Kuri Sausage Sourdough Stuffing
SKU:
Even though our household LOVES stuffing, we were skeptical to add more stuffing to the Thanksgiving spread.
Adapted from Bon Appetit, this one makes the cut.
PSA: this is a prep-ahead dish.
Adapted from Bon Appetit, this one makes the cut.
PSA: this is a prep-ahead dish.
Ingredients
|
Half a loaf of sourdough bread (if ‘fat’) or a whole loaf (if long and skinny)
About 1T of butter 1 pound of spicy Italian sausage 1 onion, finely chopped 2-3 jalapeño peppers, seeded and very finely diced 1 large honeycrisp apple, peeled, cored, and cut into bite-sized pieces 2-3 cloves of garlic, finely diced About a handful of fresh sage, finely chopped |
¼ cup sherry, to taste (optional)
1-2T butter as needed About 2 cups of chicken stock 1 package of kuri, quartering each chestnut Salt to taste Pepper to taste |
What To Do
2-3 days before (I did say prep ahead)
Cut bread into crouton-sized cubes (about 1/2-3/4-inch cubes), with to fill the bottom-third of a 9” x 13” pan. Ideally, let bread and dry out for a few days. In low humidity California or if the heat is on, I let it sit out on our counter for two to three days. I’ve found this to be the best way to get the crunchy-but-not-crumbly texture.
Serving and eating day
In a large Dutch oven, add a bit of butter to the pan, and then add the Italian sausage. Break the sausage up and keep cooking until it just starts to brown and get crunchy. Add onion and jalapeño peppers and cook until the onions are soft and starting to brown. Add apple, garlic, sage, and pepper to taste, and cook until apples are close to brown, but not to the point they are soggy. Add sherry if you have it, and cook down. Add a bit more butter and start to add bread cubes. Alternate chicken stock and bread cubes until everything is uniformly mixed and just starting to stick together. Add in kuri at the very end til just combined.
Taste it at this point when all the flavors are combined. Add salt, pepper, or sage if needed.
Transfer to the 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for about 40 min. Remove foil, add a little butter in dots at the top, and bake uncovered for about 10 minutes until the top gets crunchy and starts to brown.
Cut bread into crouton-sized cubes (about 1/2-3/4-inch cubes), with to fill the bottom-third of a 9” x 13” pan. Ideally, let bread and dry out for a few days. In low humidity California or if the heat is on, I let it sit out on our counter for two to three days. I’ve found this to be the best way to get the crunchy-but-not-crumbly texture.
Serving and eating day
In a large Dutch oven, add a bit of butter to the pan, and then add the Italian sausage. Break the sausage up and keep cooking until it just starts to brown and get crunchy. Add onion and jalapeño peppers and cook until the onions are soft and starting to brown. Add apple, garlic, sage, and pepper to taste, and cook until apples are close to brown, but not to the point they are soggy. Add sherry if you have it, and cook down. Add a bit more butter and start to add bread cubes. Alternate chicken stock and bread cubes until everything is uniformly mixed and just starting to stick together. Add in kuri at the very end til just combined.
Taste it at this point when all the flavors are combined. Add salt, pepper, or sage if needed.
Transfer to the 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for about 40 min. Remove foil, add a little butter in dots at the top, and bake uncovered for about 10 minutes until the top gets crunchy and starts to brown.
Notes
- Modifications from the original, mostly because I’m lazy.
Got rid of drop-in, and then removing arbol chiles. Simplified and added some kick by making finely chopped jalapeños as part of the stuffing.
Reduced butter and eliminated the scrambled egg mixture. Again, because I’m lazy. It doesn’t change the flavor, and I like a crunchier texture vs a savory sorta-bread pudding. - Breads I have used: straight-up Santa Cruz sourdough, Safeway Asiago cheese bread loaf (in this case, cut back on salt), and our very local Ad Astra sourdough.
- I am firmly in the “dry bread out naturally” camp. However, oven toasting, particularly in humid climates (so your bread doesn't start a penicillin farm); or when you are pressed for time, is a good and often necessary option .
- Omitting celery put it over the top. The anti-celery household faction rejoices that this one rolls celery-free,