Crispy Sausage Stuffing with Kale

SERVES — 8 to 10

A slight amendment to the original, this is for the meat lovers in your life. For the sausage, you can use any sort you like, though would avoid anything overly spiced or spicy. For anyone raising an eyebrow about the kale, know that it’s optional (though it is in the title since I like it so much), but really adds a nice bit of moisture to the stuffing in addition to a classic braised-greens flavor.

Ingredients

• 1 large loaf good, crusty bread, preferably sourdough or ciabatta (about 1¼ pounds)
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 pounds sweet or hot Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1 bunch lacinato kale, stems removed, leaves torn into bite-sized pieces
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 large leeks
• Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper
• 6 celery stalks, thinly sliced, plus leaves
• 1 cup dry white wine (or one cup broth plus 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar)
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped sage, oregano or thyme
• 2 ½ cups turkey, chicken or vegetable broth
• 3 large eggs
• ½ cup finely chopped parsley and/or chives

Preparation

1. Using your hands, tear bread, crust and all, into 1½- to 2-inch pieces. Place on a rimmed baking sheet, and let sit uncovered at room temperature overnight (alternatively, toast the torn bread in a 300°F/150°C oven, tossing occasionally, until lightly crisped, but not browned, 20–30 minutes).
2. When it comes time to make your stuffing, preheat oven to 375°F/190°C (no fan). Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and using a wooden spoon or spatula, break it up into bite-sized pieces. Cook, stirring occasionally, breaking it up as it tends to want to clump together, and cook until browned and cooked through, 5–8 minutes. Add kale, if using, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing occasionally, until kale is nicely wilted. Transfer kale and sausage to a large bowl (you’ll use this to mix your stuffing) and set aside.
3. Without wiping your skillet out, melt butter in the same skillet. Add celery and leeks. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are bright green and totally softened, 8–10 minutes. Add garlic and cook a minute or two just to soften. Add white wine, and cook until reduced by about three-quarters, about 4 minutes. Add sage and remove from heat.
4. In a large bowl, whisk broth and eggs together until well combined. Add sauteed vegetables, toss to combine. Add bread and sausage and kale mixture, and toss again to combine, letting the egg mixture soak into the bread (try not to totally crush the bread). Let sit a minute or two, give another toss and repeat until all the liquid has been absorbed and evenly distributed.
5. Transfer mixture to a 2½- to 3-quart baking dish or 9-by-13 pan, making sure not to pack it too tightly. (You want to keep the bread in the stuffing as light as possible.) If you feel like it, dot the top with a little more butter, making sure to pay extra attention to the corners, where the stuffing will get the crispiest. Scatter some flaky salt, more pepper and parsley or celery leaves over top which get a little crispy (nice).
6. Cover with foil and bake until the stuffing is sizzling at the edges and completely cooked through, 25–30 minutes. If it’s not yet time to serve, remove stuffing from oven and set aside. (If you are nearly ready to serve, proceed directly to the next step and continue without pausing.)
7. When ready to serve, remove foil and increase temperature to 425°F/230°C . Bake stuffing until crispy, crunchy and impossibly golden brown on top, about 20 minutes. Scatter with celery leaves, if using, and serve.

DO AHEAD: Stuffing can be made all the way until the final bake a day or two beforehand, but honestly will likely take up too much space in the fridge and you’re better off doing it the day of.

LEFTOVERS: The perfect leftovers. I like to reheat mine in a cast iron (or non-stick) skillet in the oven until it gets crispier than I thought possible. Microwave is fine, but it won’t crisp. It’s also good cold, out of the container–hot food is overrated.