Apple Sausage Stuffing -- The Kind of Recipe You Hand Down

Fall has arrived properly — cooler mornings, the leaves turning on the oaks and sweetgums, the particular smell of the season that I have been in love with since childhood and that remains one of my most reliable sources of uncomplicated happiness. I am a fall person. I cook fall food. I feel most at home in the kitchen between October and December when the cooking is slow and the windows fog and the whole house smells like something being made with patience.

I started my Thanksgiving planning this week, which may seem early but isn't. The scope has grown: the full family again, and I have learned from the last two years how to make this manageable. I make the list. I decide what is mine and what can be brought. I let people bring things. Carolyn's sweet potato casserole is hers now. Travis's contribution last year was Deon's green bean casserole and that is apparently a standing offer. The things that are mine: the turkey, the cornbread dressing, the macaroni and cheese, and the yeast rolls. Those four things are mine always and I do not negotiate them. Everything else is welcome at the table.

I gave a copy of the recipe booklet to Kezia's grandmother this week — I had been meaning to do it since September and this week it felt right. She received it the way older women receive things they recognize: quietly, with understanding that goes beneath the surface. She said, so Kezia's been learning from you. I said yes, for almost two years now. She said, I know. She comes home and cooks what she learned. My kitchen is different now because of yours. That is the best thing anyone has told me in a long time. That is why you hand things down.

Stuffing and dressing are close cousins in my kitchen, and this time of year they occupy the same warm corner of my thinking — the slow, patient food of fall that makes a house smell like something worth coming home to. Apple Sausage Stuffing isn’t my cornbread dressing, but it carries the same spirit: savory and substantial, layered with the kind of flavor that only comes from not rushing. It’s the sort of recipe I’d put in a booklet and hand to someone like Kezia without hesitation, knowing it would follow her home and change a kitchen the same way good food always does.

Apple Sausage Stuffing

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes | Servings: 10

Ingredients

• 1 lb bulk pork sausage (mild or sage-seasoned)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 4 stalks celery, diced
• 2 medium apples, peeled, cored, and chopped (Granny Smith or Honeycrisp)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried)
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 12 cups day-old bread, cubed (about 1 large loaf, white or sourdough)
• 2 to 2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions

1. Dry the bread. If your bread isn’t already stale, spread the cubes on a baking sheet and bake at 300°F for 20 minutes until dried out but not browned. Set aside to cool.
2. Brown the sausage. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the sausage, breaking it into crumbles, until fully browned and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a large mixing bowl, leaving the drippings in the pan.
3. Sauté the vegetables and apples. Reduce heat to medium and add the butter to the skillet. Once melted, add the onion and celery and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the apples and garlic and cook 3 minutes more, stirring occasionally. Add the sage, thyme, salt, and pepper and stir to combine.
4. Combine. Add the vegetable and apple mixture to the bowl with the sausage. Add the dried bread cubes and parsley and toss everything together gently.
5. Add the liquid. Whisk the eggs into 2 cups of broth and pour over the stuffing mixture. Toss to coat, adding the remaining 1/2 cup of broth if the stuffing seems dry. It should be moist but not soggy.
6. Bake. Transfer the stuffing to a greased 9x13-inch baking dish. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 15 minutes until the top is golden and slightly crisp.
7. Rest and serve. Let the stuffing rest 5 minutes before serving. It will hold its shape better and the flavors will settle.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 340 | Protein: 12g | Fat: 18g | Carbs: 32g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 620mg