Sausage, Cornbread and Tart Cherry Stuffing
Come along with us to the South and try our sausage-forward stuffing. Paired with cornbread, pecans and tart cherries (or give a nod to the North with cranberries if you prefer), we’re pretty sure this will become an annual favorite at the Thanksgiving and holiday table. Make it a day ahead to let all that delicious sausage flavor sink in and to help space out your prep. We have a wide variety of sausages for you to choose from breakfast sausages to Italian sausage and chorizo, in or out of the casing. All our meat is pasture-raised and deeply flavorful.
What You'll Need
•1½ loaves cornbread (about 6-7 cups)
•2 cups whole pecans
•2 leeks (white & pale green parts only), finely diced and rinsed with cold water
•3 celery ribs, finely diced
•1 onion, peeled and finely diced
•¾ stick (6 tbsp) unsalted butter
•½ lb of your favorite Grass Roots sausage (casing removed if in casing)
•1-½ cups dried sour cherries (or cranberries)
•¼ cup sugar
•¼ cup mixed chopped herbs: thyme, flat-leafed parsley, rosemary & oregano
•2 cups chicken stock
The Recipe
1.Preheat oven to 325°
2.Add dried cherries to a small saucepan with ¼ sugar and just enough water to cover. Simmer until cherries plump up.
3.Cut cornbread into ½" cubes, spread out on cookie sheets and bake until just dry, about 20 minutes.
4.Transfer cornbread to a large bowl and set aside.
5.In a sauté pan, toast pecans over medium-low heat until aromatic and slightly golden (2-3 minutes).
6.Halve leeks lengthwise then cut crosswise into ½" pieces. Wash leeks in a bowl of cold water and strain.
7.Melt butter in a sauté pan and sweat leeks, celery and onion over moderately low heat, stirring until leeks are tender, about 15-20 minutes.
8.Remove sausage from casings and break into small pieces.
9.Add sausage to leek mixture and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until sausage is cooked through.Stir in pecans and add to bowl with toasted cornbread.
10.Add chicken stock to the same pan that had your sausage-leek mixture in it. Cook down to 1 cup of liquid.
11.To bowl of cornbread, add pecans, sausage-leek mixture, sour cherries, chopped herbs and reduced chicken stock. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper if needed.
12.Cool stuffing completely. Stuffing may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring stuffing to room temperature before stuffing in turkey or adding to a casserole dish.
Recipe courtesy of how2heroes