Prune And Sausage Stuffing Recipes

CLASSIC SAUSAGE STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350˚. Butter a 3-quart baking dish. Melt 6 tablespoons butter in a large wide pot over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking up the meat, until no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the onions, celery, sage and thyme and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth, 1 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat.
• Whisk the eggs and parsley in a large bowl. Add the bread cubes and sausage-broth mixture and toss until evenly combined. Transfer to the prepared baking dish, dot with the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and cover with foil.
• Bake the stuffing until hot, about 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

EASY SAUSAGE & HERB STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with butter.
• Place the stuffing cubes in a large mixing bowl.
• In a large sauté pan, melt the butter. Add the onions and celery and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 8 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft. Add the garlic and cook 2 minutes more. Add the vegetables to the stuffing cubes. (Don't wash the pan but scrape out every last bit of vegetables, otherwise they will burn in the next step.)
• In the same pan, cook the sausage over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, until browned and cooked through, breaking up the sausage with a metal spatula while cooking (the largest pieces should be no greater than ¼-inch). Add the browned sausage and fat to the bread cubes and vegetables.
• Add the chicken broth, egg, rosemary, sage, parsley, salt and pepper to the bread cube mixture and mix until the bread is soft and moistened. Transfer the stuffing to the prepared baking dish and bake for 65-75 minutes, uncovered, until deeply golden and crisp on top.
• Note: If you can't find bulk sausage, simply buy regular sausage and remove the casings.
• Make-Ahead/Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The stuffing can be assembled up to a day ahead and refrigerated until ready to bake; follow the baking instructions in the recipe. It can also can be frozen after baking, tightly covered, for up to 3 months. When you're ready to serve it, defrost in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Reheat it, covered with foil, in a 325°F oven until hot.

APPLE, PRUNE AND SAUSAGE STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Spread bread cubes on one or more baking sheets and toast in oven until dry and golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer bread to a very large mixing bowl and set aside.
• While bread is toasting, put prunes in a small saucepan, cover with water, bring to a simmer and cook about 10 minutes, until tender. Drain and chop prunes in a food processor or by hand. Fold prunes into the bread cubes.
• Crumble sausage into a large, heavy skillet and saute, stirring with a fork, until cooked through and browned. Drain well of fat and add to the bread cube mixture. Discard the fat.
• Add the butter to the skillet and saute the celery, onion and apples over medium-high heat until tender, about 15 minutes. Add sage, thyme, salt and pepper. Stir in the stock.
• Add the contents of the skillet to the bread mixture and toss to combine all ingredients. Adjust seasonings and, if necessary, add more stock. The bread in the stuffing mixture should be just moist, neither crunchy nor sodden. Let stuffing cool and refrigerate if not using immediately. The turkey should be stuffed just before roasting. Any excess stuffing can be baked in a covered casserole during the final half hour the turkey is roasting.

HARVEST STUFFING

Steps:

• Brown the sausage in a pan, breaking up clumps; remove to a large bowl. Add the oil to the pan; stir in the onions, celery, garlic, thyme, and sage and cook over medium-low heat for 15 minutes. Add to the sausage along with the bread, apples and dried fruits. Toss well. Drizzle the broth over the mixture to moisten as desired and season with salt and pepper. Cool before stuffing the turkey.

CHESTNUT, PRUNE, AND PANCETTA STUFFING

Steps:

• Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 400°F.
• Scatter bread in a single layer in 2 large shallow baking pans (17 by 12 inches) and toast, stirring once or twice and switching position of pans halfway through baking, until golden and dry, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a very large bowl.
• Cook pancetta in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until browned, 12 to 15 minutes. Add butter and heat until melted, then add celery and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 12 minutes. Stir in sage, salt, and pepper and cook 1 minute. Add pancetta mixture along with chestnuts and prunes to bowl containing bread. Whisk together stock and eggs, then stir into bread mixture until combined well. Transfer to baking dish (stuffing will mound above dish).
• Bake, loosely covered with a buttered sheet of foil (buttered side down) 30 minutes, then remove foil and bake until top is browned, 10 to 15 minutes more.

SAUSAGE, APPLE, AND PRUNE STUFFING

Steps:

• In a ceramic or glass bowl let 6 ounces pitted pruned, chopped coarse, macerate in ½ cup Madeira for 2 hours. In a stainless steel or enameled skillet cook 2 cups chopped onion in 1 ½ sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter over moderate heat for 5 minutes, or until it is softened. Add 2 cups each of chopped celery and peeled, cored, and chopped tart apple, cook the mixture for 5 minutes, or until the celery is softened slightly, and transfer it with a slotted spoon to a large bowl. In the fat remaining in the skillet cook 1 ½ pounds sausage meat, breaking it up with a fork, and the reserved turkey liver, minced, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until the mixture is lightly colored, and transfer the mixture to the bowl. Cut enough day-old French or Italian bread into ½ inch cubes to measure 5 cups, spread it in a jelly-roll pan and toast it in a preheated moderately slow oven (325 F) for 20 to 30 minutes, or until it is crisp and slightly golden. Transfer the bread to the bowl, add the prune mixture, 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves, 2 tablespoons minced fresh sage or 2 teaspoons dried, 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried, ¼ teaspoon ground allspice, and freshly grated nutmeg, slat, and pepper to taste, and toss the stuffing well. Let the stuffing cool.

TURKEY WITH PRUNE WALNUT AND CELERY STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine the ingredients for the turkey broth and simmer for one hour. Strain and reserve the broth. Wipe the turkey inside and out with paper towels and set aside.
• Saute the sausage meat over medium heat, separating it with a fork. Drain off the fat and put the sausage meat into a mixing bowl. Meanwhile, soak the bread and the milk in a small bowl. Simmer the prunes in the wine for 20 minutes, covered. Set aside.
• With a paper towel, wipe out the frying pan in which you sauteed the sausage. Add the butter and oil and cook the onion, garlic and celery until soft. Sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper and add to the sausage meat with the parsley and walnuts.
• Drain the bread from the milk, squeeze it and add it to the sausage meat. Add the prunes with their cooking juices and mix thoroughly.
• Season both cavities in the turkey with salt and pepper and fill with the stuffing. Truss with skewers or needle and thread. Tie legs together and tuck in wings. Place turkey breast-side-up in roasting pan. Brush generously with melted butter and place the bacon strips on top. Cover breast with foil.
• Roast turkey two hours, basting every 30 minutes with pan drippings. Uncover and continue roasting for one to two hours longer, depending on size of turkey, until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 170 degrees.
• Place turkey on a serving dish and cover loosely with foil. Pour the fat from the roasting pan. Add two cups turkey broth to the pan and bring to boil, scraping up any cooked particles. Add the wine and bring to boil, stirring. Reduce to one-and-a-half cups. Season with salt and pepper and serve separately in a warm sauce boat.