Pear and Sausage Stuffing Recipe Good Enough to Become a New Thanksgiving Tradition

Thanksgiving is really all about side dishes. Turkey is great and all, but it’s the trimmings we end up suffering from, lying on the floor watching a football game thanking the elastic pants.

Sure, the stuffing that fills the bird may be tastier, but food safety officials have a point. It’s really hard to prank and stay at a safe temperature this way, which allows the little stomach bugs to multiply, and you don’t want to be the host who gives everyone a case of the those stomach bugs. It’s simply easier and safer to cook it on your own.

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This recipe also contains meat, such as in sausages, which is cooked thoroughly before adding other ingredients.

With these preliminaries out of the way, we can talk about this delicious recipe. The sausage gives it a body and flavor that plain old bread, broth, and vegetables just can’t achieve on their own.

It’s the fruits of this recipe that make it special. Ripe pears and dried cranberries shine like little jewels in the mix, and their sweet acidity bounces off the rich, explosively flavored sausage. But if you are one of those people who don’t like fruits in their food, you can leave them out.

This is an easy recipe to make friendly to those with dietary restrictions. Simply buy a loaf of gluten-free bread and spread the slices overnight, or toast it until dry. Then cut it into cubes and proceed as you normally would.

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This recipe is so good that there’s no need to make a “conventional” stuffing, unless you need a double batch for another reason. Diners won’t miss the gluten at all.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Erielicious team to hosts and cooks everywhere. We hope your turkey is juicy and your belly is full. Leave the dishes to the kids and take a well-deserved nap.

Pear and sausage stuffing

2 rolls (1 pound) pork sausage

4 tablespoons of butter

1 yellow onion, chopped

5 celery ribs, chopped

10 to 12 cups dried bread cubes, see note

1 teaspoon rubbed sage

1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

5 pears, seeded and diced

1 cup dried cranberries

3 eggs

2 cups of chicken broth

1. In a large skillet, brown the sausage until cooked through, breaking it up as it cooks. Drain excess fat and reserve sausages.

2. Wipe out the pan and add the butter over medium heat. Add onion and celery, sauté 8 to 10 minutes or until tender. Return the sausages to the pan, reduce the heat to low to keep warm.

3. In a large bowl, combine the bread cubes with the sage, poultry seasoning, salt, pepper, diced pears and cranberries. Add sausage mixture and stir to combine. Whisk eggs and chicken broth and pour over bread mixture. Stir to combine.

4. Transfer the mixture to a greased slow cooker. Cover and cook over low heat for 3 to 4 hours, until the mixture is moist and spongy. You can also bake the stuffing in a 9×13-inch pan in a 400-degree oven for at least 30 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

*To dry the bread: Cut the bread into 1-inch cubes and place on a baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes at 400 degrees. The bread should be crisp and dry.

* Prepare gluten-free stuffing by using a loaf of gluten-free bread, such as Shar brand, by toasting it or letting it dry for 12 to 24 hours.

Jones Dairy Farm,

Contact Jennie Geisler at [email protected]. Find her weekly newsletter at https://profile.goerie.com/newsletters/erielicious/.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Pear and Sausage Stuffing Recipe Could Become a Thanksgiving Tradition