Step 1

Heat a large dutch oven slowly over medium heat. Add a splash of olive oil to the pan followed by the bacon and cook for 3-4 minutes to render out some of the fat. Remove the sausage from its casing and add it to the pan. Stir the pot with a wooden spoon to break the sausage into smaller chunks. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes. A little browning on the meat and in the pan is ok, but if it is taking on a lot of colour reduce the heat. At this point there should be a good amount of fat in the bottom of the pan. Do not remove the fat as this is going to absorb into the bread and help create a flavour story for your sourdough stuffing.

Step 2

Add in a knob of butter, the diced onion, celery, garlic and carrot to the pan and stir to combine. Add a pinch of salt but be careful not to over salt the sourdough stuffing as the sausage and the bacon contain a good amount of salt. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes. The vegetables will begin to soften and turn translucent. A good test is to eat a small piece of carrot. It should not be crunchy at this point.

Step 3

Add in the diced apricot and walnuts and stir to combine. Continue cooking stirring occasionally for another 5 minutes. At this point the vegetables should be softened and well mixed with the chunks of bacon and sausage. Stir in the chopped herbs and taste the stuffing for seasoning. Add the chicken stock and the stale sourdough bread. Mix well to combine thoroughly. Remove the sourdough stuffing from the heat.

Step 4

A this point you can cool and refrigerate the stuffing for later. It will hold in the fridge for 2 days without and sacrifice of flavour. This works great to plan your meal in stages as holiday menu planning can be taxing and the more prepared you are the easier it will be to pull off an epic holiday feast.

Step 5

If you are stuffing the turkey you can fill the turkey with the stuffing now. My personal preference is to cook the turkey unstuffed and cook the stuffing in a separate baking dish. If using a baking dish, fill the baking dish. Cut up the remaining butter cubes and place them on top of the sourdough stuffing. Cover with a piece or parchment paper then wrap the entire dish in aluminum foil.

Step 6

Bake the sourdough stuffing for 30 minutes at 325°F/162°C. Remove the cover and cook for another 20 minutes. The bread will take on some colour and start to crisp around the edges. If you like the stuffing a bit crispy you can leave it otherwise you can stir it half way through cooking to make sure it gets an even browning. My favourite part is the crispy edges so I like to leave it at this point.

Step 7

Once the stuffing is cooked through you can serve it immediately or reserve it to be warmed up right before serving.