Bacon Wrapped Sausage Stuffing

 

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 celery stalks diced
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1 lb sausage meat of your choice I use a plain sausage as opposed to Italian
• a small handful of fresh sage finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon bells seasoning optional
• ½ teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• pepper
• 1 cup large stale breadcrumbs
• 1½-2 cups chicken stock
• 1 large egg
• 12-24 strips of bacon

Instructions

• preheat the oven to 400/200c
• line a nonstick loaf pan with the strips of bacon until it is fully covered with no gaps (if the bacon is very thin you may need to do two layers). Set aside.
• If your sausage is in casings, start by removing it. Cook the sausage in the olive oil on medium high heat in a large frying pan until brown and completely cooked.  Remove from the pan and set aside.
• Drain the grease from the pan, add the butter and cook the onion & celery until soft (being careful not to let it get too brown). If it starts getting too dry, you can add additional butter or a little water as needed.
• Add the sage, bells seasoning, thyme & pepper. Add the breadcrumbs, followed by the chicken stock starting with 1 1/3 and if it looks too dry, add a bit more.
• Set aside for 10 minutes and allow to cool.  Once Cooled, Add the egg. Mix well until combined (you may have to knead it).
• Add the mixture to the prepared pan.  Bake for 40-45 minutes. Turn onto a serving pan and serve (if the bacon did not crisp enough you can put it back into the pan and bake it a little longer).