Description
Switch things up this Thanksgiving! Instead of serving a basket of dinner rolls, let your family feast on these gravy-stuffed stuffing muffins. Each muffin bakes up with a crispy exterior, a moist interior, and a nugget of thick, sausage-filled country gravy in the center. They might sound sort of crazy, but they’re a must-try for any stuffing fanatic at your table.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 6 ounces sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons chopped green onions
- 1 ½ cups cold milk
- salt to taste
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- ½ cup diced celery
- 1 cup diced onion
- salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 12 cups dry bread cubes
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh sage
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Melt butter for country gravy in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add sausage; cook and crumble into very small pieces until browned
- 5 to 7 minutes. Add flour and whisk until it combines with butter and sausage fat to create a roux. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add green onions. Cook and stir for 1 minute; don’t overcook.
- Pour in milk and cook
- stirring constantly
- until mixture comes to a boil. Continue to cook and stir until nice and thick. Stir in salt
- cayenne
- and black pepper. Cook for 1 more minute
- then remove from the heat.
- Transfer gravy into a bowl and let cool to room temperature
- 15 to 20 minutes. Wrap and refrigerate until cold and thick
- about 2 hours
- or until needed.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Butter a 12-cup muffin tin with a 1 tablespoon butter.
- Melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add celery
- onion
- and salt; cook and stir until onion just starts to turn translucent
- 4 to 5 minutes. Add poultry seasoning and pepper; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil.
- Meanwhile
- combine bread cubes
- parsley
- sage
- and thyme in a large bowl.
- Pour boiling broth mixture over bread-herb mixture and stir until combined. Mix in eggs. Fill the prepared muffin cups to the top with stuffing mixture
- then go around and evenly divide remaining stuffing on top of each muffing
- piling it up nice and high.
- Wet your finger and make a big hole in the center of each muffin
- poking down pretty far but stopping about 1 inch from the bottom of the pan. Place about 2 tablespoons chilled gravy into each hole
- centering it in the hole the best you can. Reserve remaining gravy for another use.
- Dampen your hands and mold the stuffing for each muffin over the top to cover the gravy center. Generously brush the tops with melted butter.
- Place in the center of the preheated oven with a baking pan on a lower rack to catch any drippings. Bake until muffins have firmed up and are golden brown
- about 20 minutes.
- Let cool in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes
- then carefully remove and serve.
Prep Time: 40 mins
Cook Time: 55 mins
Total Time: 3 hrs 55 mins
Servings: 12