This French stuffing is the most delectable stuffing in existence. It contains sous vide chestnuts, portobello mushroom, sweet apple, pâté de campagne (with the option to also include rillette de canard), red wine, cognac, and of course an infusion of fresh herbs. Unlike most North American stuffings that you may be used to, this version is incredibly moist and bursting with flavour. My friends and family love this recipe so much that we don’t just make it for Thanksgiving, but also for Christmas and Easter. Meet the star of your next holiday meal.
Recipe:
Notes
I specify the type of salt used, as different salts are more or less salty than others. If you don’t have the same kind of salt used, be mindful of this and adjust accordingly. Generally speaking, pink Himalayan salt is less salty than most others.
You can absolutely substitute cremini mushrooms for the portobello mushrooms.
You can also substitute baguette for the pain de campagne. You may require more milk to fully soak it, however, as the crust is denser and harder. That’s not a problem; just be sure to lightly ring out the bread before using, and discard any remaining milk in your soaking bowl.
I use a French cooking wine for the red wine. By cooking wine, I simply mean that it doesn’t need to be costly. Use whatever you have, just ensuring that it’s a rich and full-bodied wine.
I write in the recipe to bake the stuffing in a baking tray for an hour. You can of course stuff a turkey with it, and bake it for the whole roasting process. Quite frankly, my friends and family love it so much that we double the recipe, and stuff the turkey with half of it, and have an extra baking tray of it on the side.
Ingredients
100 g pain de campagne, ripped or cut into large pieces, about the size of 1 tbsp
1/2 cup milk (any percentage)
100 g side bacon, small dice
125 g unsalted butter
365 g yellow onion (measured after peeling; about 1 large), small dice
110 g leek (not the dark green part; about 1/2 leek), halved lengthwise and thinly sliced, about 0.3 cm thick
245 g apple (measured after coring and peeling; about 1 large), medium dice, about 1.5 cm squared
75 g portobello mushrooms (about 3/4 of 1 large), medium dice
60 g celery (about 1 large), small dice
350 g sous vide chestnuts, smaller ones halved, and larger ones cut into thirds
1 bouquet garni (1 medium sprig rosemary, 12 medium sprigs thyme, 4 medium sprigs oregano, all tied into a bouquet with kitchen twine)
125 ml red wine
90 ml cognac
50 ml full-fat cream (or crème fraîche)
2 medium eggs (or 1 1/2 large—you could whisk 2 together and use 3/4 of the whisked eggs)
275 g black peppercorn pâté de campagne (or 200 g pâté de campagne and 75 g rillette de canard)
2 1/2 tsp salt (pink Himalayan)
25 cracks black pepper
Instructions
In a small bowl, combine bread and milk. Mix with your hands. Stir every so often over the course of the stuffing preparation, to ensure that all of the bread has a chance to soak in the milk.
Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add in the side bacon, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until browned. Remove from pan and set aside in a small bowl.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and ensure that the oven rack is positioned in the middle.
Add in 100 g of butter to the now empty saucepan. When the butter is melted and bubbling, add in the onion and leek. Cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the onion is translucent. Feel free to temporarily increase the heat if a lot of liquids are being released.
Add in 25 g more butter, apple, mushroom, celery, chestnuts, the bouquet garni, and the side bacon. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add in wine and 50 ml of the cognac. Cook for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally. After the 5 minutes, some liquid will remain. This is normal. Discard the bouquet garni.
In a large bowl, add in the soaked bread (all of the milk should have been absorbed), cream, and eggs. Crumble in the pâté. Mix. Add in the sautéed mixture. Mix. Add in the salt, pepper, and remaining 40 ml of cognac. Mix.
Generously butter a baking mold. Pour in the stuffing. Even out the top with the back of a spoon. Option to decorate with dried bay leaves
Bake for 1 hour. The top should be golden brown. Serve warm.
Enjoy!
To leave a comment, you will need to Sign Up or Login, as prompted by the pop-up which will appear when you hit Publish.
Wow! Another wonderful recipe Ella!✨🧡✨