Obviously, this is the time of year folks minds turn to turkey.
And stuffing, because, you kinda need both, to do it right.
But… what if you could have pretty darned terrific stuffing – with or without the big bird – and have it in easy single serve balls?
I am betting that you would be pretty darned interested. And, bonus! Because they are balls, every serving has a crispity outer edge and soft, center, to keep folk happy.
Note 1: these stuffing balls are made with chicken gravy and bacon jam. Feel free to substitute turkey gravy and your fave sausage.
Note 2: you will need to make your own biscuits, from your fave recipe or a mix. Biscuits from a can will not work.
INGREDIENTS
Stuffing Balls:
•3 cups diced celery
•2 cups diced sweet onion
•1 cup (loosely packed) chopped fresh parsley
•10 tbsp butter
•5 cups chicken stock
•1 tbsp Sherry Peppers Sauce*
•1 tsp Cajun Power Spicy Garlic Peppers Sauce (or your fave hot sauce, to taste)
•1 tsp coarse sea salt
•1 tsp black pepper
•1 tsp Aleppo pepper
•1/2 tsp garlic powder
•2 bacon jam cubes – about 3 tbsp
(I freeze my jam in ice cube trays)
•4 cups home made biscuits
•14 oz sage & onion stuffing
Chicken Gravy:
•1/2 cup butter
•1/2 cup all-purpose flour
•1 quart cold chicken stock
•1 tbsp Sherry Peppers Sauce*
•1 tsp Cajun Power Spicy Garlic Peppers Sauce
•1/3 cup heavy cream
•1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
•1 tsp white pepper
•1 tsp dried parsley
•1/8 tsp Cayenne
•1/8 tsp garlic powder
•Black pepper
*No Sherry Peppers Sauce? No Problem! Simply add a bit of decent sherry (none of that “cooking” stuff) and a dash or three of your fave hot sauce, to taste.
Heat your oven to 200º and crumble the cooked biscuits into a large baking pan (your turkey roaster will work a treat here).
Pop the crumbled biscuits into the oven and cook for two to three hours, until the biscuits are very hard and crumbly.
While the biscuits are drying out, melt two tablespoons of the butter with the bacon jam in a large pot. Add the onion, celery, and parsley, and cook for about ten minutes, until the onion and celery are tender. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
In another pan, bring the chicken stock to a boil, then add the remaining 1/2 cup of butter, Sherry Peppers, hot sauce, salt, peppers, and garlic powder; stirring until the butter is melted and the stock mixture is heated through.
Once the biscuits are dried out and crumbled, add the bag of stuffing and the cooked veggies.
Pour the stock over the stuffing, biscuits and veggies, stir to combine, then set aside to soak up for ten or 15 minutes.
Heat your oven to 350º and line a baking pan with parchment paper.
Using a 1/2 cup scoop, measure out your stuffing mixture and shape into balls – I got 17 stuffing balls.
Arrange the balls on the parchment paper and bake for 30 minutes.
While the stuffing balls are baking, melt the butter over medium heat in a large pot. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture has turned golden brown and is nicely fragrant – about ten minutes.
Gradually whisk in cold stock, Sherry Peppers, and Garlic Pepper Sauce.
Reduce heat to low, bring the gravy to a simmer, and cook,stirring until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in heavy cream, and season with salt, white pepper, and Cayenne pepper.
Serve the gravy over the stuffing balls and top with additional freshly chopped parsley.