Emeril’s Brown Butter, Sage, and Mushroom Stuffing

Originally published on October 12, 2011

Being that my younger daughter’s birthday falls right around the same time as Thanksgiving, I usually have the honour of combining her birthday party with Thanksgiving dinner. I love preparing it, and I always try to find one or two new great recipes to pull out for the big day. This year, I wanted to try something a little different than the usual bread crumbs/onion/celery stuffing and with a little searching, I found this. Created by Emeril, recommended by Martha, you really can’t go wrong – and I didn’t.

I think the entire crowd loved this one, and my mom said that I’m not allowed to experiment with stuffing anymore. This one’s so good, if we’re going to have stuffing it’s gotta be this recipe! I’m still munching away on it days after and it’s still just as good. And, keep it in the oven a little longer too. It makes it extra crispy, another reason many people loved this dish!

Ingredients:

3 teaspoons, plus 5 tablespoons, unsalted butter
2 1/2 cups chicken stock 
1 large egg 
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup bacon, sliced, about 4 slices
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup celery, finely chopped, about 4 stalks
1/2 pound button mushrooms, sliced
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh sage, chopped
1 loaf Italian bread, torn into small bite-size pieces
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt 
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

2.) Butter a 9″ x 9″ square baking dish or a 10″ x 6″ oval baking dish with 2 teaspoons butter. Cut a piece of foil large enough to cover the dish and butter with 1 teaspoon butter. Set prepared dish and foil aside until ready to bake.

3.) In a small bowl, whisk together chicken broth, egg, egg yolk; set aside.

4.) Melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high heat in a medium skillet. Add bacon and cook for 1 minute. Add onion and celery and cook until softened, about 4 minutes more. Increase heat to high and add mushrooms, stirring to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes; stir in garlic. Remove skillet from heat and add parsley and sage. Transfer mushroom mixture to a medium bowl and add breadcrumbs, stirring carefully to combine; season with salt and cayenne pepper. Add chicken broth and egg mixture to stuffing, stirring until well combined. Transfer stuffing to prepared baking dish.

5.) Melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter in a small skillet over medium heat until bubbling and lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Drizzle brown butter over stuffing and cover with prepared foil. Set baking dish on a baking sheet and transfer to oven. Bake for 25 minutes, uncover, and continue baking for 15 more minutes. Remove from oven and allow stuffing to cool for 5 minutes.

6.) Serve and enjoy!