-Provided by Meaghan Swetish of Brown Boar Farm
“The stuffing is really the centerpiece of our Thanksgiving dinner; the turkey is kind of a vehicle for the stuffing. (Although, at the same time, my dad is slightly obsessed with cooking enormous turkeys.) We always make enough to stuff the bird plus enough to also bake a large dish of it on the side—you cannot have too much stuffing!
“When we were young and would go to our grandmother’s for holidays, my mom would still get up early in the morning to cook a turkey and stuffing because my dad loved the smell of it on Thanksgiving morning; it’s his favorite holiday. Now my sister or my dad are the ones in charge of making the stuffing; often Sarah will travel with it to add to the waiting turkey wherever we are gathering.”
-Meaghan Swetish
- 2 pounds breakfast links or bulk breakfast sausage, (Brown Boar, of course!).
- 4 ounces butter
- 2 cups finely chopped onions
- 2 cups finely chopped celery
- 8 cups good quality white bread, torn into pieces, and allowed to dry out a bit
- 2 tablespoons Bell’s Seasoning, or to taste
- 1-2 cups turkey (or chicken) broth, or as needed salt and pepper, to taste
Fry the sausage in a large frying pan over a medium-hot flame, breaking it up with a spatula if you are using bulk sausage. Remove from pan to cool and drain. If you use links, cut them into bite-sized pieces.
Melt the butter in the frying pan and fry the onion and celery over medium heat until translucent. Stir often to prevent much browning.
Mix all ingredients together well, adding enough broth that the stuffing is damp, but not wet.
Makes enough to stuff a moderate turkey and still have some to spare to bake in a casserole.
