The BEST stuffing recipe
I grew up thinking that Thanksgiving stuffing came out of a box, so I was never a fan. No offense to my mom, who was an excellent cook. She never cared for it either, so she was happy to take the shortcut and use a processed mix on a day of non-stop cooking.
When I became an adult and married into a family that was very serious about their stuffing, my eyes and tastebuds were opened. The recipe my mother-in-law made involved actual bread, crumbled breakfast sausage, and LOTS of dried sage among the other usual ingredients. And it is so heavenly, that I would gladly shove my beloved turkey aside to eat just a full plate of stuffing.
Since I was first introduced to truly homemade stuffing, I've tried many other versions. While there are some excellent recipes out there, I have yet to taste one that even comes close to the one below.
My mother-in-law has now handed the baton over to me to make the stuffing at Thanksgiving, after watching and helping her make it for years. Even though it has been a closely guarded recipe for years, it's too good to hoard just to ourselves. I've added it below, with the family's permission.
Give it a try and let us know what you think!
Busha Helen's Thanksgiving Stuffing
- 3 large loaves of white bread (Butternut brand is recommended)
- 1 or 2 onions (to taste)
- 2 tubes of mild sausage
- (3) 32 oz containers of chicken or turkey broth or stock
- butter
- salt
- pepper
- .05 ounce container of dried sage (you may use the entire thing)
- 3 sticks of celery
Step 1: Brown the sausage in a frying pan drain and put aside.
Step 2: Chop the onions into small pieces and cook in a pan of butter until light golden brown
Step 3: While onions cook, chop the celery into very small pieces
Step 4: Take the loaves of bread and wet pieces with chicken stock then squeeze them out like a washcloth (or scrunch in hand).
Step 5: Take the still moist bread and tear it into pieces/clumps and place in a large baking dish/foil pan
Step 5: Add onion, celery, and sausage and loosely mix together using your hands (don't overmix - the next step require more mixing)
Step 6: Add salt, pepper, and sage (don't be afraid to use a lot - somehow, it magically doesn't overpower the dish) for desired taste.
Step 7: If mix looks a little dry, drizzle chicken broth on top and put in oven at 350 degrees until stuff is hot and browned on top
Enjoy!