Cranberry, Apple & Sausage Bread Stuffing

Cranberry, Apple & Sausage Bread Stuffing

Serves: 8

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf Portofino Bakery Sourdough bread, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 Red Barn Market’s Turkey Herb & Sage Sausage, removed from casing and crumbled
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup shallots, chopped into 1-cm pieces
• 1 cup celery, chopped into 1-cm pieces (about 2 large stalks)
• 1 cup apple, chopped into 1-cm pieces
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh sage leaves, finely chopped (about 6 large leaves)
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 ½ cups frozen Yellow Point cranberries
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken stock, at room temperature
• 3 large eggs, beaten

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Slice the sourdough loaf into 1-inch pieces and arrange in an even layer on the parchment lined baking tray.
3. Bake for 20 minutes in the center of the oven, or until slightly golden and dried out, flipping the bread halfway through cooking. Once dried, remove from the oven and set aside.
4. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the olive oil to the pan followed by the crumbled sausage. Cook the sausage, stirring often for 5 minutes or until the sausage has browned on the outside and is almost fully cooked (it will continue to cook as it bakes in the oven). Remove the sausage from the pan and place in a bowl. Set aside.
5. Place the butter in the same frying pan that was used to cook the sausage. Heat the butter over medium-high heat. Once melted, add the shallots and celery. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the shallots and celery are just beginning to soften.
6. Next, add the apple to the pan, followed by the salt, pepper, sage, thyme, and maple syrup. Mix to combine and cook for 2 minutes. Once cooked, return the sausage to the pan, mix to combine, and remove from the heat.
7. Place half of the dried bread into the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Top the bread with half of the sausage and vegetable mixture and half of the frozen cranberries. Place the remaining bread on top, and layer the remaining sausage and vegetable mixture frozen cranberries on top.
8. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs to combine smooth. Add the chicken stock and mix to combine. Slowly pour the egg mixture evenly over the stuffing in the baking tray, ensuring that all the bread is covered.
9. Once all the egg mixture is added, use a spoon to gently press the bread into the egg mixture to absorb into the bread. Let stand for 5 minutes to allow the bread to soak up the egg mixture.
10. Once ready to bake, cover the baking dish with aluminum foil. Place in the center of the oven and bake at 350 degrees F, covered, for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes, or until the top of the stuffing is golden brown.
11. Remove from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes:

• You can prepare the bread a day in advance by cutting it up into pieces and leaving it on a baking tray on the counter overnight. This will help dry the bread for the bread stuffing.
• You can use your favourite variety of apple in this recipe. From recipe testing, Braeburn or Honeycrisp apples really work well in this recipe.
• Feel free to make this stuffing with any seasonal variety of Red Barn Market sausage you like such as Turkey Herb & Sage or Turkey & Cranberry Sausage.