RECIPE: Thanksgiving Sausage Stuffing

I hope you all had a very Happy Thanksgiving. This year was extra special to me because I finally had the opportunity to meet some of my fiance’s relatives that live out of state for the very first time! And besides for the turkey and gravy, I cooked everything. So no pressure, right?

I’m proud to say that everything went off without a hitch! There were a few panicky moments, but I got through them, got everything done and, surprisingly, everything was delicious. I have to admit, that not everything was homemade. There’s no way I could have done it all if that were the case. However, one recipe that is always ALWAYS made from scratch is what my fiance calls my “famous sausage stuffing.”

There is only one brand of bread cubes that I use every year for this stuffing: Martin’s Potatobred Soft Stuffing Cubes.

As if stuffing isn’t decadent enough, let’s make it with Martin’s Potato Bread!!

I was tweeting and Instagramming while I was making this and Martin’s @potatorolls was tweeting back at me. They asked me if I could share the recipe. Since it’s not a secret recipe — there are many similar recipes that can be found online — it inspired me to share here on my blog.

1 bag of Martin’s Potatobred Soft Stuffing Cubes
1 16 oz. package of Premio’s Sweet Italian Sausage meat (ground)
Half of large white onion, finely chopped
3 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 large carrot, finely chopped
1/2 cup of Sherry wine (or any fortified liquid for deglazing the pan!)
10 Tbsp. real butter, salted
3/4 c. milk or milk alternative (soy, almond, or coconut — I used coconut)
1 c. chicken broth (substitute turkey or veggie broth if you wish)
1 tsp. dried sage (feel free to chiffonade a fresh sage leaf or two – or use sage sausage for more sage flavor!)
1 tsp. dried parsley
salt & pepper to taste

The recipe is insanely easy.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a heavy (cast iron) or non-stick pan, brown the sausage with some salt and pepper and a little sage & parsley. Feel free to add other seasonings if you wish, but I like to keep it simple since the sausage is usually pre-seasoned. Add oil to aid in the browning. I used a combination of canola and olive oil. Once the sausage has browned on medium heat (about 15-20 minutes), remove from pan (put into a glass bowl or plate of your choice). Whatever you do, keep those tasty sausage juices!

Conserve the fat and browned bits at the bottom of the pan. Add 2 tbsp. butter and a little oil (a couple of swirls will do just fine). Add finely chopped mirepoix (onion, celery and carrots) with a little salt and pepper to taste. Add sherry wine (or fortified liquid) to “deglaze” and add flavor to the mirepoix. Saute mirepoix until softened; usually around 10 minutes if on medium heat.

Add cooked sausage and mirepoix together and cook until warm. In separate (large) bowl, add the stuffing cubes, sausage/mirepoix mix, milk, broth, 1 stick (8 tbsp) of melted butter, more sage & parsley to your liking and mix until combined and the bread cubes are moist. Add more milk or broth as needed.

Add stuffing mix to greased/non-stick casserole dish. Tamp down. Wrap with aluminum foil. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Remove foil from casserole dish and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until golden brown on top. Ideally you’re looking for a nice soft crust on top.