A Thanksgiving stuffing built around real ingredients — Khorasan sourdough, pasture-raised sausage, and apples. Better for your gut than it looks.
Ingredients
Serves 10–12
1 lb Khorasan sourdough bread, a day or two old, cut into ¾-inch cubes
1 lb pasture-raised Italian sausage, casings removed (Whiffletree Farm is a good source locally)
2 tbsp butter
1 large yellow onion, finely diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 Honeycrisp apples, peeled and chopped into small chunks
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
½ tsp salt
1½ cups bone broth (Pleasant Pastures carries bone broth; turkey drippings work too if your bird is already done)
2 large eggs
Optional: fresh parsley for garnish
Directions
Toast the bread. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Spread the bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast for 15 minutes until lightly golden and slightly crisp. This keeps the bread from going soggy once the broth goes in.
Brown the sausage. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the sausage, breaking it up as it goes. Cook until fully browned, about 7–9 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the fat in the pan.
Cook the vegetables and apples. Add butter to the same skillet. Sauté onion and celery until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the apples and cook another 4 minutes until slightly tender. Stir in garlic, thyme and salt and cook 1–2 more minutes until fragrant. Remove from heat.
Combine. In a large bowl, toss together the toasted bread, sausage, and the vegetable mixture.
Add the liquid. Whisk broth and eggs together in a separate bowl, then pour over the stuffing. Toss gently until the bread is evenly moistened — it should feel wet but not soupy. Add an extra ¼ cup broth if it seems dry.
Bake. Pour into a buttered 9×13-inch baking dish. Cover with foil and bake at 350°F for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 20 minutes until the top is golden and crisp. Rest 10 minutes before serving.