Sausage Stuffing!

1. Bread – plain, boring, standard white sandwich bread is best here. I find Artisan breads like sourdough is too tough and chewy for this recipe, especially given stale bread is best. It’s just too much effort to eat!

Measuring – use heaped cups ie pile bread cubes in a mound in a cup (see photo in post). Weight isn’t the right measure here as breads vary in density and weight.

Day old if possible but not essential (ie take out of packet and leave out overnight). Best if slightly stale because fresh bread gets soaked into mush but for this recipe, it’s not so much an issue because the bread is lightly toasted anyway.

2. Pork Sausage – the better the sausage, the better the stuffing! While you can buy sausage meat not in sausage form (ie sold like ground/mince meat), you’ll find that good pork sausages have better meat. Look for pork sausages where you can see the speckles of meat and fat, avoid the ones that are a uniform pink colour (cheaper). Plain pork sausages are what I usually use, but I’ve made it with Italian flavoured, herb & garlic, apple & cider – all are tasty!

3. Pecans – or walnuts. Chop then measure.

4. Make ahead – store the bread separately, combine the sausage into the liquid mixture in the skillet. Cool completely with lid on then store in fridge. On the day of, warm the sausage mixture (to loosen), pour over bread, assemble and bake per recipe.

Leftovers – cover and store in fridge for 3 to 4 days. I love making Stuffing Muffins:

For every 2 cups of stuffing, mix with 1 egg and 1 tbsp milk. Squidge together well with your hands (toss in some chopped ham or turkey, veg etc if you want!), then pile into a muffin tin. Bake 15 – 20 min at 180C/350F until golden. They taste like stuffing – except in breakfast muffin form! Should make 3 – 4.

5. Nutrition per serving. You don't need much - it's actually quite rich!! Serves 10 to 14 people depending on how many other sides you have.