Stuffing with Brown Butter and Leeks

Ingredientai

12 cornbread muffins, torn into pieces

1 loaf sourdough bread, sliced and torn into pieces. (Sizes of store bought loaves will vary, so aim for about 6 to 7 cups of bread pieces, or roughly even with the amount of cornbread)

3 sticks salted butter

1 large onion, diced

6 celery stalks, diced

1 large leek, halved and sliced

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp chopped fresh sage

2 tsp chopped fresh thyme

2 tsp dried sage

4 cups chicken stock, plus extra as needed

4 eggs, beaten

Salt and pepper to taste

Nurodymai

Tear up the cornbread and sourdough then toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake at 300 degrees for about 20 minutes until the bread is dried out and crispy. Using day-old, stale bread is best. Set the toasted bread and cornbread aside to cool.

Preheat a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat and melt 2 of the sticks of butter. Sauté the onions, celery and leeks in the butter, and season with salt and pepper. Toss every few minutes until softened and translucent, about 10-12 minutes. Add the garlic and Worcestershire sauce and continue to cook for another few minutes. Remove from the heat, and scrape the veggies into a large mixing bowl.

In the same pan, melt the remaining 1 stick of butter and stir constantly over medium heat until browned, about 5 minutes. Turn the heat off then add the fresh sage, dried sage, and the thyme and toast for a few minutes before scraping the brown butter and herb mixture into the bowl with the veggie mixture.

Add the toasted bread, chicken stock, and beaten eggs, season with more salt and pepper and stir to combine. If you find the mixture to be too dry, add another splash of chicken stock. It should be moist, but still hold together. I find it most helpful to toss it together with clean hands. Pour into a greased casserole dish and bake at 375 uncovered for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 20 minutes. If the top gets too browned, cover loosely with foil.

Tips for Making Ahead: The stuffing can be made up until the point you put it in the oven, and left to soak overnight in the refrigerator, then baked the next day. I found that it results in a slightly more custardy, bread pudding texture on the inside but was virtually identical to the version that only soaked for 30 minutes.