Roasted Garlic, Sage, and Sausage Stuffing

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Servings:
10

From sage and sausage to celery and carrots, this stuffing recipe has the traditional flavors of the beloved side dish. The real star, however, is the roasted garlic which is squeezed from the skin and added to the cornbread mixture for a fragrant, sharp bite.

Ingredients

  • 5 cups crumbled Cornbread for Roasted-Garlic Stuffing

  • 3 cups cooked Carolina Gold rice, cold

  • 9 tablespoons butter, plus more for pan

  • 3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into ¼-inch dice (¾ cup)

  • 1 large onion, cut into ¼-inch dice (2 cups)

  • 3 ribs celery, strings removed, cut into ¼-inch dice (1 ½ cups)

  • 1 medium green pepper, cut into ¼-inch dice (½ cup)

  • 1 ½ pounds sweet fennel sausage, casing removed

  • 2 tablespoons poultry seasoning

  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped sage

  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt, plus more to taste

  • 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

  • 3 to 4 cups Homemade Chicken Stock, or canned low-sodium chicken broth, skimmed of fat

  • 3 bulbs roasted garlic

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish; set aside. In a large bowl, combine cornbread and rice, and set aside. In a large skillet, melt 5 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add carrots, and saute until they begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add onion and celery, and saute until onions are translucent, 8 to 10 minutes. Add green pepper, and saute 1 minute. Combine vegetables and cornbread mixture.

  2. In same skillet, saute sausage over medium heat, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon to break up large pieces, until browned and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Remove sausage with slotted spoon; mix with cornbread mixture, along with poultry seasoning, sage, salt, and pepper. Discard rendered fat from skillet. Add stock, 1 cup at a time; mix. (You may not need all stock.) Stuffing should be well moistened.

  3. Squeeze garlic from skins; mix gently into cornbread mixture; keep them whole. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to prepared baking dish. Melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter; drizzle over top of stuffing. Bake until top is golden and stuffing is heated through, 45 to 50 minutes. To reheat, bring to room temperature, and cover; bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove cover; bake until heated through, about 10 minutes more.

Cook's Notes

To roast the garlic, remove top quarter of bulbs, drizzle bulbs with olive oil, top with thyme and sage, and bake 30 to 35 minutes.

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