Sausage, Apple, and Chestnut-Filled Brown Bread Dressing Recipe

Sausage, Apple, and Chestnut-Filled Brown Bread Dressing Recipe

Updated Recipe:

Whip up a scrumptious chestnut, bread, and apple stuffing that's to die for! Here's the breakdown:

Yield: 8 generous servings

Difficulty: A piece of cake

Estimated Time: 45 minutes (15 minutes actively involved)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 stick of duck fat or unsalted butter, with extra for greasing the baking dish
• 6 slices of pumpernickel or dark rye bread (approximately half a loaf), sans crusts, cut into medium cubes
• 6 slices of wheat bread (half a loaf), crust-free, cut into medium cubes
• 5 sweet Italian sausages (around 1 pound), casings discarded
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 1/4 cup fresh sage leaves, torn
• 1 tablespoon thyme leaves, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon Italian parsley leaves, finely chopped
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 1 teaspoon celery seed (optional)
• 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and diced
• 1 cup coarsely chopped roasted chestnuts
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Heat your oven to 350°F. Butter a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Place the bread cubes in a large mixing bowl and set it aside for now.
2. Grab a large frying pan and heat it over medium warmth. Add the duck fat or butter, then chuck in the sausage. Cook until it's browned, stirring frequently to break it up.
3. Toss in the onion and sage, and cook until the onion has softened and turned golden, approximately 5 minutes.
4. Add the thyme, parsley, celery, celery seed (if using), apples, and chestnuts. Cook until the apples have caramelized, roughly 3 minutes.
5. Pop the chicken broth into the pan, bring it to a simmer, then remove from heat. Pour this sautéed goodness over the bread cubes, mixing well to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Shove the stuffing into the prepared baking dish and pop it into the preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Kitchen Tricks:

• To roast the chestnuts: Preheat your oven to 400°F. Score the chestnuts and bake them for 20-25 minutes or until tender. Peel and chop them when cool.
• Toast the bread: Cube the bread and spread it out on a baking sheet. Bake it in the oven at 350°F for 5-7 minutes, or until crispy.
• Cook the sausage: Fry the sausage in a pan until browned and crumbled.
• Sauté the onions and celery: Cook the chopped onions and celery in butter until tender.

With these tips and tricks, you'll churn out a delicious, brown bread stuffing with chestnuts, apples, and sausage that'll steal the show at any festive meal!

1. In step 6 of the instructions, include chestnuts in the stuffing mix by using roasted chestnuts prepared beforehand as described under 'Kitchen Tricks'.
2. Before heating the oven for the stuffing in step 1, consider creating a batch of 1 cup of coarsely chopped roasted chestnuts using the oven method mentioned under 'Kitchen Tricks'.
3. While the apples are caramelizing in step 4, chop the roasted chestnuts that have been prepared according to the 'Kitchen Tricks' section and incorporate them into the pan along with the apples.

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