Brandied Pecan Stuffing

Name: Brandied Pecan Stuffing
Yield: Makes Enough to Stuff a 10- to 12-pound Bird, Plus Extra in a Casserole
Ingredients: 2 cups pecan halves (or use a combination of pecans and macadamias); ¼ cup Cognac, Armagnac, or brandy; Several grinds of black pepper; ¼ teaspoon cayenne, or to taste (or use a large pinch of dried red pepper flakes); ½ teaspoon paprika, preferably Hungarian, sweet or hot, depending on taste; ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg; 6 cups day-old Italian or French bread, white, whole wheat, or a combination, with some crusts left on, cut into ¾-inch dice or torn and coarsely crumbled; 2 garlic cloves, minced; 4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter; 2 large onions, coarsely chopped; ¾ teaspoon salt, or to taste; ½ cup dried currants; ½ cup chopped fresh parsley; 1 to 1½ cups canned chicken broth, as needed; 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves or ¼ teaspoon dried; 2 tart apples, such as Granny Smith, peeled, quartered, cored, and diced; 3 celery ribs, strings removed, trimmed, and coarsely chopped; Juice of 1 large orange; 2 cups sliced white mushrooms (Mushroom Basics)

Preparation info

Makes Enough to Stuff a
10- to 12-pound
Bird, Plus Extra in a Casserole

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Get in There and Cook

By Richard Sax

Published 1997

About

A stuffing in the American spirit, this is much lighter than many traditional stuffing recipes, which often have meat plus eggs to bind them. You can spoon some of the stuffing into the turkey as directed in the roast turkey recipe, but only immediately before you put it into the oven to roast. Spoon the rest into a buttered casserole and bake it in the oven along with the turkey for the last 30 minutes of the roasting time. I baste occasionally with

Ingredients

Main course
Spicy

Ingredients

Method