Apple-Cranberry Stuffing
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 3/4 cup finely chopped onion
- 1 1/2 cups chopped celery with leaves, approximately 3 large stalks
- 7 cups dry unseasoned bread cubes
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves or 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried sage leaves or 1 1/2 tablespoon minced fresh sage
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 5 tablespoons chicken or vegetable broth
- 2 eggs
- 3 cups apples peeled, cored and 1/2" diced; approximately 2 1/2 average sized apples
- 3/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
To Make Dried Bread Cubes
- If unseasoned bread cubes are unavailable in store, they may be made from white sliced bread. Arnold Country White bread works well. (French baguettes tend to be a bit chewy in the stuffing.) Heat oven to 200°F. Dice bread about 1/2" and place on rimmed baking sheet. Bake 20 - 30 minutes, turning periodically with a spatula, until dry. In estimating quantity, keep in mind that bread shrinks as it dries.
Stuffing
- Preheat oven to 400°F, to bake separately from chicken or turkey.
- Set a 6-quart stock pot on stove, add oil and heat over medium heat. Add onion and celery; cook until onion is tender, approximately 7 minutes. Add thyme, sage, and pepper; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add 2 tablespoons chicken broth. Stir in about 2 cups bread cubes. In a deep bowl whisk 2 tablespoons chicken broth with eggs. Add onion-celery mixture, remaining ingredients and toss. Stuff turkey just before roasting.
- For extra stuffing, grease a baking dish (that can also be used to serve stuffing). Add 3 tablespoons of chicken broth to remaining mixture and toss. Turn into baking dish, cover with foil, and bake until apples are cooked, about 30 minutes.
- If stuffing a turkey, blend stuffing baked in pan with stuffing from inside turkey. Make sure stuffing reaches 165°F before removing from oven.
Notes
Allow 3/4 cup stuffing for each pound of ready-to-cook chicken or turkey. A 1- to 1 1/4 pound Rock Cornish hen requires about 1 cup stuffing. Allow 1/4 to 1/3 cup stuffing for each rib pork chop. This recipe makes enough for a 12-pound turkey. 1 1/2 times recipe makes enough to stuff 20 lb turkey plus 9" sq baking pan full.
As a shortcut, one could use dry seasoned stuffing cubes and omit sage and thyme.
If preparing stuffing for Thanksgiving, to reduce stress on the holiday, chop the onions and celery the night before and store in refrigerator.