
Thanksgiving Stuffing (Dressing)
I was asked to bring stuffing for our Thanksgiving pitch-in, which to me means make something simple complicated (homemade). This was a huge hit and miles above the boxed equivalent.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus 1 tablespoon more
- 1.5 pounds loaf sourdough bread, sliced 1 inch thick, torn into 1/2–3/4-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 pound breakfast sausage, casings removed if needed
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 1 fennel bulb, finely chopped
- 4 celery stalks, finely chopped
- 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more
- 1/2 cup dry white wine or chicken broth
- 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped sage
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped thyme
- 3 large eggs
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth, divided
Directions
- Preheat oven to 300° with racks in the middle.
- Butter a 3-qt. baking dish.
- Divide bread between 2 baking sheets and bake until dried out, 25–35 minutes. Let cool.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Cook sausage, breaking into small pieces, and until a little crispy. Transfer sausage to a plate.
- Reduce heat to medium and melt butter in same skillet.
- Add onion, fennel, and celery; season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook until vegetables are very tender but not browned, 12–15 minutes.
- Add wine to deglaze. Bring to a boil and cook until liquid is mostly evaporated, about 3 minutes.
- Toss in parsley, sage, and thyme and let mixture cool in skillet.
- Increase oven temperature to 350°.
- Whisk eggs and 2 cups stock in a very large bowl.
- Add bread, sausage, and onion mixture and toss well to combine. Add salt and pepper.
- Drizzle remaining 2 cups stock over and toss again to combine.
- Let sit, tossing occasionally, until bread absorbs all of the liquid, about 10 minutes.
- Transfer stuffing to prepared dish; butter a sheet of foil and cover dish, butter side down.
- Bake on middle rack until very hot throughout (center should register 160°), 35–40 minutes.
- Increase oven temperature to 425°.
- Remove foil and transfer baking dish to top rack. Continue to bake stuffing until golden brown, 25–30 minutes longer.
Source: Bon Appetit

