| 16-ounce | Bag stuffing cubes |
| 6 tablespoons | Unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan and topping |
| 1 pound | Fresh sage sausage, casing removed |
| 1 | Medium onion, chopped |
| 2 | Cooking apples, such as Gravenstein, Rome, or Golden Delicious, peeled, cored, and chopped |
| 1 | To 2 ribs celery with leaves, chopped |
| 1/2 teaspoon | Kosher salt |
| 3 cups | Chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium canned |
| 1/4 cup | Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley |
| 1/2 cup | Walnut pieces, toasted (See Note) |
| 2 | Eggs, beaten |
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Put the stuffing cubes in a large bowl and set aside. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish.
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and break up with a wooden spoon. Cook until it loses most of its pink color, but not so much that it's dry, about 5 minutes. Add the sausage and pan drippings to the stuffing cubes. Melt the remaining butter in the pan. Add the onion, apple, celery, and salt. Cook until the vegetables get soft, about 5 minutes. Add the broth and parsley and bring to a boil.
Pour the vegetable mixture over the stuffing cubes and toss until evenly moistened. Mix in the walnuts and eggs. Loosely pack the dressing in the prepared pan and cook uncovered until the top forms a crust, about 40 minutes. Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of turkey pan drippings or melted butter over the top. Cook until the top is crisp and golden, about 20 minutes more. Set immediately or warm.
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Tips: Put the dressing in the oven during the last hour of cooking the turkey
Note: To toast nuts, spread them out on a baking sheet and toast in a 350 degree F oven until golden, about 7 minutes
Cooking stuffing:
Do not cook the stuffing in the turkey because the turkey and the stuffing will not be done cooking at the same time, and it is harder to achieve uniform doneness.
Cooking the stuffing inside the turkey is riskier because harmful bacteria can survive in stuffing that has not reached the safe temperature of 165 degrees F.