Apple Cranberry Sausage Stuffing Recipe with Fresh Herbs (2024)

FAQs

Is it OK to make stuffing a day ahead of time? ›

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.

Dried Spices

Keep things easy with a dash of paprika or a sprinkle of cayenne. Or, totally change your stuffing mix with a spice blend like Cajun seasoning, Old Bay, poultry seasoning, adobo or Lawry's.

Sausage Stuffing Ingredients

Butter: Cook the vegetables in a mix of butter and sausage drippings. Vegetables: You'll need finely diced celery and a chopped onion. Bread: The white bread cubes should ideally be slightly stale. If your bread seems too soft, lightly toast it in the oven.

White Sandwich Bread

The texture is better and the loaf holds up better when mixing with the other ingredients. Mixing white bread with fresh herbs such as parsley, rosemary, fresh thyme and fresh sage. Season with salt and pepper with chopped onion makes for the perfect stuffing recipe.

If you don't plan on stuffing the bird, but preparing the dressing as a side dish, you can prepare uncooked stuffing ahead of time as long as you freeze the stuffing immediately after mixing the wet and dry ingredients. USDA recommends that you never refrigerate uncooked stuffing.

The most important ingredient of stuffing may be the binder, which keeps all the other elements in place. For a fluffy texture, use eggs. Stock is the most-used binder. Less conventional possibilities include fruit juice (such as apple or orange) and alcohol (wine or liqueur).

Changing the amount and type of herbs you add to the stuffing can really change the flavor profile. Fresh herbs like sage, thyme, rosemary, and parsley are some of my favorites to pair with seasonal flavors.

If the stuffing came out too wet and soggy (aka bread soup!) try not to over mix it, otherwise it'll turn into mush. Curtis Stone says to pour it on a large sheet tray and spread it out. Bake it on high heat to crisp it up, but make sure it doesn't burn.

The stuffing should be moist but not wet. If there is a puddle of broth at the bottom of the bowl, you've added too much. Add more bread to soak up the excess moisture. If the mix is still dry and crumbly, add more liquid and toss gently until it starts to clump together.

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.

How do you keep sausage casings from breaking when stuffing? ›

Soak the casing in water for at least 5 minutes to make them more pliable and easier to work with.

It goes well inside a turkey or a roasted chicken. I add chicken or beef stock when just making it as a casserole. It goes very well with a pork or beef roast too.

While you can use almost any bread — cornbread, bagels, or even frozen waffles — to make stuffing, it needs to be dried or “staled” first. Any attempts to make stuffing with soft, fresh baked bread will result in a bread soup with a soggy texture. Follow this tip: Stale, dried-out bread makes the best stuffing.

Too dry, and your stuffing will be crumbly and bland. While too much liquid will leave you with a soggy, unappetizing dish. "If you're using stale bread and adding liquid, there will be nowhere for the liquid to go," says Seixas. "It's like when you're trying to cram more people into a fully booked flight.

#1: White Sandwich Bread

Flavor: We were very happy with the flavor—the white bread acts as a sort of blank, neutral palate with a very mild sweetness that allows the richness of the broth, the sage-iness of the sausage, and the vegetables to really shine through.

Do not refrigerate uncooked stuffing. 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.

Do not refrigerate uncooked stuffing. 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.

Stuffing may be refrigerated for up to three or four days, or frozen for longer storage. The same timing applies for stuffing that is cooked separately, too. Be sure to reheat any leftover stuffing and use a food thermometer to make sure it reaches 165°F once again before eating it.

Heat the oven to 350°F and transfer the stuffing to an oven-safe dish (or, you can keep it in the dish that it was originally cooked in). If it seems dry, you'll want to add a splash of broth. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes, then remove foil and bake again until crisp, 15–20 minutes.