Christmas Stuffing Recipes

[whoknows1230]

I've always used packet stuffing at Christmas but this year planned to make my own. Most of the recipes I've seen on the internet included sausage meat. We do pigs in blankets separately (and we make our own so using full-sized chipolatas) so there is already a lot of pork.

Is anyone able to recommend a good recipe, that can be formed into balls rather than put in a dish please? SIL can't have sage just to make things even more difficult, although I can sub that with something else I guess.

We do similar to this, but also add some lemon zest. It's really nice with a mixture of white and seeded breadcrumbs.

I make a very similar stuffing to the recipe previous, but with added chopped fried bacon, just a little. You don’t have to have sage. Stuffing mixes always have dried herbs in which are very overpowering, fresh herbs are nicest. I’ve found that the less ingredients, the tastier it is.

I make my own stuffing but never use a recipe as such; I just use what I have suitable in the cupboard/fridge. Always start with the basics which are:

-1 onion, finely diced & sauteed in butter till very soft

• breadcrumbs (I just use an ordinary white loaf and whizz it up slice by slice in a food processor; you can grate it if you don't have one but it's more fiddly)
• An egg, to bind
• Zest of a lemon
• a good pinch of salt & black pepper

Then I'll use what I can find, such as:

• nuts, roughly chopped (brazils, pecans, hazelnuts, cashews are all good)
• chestnuts, chopped (just from a packet, ready peeled)
• fresh herbs, finely chopped (parsley, chives, thyme, sage - go easy on the sage it's quite strong)
• dried fruit, chopped, such as cranberries or dried apricots
• if I have them in the fridge to use up, I'll also fine dice and sautee till soft a stick or two of celery or carrot

I always make stuffing by eye so just add enough breadcrumbs till it looks about right - you don't want the tasty stuff overwhelmed by too much boring bread! Just mix everything together with the egg and it should just bind together so you can form balls. If it looks a bit dry add another egg. Wet your hands when you shape the balls, otherwise the mixture sticks like mad.

If you're making it ahead of time put it on a baking tray lined with silicon paper/ non stick, cover well with cling film and put it in the freezer. Then all you have to do is defrost it the day before you need it.

It'll take 25 mins or so to cook through, depending on how big your balls!

I’m gluten free and can’t be arsed with cranberry once a year so I go for apple.

Parboil some arborio rice then mix with browned pork mince, grated or chopped apple, some herbs, walnuts. Salt and pepper. Add some apple juice or cider to your gravy.

Thank you so much everyone - plenty of ideas!