Beer Pretzel Stuffing
If you are looking to give your Thanksgiving stuffing a fun and simple twist (Get it? A twist!!), look no further than this pretzel stuffing. If you have the time, let the torn pretzel pieces sit out overnight to begin drying out. This will cut down on your oven drying time, or you may not need to oven-dry at all. If no fresh herbs are available, feel free to substitute dried; just use half the amount of fresh. If serving a large crowd, this recipe easily doubles to make a 9 × 13-in (23 × 33 cm) pan. Enjoy the Beer Pretzel Stuffing with Slackwater Brewing Idleback Amber Ale.Ingredients
Serves 6
8 soft pretzels or soft pretzel buns (about 12 cups/3 L once torn)
¼ cup (60 ml) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
2 mild Italian sausages, casings removed
1 medium onion, diced
1 large stalk celery, finely diced
1 large carrot, finely diced
¼ cup (60 ml) chopped fresh parsley leaves and tender stems
1 tbsp (15 ml) chopped fresh sage leaves
1 tsp (5 ml) chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 tsp (5 ml) chopped fresh thyme leaves
½ tsp (2.5 ml) freshly ground black pepper
½ cup (125 ml) fresh cranberries
1 tbsp (15 ml) Dijon mustard
1 cup (250 ml) Slackwater Idleback Amber Ale
½ cup (125 ml) low-sodium chicken stock, plus more as needed
1 large egg
3 tbsp (45 ml) finely grated pecorino
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250 F (120 C).
- Slice or tear pretzels into bite-sized pieces. Arrange in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet and bake, tossing occasionally, until dry like croutons, 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on pretzels. Remove pretzels from oven and place in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
- Increase oven temperature to 375 F (190 C).
- Meanwhile, in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Crumble in sausages and cook, stirring and breaking up chunks with a wooden spoon, until browned and mostly cooked through, about 5 minutes. Stir in onions, celery and carrots and sauté until onions are translucent but not browned, about 4 minutes. Add sausage mixture to pretzel pieces along with parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, pepper and cranberries. Stir until mixture is well combined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk mustard, beer, stock and egg. Pour over pretzel mixture and stir well to combine. Set pretzel mixture aside for 20 minutes to allow pretzels to absorb liquid. If pretzel pieces are still quite firm after sitting, add another ¼ cup (60 ml) stock and stir to mix in. Pretzel pieces should be hydrated but not falling apart.
- Butter an 8-in (20 cm) square casserole dish. Add pretzel mixture in an even layer. Loosely cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil, rotate casserole dish 180 degrees in oven and reduce oven temperature to 350 F (175 C). Bake until deep golden brown and crisp on top, about another 20 minutes. If stuffing seems dry, pour another ¼ cup (60 ml) stock overtop and bake for another 5 to 8 minutes. Let rest on a rack for 10 minutes, sprinkle with pecorino and serve.