SAUSAGE & CARAMELIZED ONION STUFFING

Chances of setting off a fire alarm is low.  You'll be browning sausage and caramelizing onions, if there's smoke, something is going wrong.

Ingredients

Yield: 8 servings

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more 

1 medium loaf country-style white bread or brioche, torn into 2" pieces (about 10 cups)

2 large eggs

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

1 pound hot Italian sausage, removed from casing

4 large onions, thinly sliced

Kosher salt

4 celery stalks, thinly sliced

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced; 6-8 garlic cloves if you're a garlic girl

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons. finely chopped rosemary

2 tablespoons finely chopped sage

¼ cup dry white wine (pinot grigio)

Directions

Step One
Preheat oven to 250°F.

Butter a 13x9" baking dish. Divide bread between 2 large rimmed baking sheets, arranging in a single layer, and bake until dried out, crisp, and barely golden, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.

Step Two
Increase oven temperature to 350°F.

Whisk eggs and broth in a large measuring cup or small bowl; set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oile in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook sausage, stirring and breaking into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until browned and cooked through, 5–7 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the sausage to bowl with bread, leaving behind the oil and fat in the pan.

Step Three
Add remaining tablespoon of oile to same pan and reduce heat to medium. Add onions and season with salt and pepper. Cook onions, stirring occasionally, until deep golden brown and very soft, about 30 minutes.

Step Four
Add celery and garlic to pan and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until celery is slightly softened, 8–10 minutes.

Add rosemary, sage, and ½ cup (1 stick) of butter and cook, stir occasionally until the butter is melted and mixture is combined, around 3 minutes. 

Pour wine into the pan simmer, scraping up any browned bits and stirring often, until liquid is mostly evaporated, about a minute.

Step Five
Scrape onion mixture over sausage and bread in bowl and mix well to combine. Pour reserved egg mixture over and fold gently until everything is thoroughly coated; season with salt and pepper. 

Transfer stuffing to prepared dish and cover tightly with foil.

Step 6
Bake stuffing until bubbling around the edges (it's okay to peek), 30–35 minutes.

Increase oven temperature to 450°F. Remove foil from stuffing and bake until heated through and the top is browned and crisp, 10–15 minutes.

Do ahead: Stuffing can be baked (before crisping) 1 day ahead. Let cool, then chill. Just before serving, uncover and bake at 450°F until heated through and crisp, about 15 minutes.

In the Rotation

A collection of adapted recipes that avoid setting off the smoke alarm in small apartments. From the curated list of the favorite meals that enter into the rotation of Will Scheideler and September McCarthy.

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