First, this recipe has been adapted almost word for word from The Joy of Cooking. So, all credit goes to them. I have been preparing this recipe annually at Thanksgiving for at least 40 years. I adapted it to the Land of Enchantment in 1998 (when I moved here) with the spicy pork sausage, the hot green chile, and the piñon nuts. It is so popular with my family that I make a double recipe so that the leftovers can be consumed for another week. And while I always use hot green chile and spicy pork sausage, you can use milder versions if you like (as long as you are not worried that some may see you as an inauthentic New Mexican as a result.)

The recipe yields enough to stuff a 14 – 17 pound turkey. Many of the variations yield enough for an additional small casserole of stuffing. To stuff an oven roaster or 6 to 8 rock Cornish hens, halve the recipes. For a larger turkey, increase all the ingredients by half. The optional egg(s) makes the stuffing firm (I always use two of them). If you prefer the bread to be moist, skip the toasting step.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Toast until golden brown (or precut and allow to dry overnight, which is what I do, or both):

1-pound sliced firm white sandwich, French, or Italian bread, including crusts, cut into ½-inch cubes, or 10 cups lightly packed bread cubes. Place into the largest bowl you own or can borrow. (Trust me.)

Toast ½ to 1 cup of piñon nuts until lightly browned. Set aside for now.

In a large skillet on medium to high heat, fully cook 1 pound of spicy pork sausage. Transfer cooked sausage to another bowl, keeping drippings in the frying pan.

Heat in the same large skillet over medium-high heat until the foam subsides:

           4 to 8 tablespoons (1/2 to 1 stick) unsalted butter.

Add and cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes:

           2 cups chopped onions

           1 cup finely chopped celery

           2 four-ounce cans of hot green chile or frozen, diced

Remove from the heat and stir in:

           ¼ to ½ cup minced fresh parsley

           1 teaspoon dried sage, or 1 tablespoon minced fresh

           1 teaspoon dried thyme, or 1 tablespoon minced fresh

           ¾ teaspoon salt

           ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

           ¼ teaspoon freshly grated or ground nutmeg

           1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Stir this mixture into the bread cubes and toss until well combined. Depending on how much butter you started with and how firm you want the stuffing, stir in, a little at a time, until the stuffing is lightly moist but not packed together:

2 large eggs, well beaten (I always use 2 eggs)

1/3 to 1 cup chicken stock (NOTE: If I am cooking the stuffing inside the turkey, I do not add chicken stock. However, if cooking in a dish in the oven, I add enough to make the stuffing moist but not wet.)

Once bread, vegetables, and seasoning well mixed, add:

Cooked pork sausage

           Toasted piñon nuts 

Adjust the seasonings to taste. 

1.     To use as a turkey stuffing, reheat just before spooning it into the bird(s). Or moisten with additional chicken stock and/or egg. (I stuff the turkey and put it in the oven immediately, so I don’t have to do this step.)
2.     To cook outside of the turkey, turn into a large, shallow buttered baking dish. Bake in a 350 degrees oven until the top has formed a crust and the stuffing is heated through, 25 to 40 minutes. (Note that I prepare BOTH ways. I cover the stuffing in the oven – not in the turkey –  with foil for most of the time and then remove with ten minutes left to let it brown and form a crust.

Enjoy! And have a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving this year.

David Scrase, MD