My grandma McCann was the nicest, softest spoken person in the world. My mother might take 2nd place, but by that regard, I don't even seem related... But I CAN cook!
So on that note, here is Grandma's Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipe. Like all good family traditions, it has been updated a bit by my parents and then Betsy and I... I can't tell you how much better this recipe is than most stuffings or dressings I have tried. Give it a shot!
Ingredients
- 1-2 lb of sourdough
bread, cut into 1" cubes - Olive oil
- Dried sage, thyme and oregano (or Herbs de Provance)
- 1 ½ Cup celery, cut up
- 1 medium onion, diced
- Chopped up giblets from your turkey
- 1 stick butter
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1lb pork sausage, fried and drained (Italian or breakfast sausage)
- 1 apple cut into small pieces, leaving skin
- 4-5 fresh sage leaves, chopped course
- Fresh thyme, sage, and rosemary
- 1 Cup mushrooms (if using dried, rehydrate to be 1 cup worth and put soaking water into the stuffing
- ½ Cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Toss the bread cubes in olive oil and place on a baking sheet
- Sprinkle herbs onto the bread
- Toast in a 250-350 degree oven until well dried -- not burnt, but golden... watch and stir as needed. Set aside, can be made days ahead OR you can buy seasoned bags of croutons instead.
- Saute the giblets, celery and onion in the butter until veggies are soft.
- Place in a large mixing bowl
- Stir in sausage, eggs, apple, mushrooms, cranberries and croutons
- Season with salt, pepper, fresh save/thyme/oregano
- Moisten with chicken broth as needed
- Bake inside of the turkey for stuffing until at least 160 degrees OR in a baking dish with the turkey neck on top.
Homemade Croutons
Comments (7)
Sandy Ahlstrom:
Nov 16, 2016 at 07:25 PM
Stuffing recipe sounds so yummy and doable! Will try it instead of a packaged one.
Many thanks for keeping us in your data as we were on the Farm Tour thru Lakewinds and have purchased your pork products plus summer sausage there and are "pushing them to include your chicken". We'll order from you at some pt.
Jack McCann:
Nov 16, 2016 at 07:59 PM
Awesome, thanks for the support! Let us know how the stuffing turns out... feel free to improvise!
Jaime:
Nov 24, 2019 at 11:44 AM
This recipe sounds delicious. We are frying our turkey, so I’ll have to bake this separately. How hot should the oven be and for how long, would you suggest?
Jack McCann:
Nov 24, 2019 at 01:06 PM
Thanks!
I would recommend putting the neck or some other cut on top of the stuffing when baking and include some turkey or chicken stock added to the recipe or a bit of extra sausage. Baking: I'd not worry too much about it and bake at whatever temp you have other things in the oven at. Anywhere from 300 - 400 is fine. You could turn it up a bit more even at the end if you wanted to crisp up some of the bread crumbs. You'll want the interior to get up to 160F. Depending on the size of your baking dish and temp, maybe 30 min?
Kerry Jung:
Oct 22, 2021 at 10:56 PM
Thoughts on making a veggie (but not vegan) version?
Cyndi Edwards:
Nov 22, 2022 at 09:21 AM
Can this be made ahead of time??
Jack McCann:
Nov 22, 2022 at 12:58 PM
Yes! I'd actually recommend that because it takes time. There's no need to do it on Thanksgiving Day itself. Just keep in the fridge for up to a few days.
I would personally not do the final cook ahead of time - just get it all ready to bake, then keep in the fridge until you are ready to stuff the bird or bake in the oven.
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