Sausage and Herb Bread Stuffing
Cubed bread dried out and soaked in sausage fat and stock, baked until the top shatters and the center stays custardy.
- Serves
- 8
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 50 min
- Written
Method
-
Spread the bread cubes on a sheet pan and dry them in a 300°F oven for 20 minutes, until they’ve lost their give and sound hollow when tapped.
-
Brown the sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it into crumbles, until no pink remains, about 8 minutes.
-
Add the butter, onion, and celery to the same skillet and cook until the onion turns translucent, about 6 minutes.
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Stir in the garlic, sage, and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
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Whisk the eggs into the stock, then toss the bread, sausage mixture, and stock together in a large bowl until every cube is evenly damp.
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Season with salt and pepper, pile into a buttered baking dish, and bake uncovered at 375°F for 30 minutes, until the top is deeply browned and craggy.
Notes
The bread has to actually be stale, or dried hard in the oven — fresh bread soaks up the stock and turns to paste before it ever sees the oven. Tear it a day ahead if you remember, or dry it low and slow the same day; either way you want it dense enough to soak without collapsing.
Assemble the whole thing the day before and hold it covered in the fridge, then bake straight from cold — add five minutes to the covered time and it comes out the same. Leave it uncovered the whole bake if you want a drier, craggier top; a foil cover for the first half keeps the center softer.