I think everyone puts their own spin on dressing (or stuffing, whatever you want to call it). And they probably all come about the same way mine did. What did I like about other dressings I had? And, what did I have in my kitchen?!
I used to make the standard herb and bread stuffing from my Better Homes & Gardens cookbook (when I made it at all). Then I had a stuffing that had sausage in it, and I liked that. Then I had stuffing that had apple in it, and I liked that. And so on.
Granny Smiths have a tartness that I like. I grabbed a bag with one cup of chopped onions from the freezer, and I like to use Italian sweet sausage.
First I brown the sausage, then remove it from the pan. The onion goes in, over medium, while I chop up the Granny Smith.
I sauté them in the sausage fat until soft, about six minutes.
The sausage and apple and onion mixture then get added to 12 cups of bread cubes. I also always have turkey wing meat leftover from making turkey stock for turkey gravy, so I add that too.
Although I then add ground sage and thyme, I'm pretty loose about it. I usually just add until it smells right. But for you I looked up a recipe and based on that, I added 1 tsp each of sage and thyme. Then 1 stick of melted butter, and two cans of chicken broth, and then mix it all up. Sometimes I don't add butter. Sometimes I use homemade stock. Sometimes I use bouillon. This is not an exact science!
Into a 9x13 pan it goes. Wow, that's a lot of brown.
At this point I put my pan in the fridge until I am going to cook my turkey. Since I really only make this at Thanksgiving or Christmas, this makes sense. If you want to bake it right away, put the foil covered pan in the oven at 375 Fahrenheit for 30 minutes, uncover, and bake 30 minutes more.
But this is what I do:
After removing the turkey from the oven to rest, I change the oven temp to 375 Farhenheit and put the pan of foil covered dressing in the oven for 30 minutes. (I also take it out of the fridge about 30 minutes in advance and let it sit at room temperature ). Take it out of the oven, uncover, and drizzle a cup or so of the turkey drippings over the dressing. Back into the oven for 30 minutes more.
I forgot to take a pic just out of the oven, but here is a pic of dressing being warmed up with gravy.
It may not be pretty, but it smells wonderful and tastes just as good.
To recap:
12 cups bread cubes
1 package sweet Italian sausage
1 Granny Smith Apple
1 medium onion (about 1 cup)
Chopped leftover dark turkey meat
1 tsp ground Sage
1 tsp ground thyme or thyme leaves
1 stick melted butter
2 cans chicken broth
Brown and crumble sausage; remove with a slotted spoon. Chop the apple and onion and add to the sausage fat in the pan. Sauté to soften, about 6 minutes. Add the sausage, apples and onions, and chopped turkey to the bread cubes. Next add the herbs and mix to distribute everything evenly. Pour in the melted butter and chicken broth; mix thoroughly.
Spread evenly into a 9x13 dish, cover with foil, and put in the fridge.
The day you bake it:
Remove from the fridge 30 minutes before baking and set the oven to 375 Fahrenheit. Put foil-covered pan into the oven for 30 minutes. Take out of the oven and remove the foil. Drizzle about a cup of turkey drippings over the dressing and put the uncovered pan back into the oven for 30 minutes more.
Labels: Side Dish
