Tom's "Tim the Tool Man" Stuffing

By tjberens

The name says it all! A Manly stuffing for Manly Men. It bakes a little on the dry side to soak up extra gravy.

Ingredients

• 1 Loaf bread(your choice-I personally prefer French Bread)cubed and dried
• 1 lb Italian or Andouille Sausage
• 6 slices Bacon
• 2 eggs
• 1 medium Yellow Onion(Finely chopped)
• 2 cloves Garlic(minced)
• 1 can Chicken Broth (14.5 oz)
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 tsp Fresh Sage
• 1 tsp Fresh Thyme
• 1 tsp Fresh Rosemary
• 2 Tbsp finely chopped Parsley
• Salt to taste with coarse or sea salt
• Fresh ground black pepper to taste
• You can use dried herbs, but fresh ones give your stuffing a robust flavor.

Details

Servings 8

Preparation

Step 1

A day or two before you plan to bake your stuffing: lay all slices of bread on flat surface(I use the countertop on my bar!) to dry. In Colorado, that's 24-36 hours. In the more humid climates you'll push two days.
Cut or tear the bread into small cubes. They're ready to be used in your stuffing!

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Crumble and cook sausage over medium-high heat until browned, about 6 minutes. Transfer sausage to paper towel to cool reserving drippings in skillet.
Add butter to sausage drippings in skillet and melt over medium-high heat.
Add onions and garlic; sauté until transluscent and soft.
Stir in 1 tbsp parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.(GET IT!)
Add sauteed mixture to bowl.
Add bread cubes and sausage to bowl.
Add beaten eggs into stuffing mixture.
Mix thoroughly. I like getting my hands dirty.
Stir in chicken broth.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Moisten stuffing (if necessary) with chicken broth. Transfer to pre-buttered dish.
Lay raw slices of bacon over stuffing.
Bake stuffing in covered dish for 1 hour. Uncover stuffing and bake until top begins to crisp, about 5-10 minutes longer.
Garnish with remaining parsley.


Tip: Have some extra bread crumbs handy in case your mixture is too wet.