Sausage and Sage Stuffing

Ingredients

• 1 pound bulk pork breakfast sausage
• 1 1/2 pounds day-old country white bread, cubed and dried
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 yellow onions, diced
• 4 celery stalks, diced
• 1 tart apple, peeled and diced
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
• 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1/3 cup chopped parsley
• 3 cups turkey stock
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Before you cook

• Dry the bread cubes overnight or in a 250 degree oven until they feel crisp.
• Dice the onions, celery, and apple.
• Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.

Steps

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Brown the sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 8 minutes, breaking it into small crumbles.
3. Lift the sausage out with a slotted spoon and leave the fat behind.
4. Add the butter to the skillet and let it melt into the sausage drippings.
5. Cook the onions, celery, and apple in that fat for 12 minutes until soft.
6. Stir in the sage and marjoram and cook for 1 minute.
7. Toss the bread, sausage, skillet contents, parsley, salt, and pepper together in a large bowl.
8. Whisk the eggs into the turkey stock and pour it over the bread in stages, folding as you go.
9. Pack the mixture into the baking dish without compressing it too hard.
10. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
11. Uncover and bake 25 minutes longer until the edges are crusty and browned.
12. Let it stand 10 minutes before serving.