This sausage, sage, & onion stuffing make the perfect accompaniment for the Christmas turkey. Or it can be used to stuff the turkey to keep it moist.
What is Sausage, Sage & Onion Stuffing?
Stuffing is often made with breadcrumbs and a mixture of other ingredients. These ingredients often include herbs and spices but can also include a wide range of other ingredients. These sausage, sage, & onion stuffing balls use sausage meat and help keep the stuffing balls moist, whether baked as balls, in a pan, or inside a chicken or a turkey.
Stuffing Balls vs Traditional Stuffing
These sausage, sage, & onion stuffing balls prove a convenient way to serve the stuffing, turning them into another side dish alongside Christmas dinner. Shaping the stuffing into balls creates a larger surface area, making the exterior crispy when baked. It also makes for easier portion control when serving stuffing at a large gathering.
However, stuffing a bird with the stuffing mix helps keep the meat juicy. This is owed to the fat content of sausage meat. The texture is lighter with a wetter feel. Yet, it tends to have a more complex flavour as it absorbs the juices of the roasting meat.
How to Make Breadcrumbs
This recipe calls for breadcrumbs, which are easy to make at home. Ideally, you’ll need a few slices of stale bread, as stale bread tends to be quite dry. However, you can use fresh bread, left out for a few hours so it dries, or even use fresh bread as it is. If you were to use fresh bread, you would need to sacrifice the fine texture of stale bread as you won’t be able to blitz it for as long.
Cut the crusts from the bread and discard. The crusts are firmer and often refuse to break apart in a blender. Place the bread into a food processor and blitz until the bread resembles crumbs, then use as required by your recipe. In this case, use it for these sausage, sage, & onion stuffing balls.
Cooking Times for Sausage, Sage, and onion Stuffing
If stuffing a bird with the stuffing, there is no set cooking time as it will be roasted within the meat. However, it’s important to remember that stuffing, whether it uses sausage meat or not, should always read 75C on a temperature probe as the stuffing will absorb the juice from the roasting bird, presenting a food poisoning risk.
For sausage meat, sage, & onion stuffing balls, roast at 200c for 18 – 20 minutes until crispy and cooked. Alternatively, line a baking dish with parchment paper and grease with butter. Press the stuff into the lined dish and bake at 200C for 30-40 minutes until the stuffing is cooked. Turn the stuffing block onto a chopping board and cut it into equal-sized pieces to serve.
Sausage, Sage & Onion Stuffing Balls
Ingredients
- 50 g Butter + Extra for Greasing
- 1 Large Onion Finely Diced
- 2 Tbsp Fresh Sage. Chopped
- 200 g Fresh Breadcrumbs
- 450 g Pork Sausage meat
- 100 ml Chicken Stock
- Salt / Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C or 180C Fan or 400F or Gas 6
- In a pan, gently melt the butter, add the onions, and cook for 8-10 minutes over medium heat until the onions soften.
- When the onions are done, stir through the sage and cook for another minute,
- Add the breadcrumbs and sausage meat and combine well.
- Add the chicken stock and stir to combine. Add a little more as necessary, depending on the texture. If it’s too wet, add more bread crumbs; if it’s too dry, add more liquid.
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Roll the stuffing into 16 equal sized balls and arrange on the lined baking tray.
- Bake in the centre of the oven for 18-20 minutes until crispy and cooked through. The balls should read 75C using a temperature probe.
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