I have to admit that my turkey stuffing is well-liked and people will take second helpings of this hearty and filling side dish. Until I tell them what’s in it. Then most will still like it and those with “food issues” will crinkle their noses and instantly develop a dislike.
Because the secret ingredient to the stuffing is haggis. Okay. I see you crinkling your nose. Stop it. It’s not like the days of distant yore, where there was some guy in a kilt slaughtering a sheep in the highlands, and using what was at hand.
Nowadays it’s lamb sausage mixed with oats. Do you like sausages? Well, then you’d like haggis! Sometimes done in original sausage casing. I’ve had it in a can and have had it freshly made. It’s good either way. Sometimes it’s smooth like pate and sometimes a coarser grind. It’s all good. Its meaty goodness is made more hearty with an addition of some oats or sometimes barley. And because it comes already seasoned it adds a fantastic flavour to stuffing.
If you really can’t handle the thought or taste of haggis, just use a pound of mild Italian sausage instead.
(Sorry no photo, I’ll try and remember to take one at the next meal!)
Turkey Stuffing
Ingredients
- 1 large pkg of the wee small cubed bread or a couple boxes of turkey stuffing already seasoned works well!
- 1 onion chopped small
- 1 cup mushrooms chopped small
- 4 strips of bacon
- 1 cup haggis or alternately use 1 cup mild italian sausage
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 tablespoon ground sage
- salt and pepper to taste
- Chicken broth
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Place the croutons in a large bowl, pour in 2-3 cups of chicken stock. You'll want it quite wet.
- In a large frying pan, fry the bacon until crisp, remove and set aside (to be crumbled when cool and put with the croutons.)
- Sauté the onion and the mushrooms until soft, remove and place in the bowl with the croutons.
- Add the meat to the pan and spices and cook until browned.
- Add the meat mixture to the croutons.
- At this point I may add more stock. I prefer a moist stuffing and use 3-4 cups of stock by the end. I also like one last sprinkle of salt and pepper and ground sage.
- Mix all up and pack into a deep casserole dish.
- Foil / place cover on baking dish, bake for 1 hour. Remove the foil and bake for another 15 min or so, to brown the top.