Can you believe Thanksgiving is next week!?  This year, we’re planning to smoke our turkey.  I think we may need to do a trial run before the main event.  The thought of potentially ruining a beautiful free-range heritage turkey makes me a little nervous.  Like all my turkeys in the past, I plan to brine it at least 24 hours before it cooks.  A dry bird is just one of the biggest let downs, and brining really ensures that won’t happen.

Earlier this week, I received a few pounds of chanterelle mushrooms from a friend.  She has them growing all over the woods on her property and she was nice enough to share with me!  Not to worry.  We know they’re not the “funny” mushrooms, but the real deal.  Naturally, I figured I needed to develop a recipe using these golden gems to share with you all.  With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I thought sausage and chanterelle mushroom stuffing was in order!

Chanterelles, ground pork and butternut squash come together with the flavors of a traditional Thanksgiving stuffing.  I added chopped hazelnuts over the top  to give it a nice little crunch that goes along nicely with the softer texture of the mushrooms.

If your chanterelle mushrooms are rather moist, I recommend chopping them and then gathering them up in a thin towel or cheese cloth to squeeze out the extra water they hold on to.

Print Recipe

Sausage & Chanterelle Mushroom Stuffing

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time40 mins

Course: Side Dish

Servings: 8

Author: Suzie Bauer

Ingredients

Pork Sausage

• 1 lb Ground Pork
• 1 tsp Rubbed Sage
• 1 tsp Fennel Seed
• 1 tsp Fine Sea Salt
• 1/2 tsp Ground Garlic
• 1/2 tsp Onion Powder

Stuffing

• 1 Tbsp Ghee or Butter
• 3 cups Butternut Squash cut into 1/2" cubes
• 1 medium Onion diced
• 5-6 stalks Celery sliced (about 1 cup)
• 1/2 tsp Dried Thyme
• 1/2 tsp Rubbed Sage
• 1/2 tsp Fennel Seed
• 3/4 tsp Fine Sea Salt
• 1 1/2 lb Chanterelle Mushrooms roughly chopped (see notes)
• 1/2 cup Dried Cranberries unsweetened
• 1/4 cup Hazelnuts roughly chopped

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325F.
• In a large cast iron skillet over medium heat, brown the sausage with the seasonings listed under Pork Sausage. When the pork is cooked through, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
• Add ghee or butter to the pan with the fat that cooked off the pork.
• Add the butternut squash, onion, celery and remaining seasoning to the pan and cook for 5 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent burning.
• Add the chopped mushrooms to the pan and carefully fold them in. Cook for an additional 5 minutes.
• Turn off the heat and transfer the vegetables to a large baking dish.
• Carefully fold in the cooked ground pork sausage and dried cranberries to evenly distribute the ingredients in the dish.
• Bake for 25 minutes until the butternut squash is fork tender.
• Sprinkle the chopped hazelnuts over the top and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes. Keep an eye on them to make sure the nuts do not burn.
• When the nuts are golden brown around the edges, remove the stuffing and rest of 5 - 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

If your mushrooms are wet you will want to remove most of the moisture. Chop the mushrooms and gather them up in a thin towel or cheese cloth and squeeze the excess water out.