowl of bread cubes and mix together thoroughly. Then add the kosher salt last. Now, in a bowl or a large ( 4 cup) measuring cup, whisk the 2 eggs together well and then pour in the chicken broth and whisk more to make sure all the egg blends with the broth.
Butter the inside of a large casserole dish , add in the stuffing. Pour the broth / egg mixture over stuffing and mash the stuffing down a little with your hand to make sure the all the bread absorbs the broth.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees and add about 6 pats of butter to the top of the stuffing . Now, if you happen to put it all together the day before, then let the casserole dish sit out for 30 before baking so it's not ice cold when you put it in the oven . It will affect the baking time if it's too cold.
Once the oven is heated to temp, cover the casserole dish loosely with foil ( almost tent like) and bake for 45 minutes. After the 45 minutes is up, remove the foil and bake for about 15 minutes more until the top is turning golden and the stuffing temp has reached 160 or higher.
Remove from oven and serve ! Happy Thanksgiving !
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