Chestnut and Sausage Stuffing
"This recipe was originally published in the November 1977 issue of Gourmet Magazine. This recipe is a bit labour intensive but the stuffing can be assembled (but not baked) 1 day ahead and chillled, covered."
- Ready In:
- 1hr 45mins
- Ingredients:
- 15
- Serves:
-
8-10
ingredients
- 1 loaf country bread, crust discarded and bread cut into 3/4 inch cubes (8 cups)
- 1⁄2 lb bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces
- 3 medium onions, coarsely chopped
- 3 celery ribs
- 1 lb pork sausage
- 1⁄4 cup cognac
- 1 1⁄2 cups half-and-half
- 1 cup turkey stock or 1 cup chicken stock
- 2 large eggs
- 1 (14 ounce) jar peeled cooked whole chestnuts, coarsely crumbled
- 1⁄4 cup flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoons dried sage, crumbled
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 3⁄4 teaspoon salt
- 1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper
directions
- Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat to 350°F Butter a 2 1/2 to 3 quart shallow baking dish.
- Spread bread cubes in a large shallow baking pan (1 inch deep) and bake in lower third of the oven until completely dry. Cool in pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Leave oven on.
- While the bread bakes, cook the bacon until crisp, about 10 minutes, then transfer with a slotted spoon to a large bowl.
- Pour off and discard all but 2 tablespoons of bacon fat from the skillet, then saute onions in the fat over moderately high heat, stirring and scraping up any brown bits, until the onions are softened, about 10 minutes. Add celery and saute, stirring, 3 minutes. Transfer onion and celery to the bowl with the bacon.
- Cook sausage in skillet, stirring and breaking up sausage, until meat is no longer pink, 8 to 10 minutes, then transfer sausage with a slotted spoon to the onion mixture.
- Pour off any remaining fat from skillet. Add Cognac (off heat), then deglaze skillet by simmering over moderate heat, stirring and scraping up any brown bits, 1 minute, and add to the onion sausage mixture.
- Increase oven temperature to 375°F.
- Soak bread cubes in half and half in a bowl, tossing frequently, until liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Gently squeeze excess liquid from bread, then stir bread into sausage mixture, discarding the excess half and half. Stir together stock and eggs and add to stuffing, then stir in chestnuts, herbs, salt and pepper until well combined.
- Transfer stuffing to baking dish and cover with foil, then bake in upper third of oven 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake until top is crisp, about 20 minutes more.
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
I am a classically trained chef and a grad of NECI in Vermont. I ran my own catering company for years and then decided to switch gears and go to law school. I now practice law and cook just for fun.
I enjoy cooking for friends and DH and I entertain regularly. I also cook for my three golden retrievers and have found several wonderful biscuit recipes here at Zaar.
I collect cookbooks and food literature. My all time favourite food writer is MFK Fisher. If you have not read it, I commend her short story "Borderland " to you. It is one of the most evocative pieces of food writing ever. My current favourite cookbook is "Urban Italian - Simple Recipes and True Stories from a Life in Food" by Andrew Carmelini.
For years I managed to hang on to all of my back issues of Gourmet some of which date back to the 1980's. Sadly, I recently lost that particular battle and to promote marital harmony, I am recycling my old mags but am posting my favorite Gourmet recipes along with some interesting ones worthy of a test drive.
