Sausage and Herb Stuffing
You’ll never stuff a bird again once you discover pan-baked stuffing. Cooked in a combi steam or conventional oven, sausage and herb stuffing is crispy-topped and so good I could skip the turkey altogether.
Servings: 10
Calories: 459kcal
Ingredients
- 1 lb stale bread cut into 2.5cm/1 inch pieces
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 lb good quality fresh pork sausage casings removed
- 3 oz unsalted butter cubed
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 2 stalks celery finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 3 sprigs parsley finely chopped (include the stalks)
- 1 sprig sage leaves picked and chopped
- 1 sprig rosemary chopped
- 3 sprigs thyme leaves picked and chopped
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 1/2 cups chicken or turkey broth/stock use 2 cups for combi steam, or full quantity for conventional oven
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 3.5 oz dried cranberries or apricots, pitted prunes, walnuts or pecans (or a mixture of a couple of those), chopped
Instructions
Combi Steam Oven Method
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F, fan forced/convection setting (no steam). Grease either a 30cm/12 inch round or a 22 x 30cm (9 x 12 inch) rectangular baking dish and set aside. Have a second large baking pan ready (no need to grease this one).
- Put bread in a single layer on the second pan and cook until toasted but not too browned, about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer to a large bowl. Leave the oven at the same temperature but change the setting to combination steam. If your oven has variable steam settings, use 50% here (if not, don’t worry! Just select combination/convection steam at the correct temperature, and your oven will sort out the amount of steam).
- While the bread toasts, heat the oil in a frypan over medium heat. Cook the sausage meat until browned all over, breaking it up as it cooks.
- Add the butter, onions, celery, garlic, herbs and pepper to the meat. Cook until the vegetables are softened, about 5-7 minutes.
- Tip the meat mixture into the bowl with the bread, then pour in the stock (2 cups) and egg. Mix everything together well until all the liquid has been absorbed by the bread.
- Put the stuffing into the prepared baking dish, spreading it evenly to the edges. Cook until it’s golden brown all over, about 25 minutes. Serve hot or warm.
Conventional Oven Method
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F, fan forced/convection setting. Grease either a 30cm/12 inch round or a 22 x 30cm (9 x 12 inch) rectangular baking dish and set aside. Have a second large baking pan ready (no need to grease this one).
- Put bread in a single layer on the second pan and cook until toasted but not too browned, about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer to a large bowl.
- While the bread toasts, heat the oil in a frypan over medium heat. Cook the sausage meat until browned all over, breaking it up as it cooks.
- Add the butter, onions, celery, garlic, herbs and pepper to the meat. Cook until the vegetables are softened, about 5-7 minutes.
- Tip the meat mixture into the bowl with the bread, then pour in the stock (3 cups) and egg. Mix everything together well until all the liquid has been absorbed by the bread.
- Put the stuffing into the prepared baking dish, spreading it evenly to the edges. Cook until it’s golden brown all over, about 35 minutes. Serve hot or warm.
Notes
- The ingredients in this recipe are very adaptable. You can change up the flavours and texture by choosing different types of sausages or bread, and swapping the herbs for others that take your fancy. If the sausages you use are very garlicky, I would advise you to cut down on the fresh garlic a little.
- I’ve given an option to add different dried fruits and nuts in the ingredients. Apricots and pecans are my favourite but cranberries are also great and they’ll keep with festive tradition at this time of year.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 459kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 71mg | Sodium: 1036mg | Potassium: 343mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 335IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 64mg | Iron: 2.6mg