This SAUSAGE DRESSING RECIPE is your next must-make side for special occasions!
This is one of those recipes that always works. We use readily available ingredients to create it but boost the flavour profile with an interesting mix of dried fruit, crispy apples, nuts and freshly chopped herbs. The finished dish has a pleasing taste but I also love the way it filled the cottage with inviting aromas.
Here’s why it’s always so well received:
THE SAUSAGE
I used a seasoned pork sausage for the recipe. Try to track down freshly made sausages if possible, and I think a lightly seasoned variety works better than say chorizo or Italian. Spiced sausage will overpower the flavour of the dish.
CASSEROLE
We used a large 11 x 14-inch glass casserole dish for this recipe and liked making a dressing as opposed to a stuffing; less fuss and mess. This sizable dish means you’ll be able to serve lots of hungry people, but don’t kid yourself, a side dish like this will disappear in no time, it’s just so darn tasty! Don’t forget to butter the dish before adding the dressing to make scooping extra easy.
THE BREAD
I used a loaf of HOMEMADE SOURDOUGH bread for this recipe, cutting it into ½-inch cubes before toasting it up. The bread adds a wonderful texture to the dressing and also has a hint of caraway too which made it extra pleasing on the palate.
VEGETABLES
Onion, celery and mushrooms – what could be easier? Although I could have made this dressing using French shallots and sent you off into the woods to pick rare, magical mushrooms, Carol said “NO, Nik, keep it simple!”… and so I did. Gotta love Carol’s voice of reason, especially if you’re adding this recipe to your upcoming holiday repertoire.
FRUIT AND NUTS
I couldn’t resist adding chopped dried apricots and cranberries for their welcome boost of colour, and I also tossed in chopped pecans for their rich, buttery flavour. The addition of the apples right at the end adds such a fabulous flavour to the dressing; if anything, I’d add even more. Head HERE for a great article on some of my favourite varieties!
Okay, so I skipped the rosemary, but the parsley, sage and thyme ended up providing this dressing with the perfect mix of fragrance and flavour. When prepping the parsley, hold back about a tablespoon and then sprinkle it on the finished dish right before you send it to table to be enjoyed. The pop of green makes it even more inviting.
The last thing about this recipe is a suggestion on when best to enjoy it. My answer is unequivocal… anytime. Of course, you can serve it during the holidays, perhaps with our SALT-BRINED TURKEY or now-famous ROASTED GOOSE RECIPE, but why wait for a special occasion? Serve this SAUSAGE DRESSING RECIPE with our ROASTED PORK SHOULDER, our ROAST CHICKEN or our delicious SIRLOIN TIP ROAST.
This SAUSAGE DRESSING RECIPE turns your next dinner or family get-together into a celebration!
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Ingredients
1½ lb pork sausage, removed from casing
1 loaf sourdough rye bread, cut into ½-inch cubes
4 tablespoons butter
½ sweet white onion, finely diced
3 celery ribs, finely diced
2 cups cremini mushrooms, sliced
½ cup dried apricots, chopped
½ cup dried cranberries, chopped
¼ cup each fresh parsley, sage and thyme, finely chopped
3 apples, cored and chopped
1 cup poultry stock
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Place the bread onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and transfer to the oven, toasting until lightly browned and crispy. Set aside.
Use one tablespoon of the butter to grease the casserole dish. Set aside.
Melt the remaining butter in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Sauté the onions until soft and translucent. Add the celery and mushrooms and cook until soft. Crumble the sausage meat into the skillet and cook until all of the pinkness has disappeared.
Place the toasted bread into a large mixing bowl. Add the contents from the skillet followed by the apricots, cranberries, pecans, herbs and apples. Stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning using salt and pepper.
Transfer to buttered casserole dish, spreading out into an even layer, then slowly pour the poultry stock overtop. Transfer to oven and bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes or until top is lightly browned and toasted. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before sprinkling with a bit of chopped parsley and serving.
For roasting always include the Stuffing when calculating your cooking times. If you're using a temperature probe you want the centre to be 70ºc. Sausage Stuffing Balls need about 30 minutes in the oven on a Gas Mark 3, 325º Fahrenheit 170º Celsius. If you're using a temperature probe you want the centre to be 70ºc.
Cook until the center of the dressing reaches 165 degrees. When checked with a food thermometer. Never place frozen dressing or other frozen food in a slow cooker, it will not reach proper safe temperature fast enough.
Remove the sausage meat from the packaging. Preheat your oven to 200°C for fan assisted or 210°C for ovens without a fan. Place onto a roasting tin in the centre of the oven. Roast for 30 minutes until the stuffing has a golden crust & thoroughly cooked to a minimum of 72°C.
Add at least 1 oz.of water per pound of meat to aid in the stuffing process. This aid in mixing the meat with the seasoning and will ease the stress put on the gears of your meat mixer and sausage stuffer. Try experimenting with liquids other than water when mixing your next batch of sausage.
"Stuffing is cooked in the cavity of the turkey, so the juices soak into the ingredients, making it more flavorful.Dressing gets cooked on its own and needs extra liquid to make it flavorful." So stuffing is cooked inside the bird. Dressing is cooked outside the bird, usually in a casserole dish.
No matter where you fall, getting a head start on what can be prepared before the big day is essential. One question that always crops up: Can you make stuffing ahead of time? The short answer to whether you can making stuffing ahead of time is yes.
If stuffing is prepared ahead of time, it must be either frozen or cooked immediately. To use cooked stuffing later, cool in shallow containers and refrigerate it within 2 hours. Use it within 3 to 4 days. Reheat the cooked stuffing to 165 ºF just as for all leftovers.
You haven't said whether you are going to cook the stuffing inside the bird or out, but it's fine to make almost any stuffing a few hours before you'll need it. The important thing is to keep it properly chilled so that bacteria won't have a chance to grow in it.
You want your stuffing moist but not soggy and certainly not dry. The bread in the stuffing absorbs moisture, but if it's dry (as it should be, see above), it takes some time for the liquid to settle in. I suggest adding a little at a time, say 1 cup of broth for every 4 cups of dry mix.
For leftovers, remember the 2-hour rule and refrigerate cooked poultry and stuffing within two hours to avoid bacteria from multiplying on room-temperature food. Leftover stuffing should be consumed or frozen within 3-4 days.
Use a meat thermometer to make sure your sausage is between 160 and 165 °F (71 and 74 °C). If you don't have a meat thermometer, check that the sausage is firm and has clear, runny juices. Cut it open and make sure the inside is brown, not pink.
Stab the thickest part of the sausage with the thermometer, then wait until the temperature reading is stable.Once they're 165 °F (74 °C), they're done.
Keep cooking for 15-20 mins, moving them around in the pan and turning them over regularly so they all cook evenly. The sausages are ready when the outside is a deep golden brown and the inside is pale, with no pink meat. Any meat juices running off should be clear.
This recipe for classic sausage stuffing is nicely flexible, so you can adapt it to what you like. Some sausage meat packets already have added spices and you can even use flavoured sausages, squeezed from their casings, to make stuffing.
Sausage casing, also known as sausage skin or simply casing, is the material that encloses the filling of a sausage. Natural casings are made from animal intestines or skin; artificial casings, introduced in the early 20th century, are made of collagen and cellulose.
Most sausages are made by forcing chopped or ground meat, fat, and seasonings into a skin of sorts (called the casing), which then gets tied or twisted to create individual links.
The white stuff is, in fact, mold. A very specific mold, used in the fermenting of sausages. By innoculating the sausages with a specific and beneficial mold, the good mold kills any bad molds and keeps them from spoiling the product... It may have been “killed” after the sausage was made and just left on for flavor.
Introduction: My name is Melvina Ondricka, I am a helpful, fancy, friendly, innocent, outstanding, courageous, thoughtful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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