This tasty Thanksgiving stuffing features sausage and is well worth all the required chopping!
1 Red Hen Stuffing Mix or 1 pound crusty bread, cubed
1 pound pork sausage
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 T chopped fresh sage leaves
2 t red chili flakes
4T butter
2 large onions, diced
7 celery ribs, chopped
1 1/2 lbs carrots, diced
2 cups roasted chestnuts (optional)
2 cups chicken broth
1 egg, beaten
1/2 t salt, or to taste
Preheat oven to 350 and butter a 9 x 13 baking pan.
In a heavy skillet, cook sausage over medium heat. When almost done, add hot pepper flakes and 2 garlic cloves. Cook for a few minutes more. Place in large bowl and set aside.
Chop vegetables into small chunks of uniform size.
Using the sausage pan, cook the vegetables in batches. When partially cooked, add to the sausage.
Melt the butter and a bit of olive oil in a heavy iron skillet. Add the cubed bread in batches and cook briefly over medium heat. Add the remaining minced garlic, sage and cook a bit more, then add to the sausage and veggies.
Chop the roasted chestnuts into small pieces and stir into the stuffing mixture.
Pour the chicken broth and beaten egg over the stuffing mixture and stir until everything is moistened.
Press the stuffing into your prepared pan and cook, covered, for about an hour.
Remove the cover and cook for a further 5-10 minutes, until golden on top.
Add turkey drippings for extra flavor.
