SLOW COOKER SAGE AND SAUSAGE STUFFING

SLOW COOKER SAGE AND SAUSAGE STUFFING image

Yield 10-14

Number Of Ingredients 11

2 1/2 pounds (about 2 loaves) high quality sandwich bread or soft Italian or French bread, cut into 3/4-inch dice, about 5 quarts
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, plus more for buttering slow cooker
1 1/2 pounds sage sausage, removed from casing
1 large onion, finely chopped (about 2 cups)
4 large stalks celery, finely chopped (about 2 cups)
2 cloves garlic, minced or grated on microplane
1/4 cup minced fresh sage leaves (or 2 teaspoons dried sage leaves)
24 ounces (3 cups) low-sodium chicken or turkey broth, preferably homemade
3 whole eggs
1/4 cup minced parsley leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Steps:

1 Adjust oven racks to lower middle and upper middle position. Preheat oven to 275°F. Spread bread evenly over two rimmed baking sheets. Stagger trays on oven racks and bake until completely dried, about 50 minutes total, rotating trays and stirring bread cubes several times during baking. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Turn off oven. 2 In large Dutch oven, melt butter over medium high heat until foaming subsides (don't allow butter to brown), about 2 minutes. Add sausage and mash with stiff whisk or potato masher to break up into fine pieces (largest pieces should be no greater than 1/4-inch). Cook, stirring frequently until only a few bits of pink remain, about 8 minutes. Add onions, celery, garlic, and sage and cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add half of chicken stock. 3 Whisk remaining chicken stock, eggs, and 3 tablespoons parsley in medium bowl until homogeneous. Stirring constantly with wooden spoon, slowly pour egg mixture into sausage mixture. Add bread cubes and fold gently until evenly mixed. 4 Grease the inside of a slow cooker with butter. Transfer stuffing to slow cooker and set to low heat. Cook for 5 hours. Keep warm or serve.