Chestnut And Bacon Dressing Recipes

Steps:

• Spread the ciabatta cubes out on baking sheets and leave at room temperature to dry out for 24 hours before making the stuffing.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and set aside.
• Heat the broth in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.
• Add the bacon to a large skillet and place over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until almost browned and crispy, about 5 minutes. Stir in the carrots, celery and red onion and season with the salt. Continue to cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are beginning to soften and the bacon is crispy, an additional 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the chestnuts, rosemary and radicchio.
• Place the bread cubes in a large bowl. Add the vegetable mixture to the bowl along with the olive oil and 1 cup of the Parmesan cheese. Toss well to combine. Add the broth and toss again until the bread mixture is entirely and evenly moistened.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared dish and top with the remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan. Dot with the butter and cover with foil. Bake, covered, for 30 minutes. Uncover and cook until browned and crispy on top and warm all the way through, an additional 20 minutes.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a shallow 3-quart baking dish. Cook the bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, stirring, until crisp, about 5 minutes. Add 6 tablespoons butter, the onions, scallion whites and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the rosemary. Add the chicken broth and 1 teaspoon salt; bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat.
• Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Whisk in the Parmesan, parsley and 1 tablespoon pepper. Stir in all but 2 tablespoons scallion greens. Stir in the bread cubes and bacon mixture.
• Transfer the stuffing to the prepared dish. Dot with the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until browned, 20 to 30 more minutes. Top with the reserved scallion greens.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a large deep skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring, until browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the celery, onions, prunes, chestnuts, rosemary, 1 tablespoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture softens and starts browning, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the chicken broth and bring to a simmer.
• Combine the bread and broth mixture in a large bowl and gently mix until all the bread is moistened. Stir in the beaten eggs.
• Butter a 3-quart baking dish. Add the stuffing and dot with the remaining 4 tablespoons butter. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake until golden brown, about 20 more minutes.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Melt the butter in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and bacon and cook, stirring, for 5-6 minutes or until soft. Add the sherry and dates and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Transfer to a large bowl and add the chestnuts, almonds, breadcrumbs, sage, parsley, lemon rind, egg, salt and pepper. Mix to combine and set aside.
• Cut 2 large pieces of aluminum foil and 2 large pieces of non-stick parchment baking paper. Lay 1 piece of foil on a flat surface and top with 1 sheet of baking paper. Arrange 12 of the bacon slices, overlapping slightly, on the paper. Place half the stuffing along one edge of the bacon and shape into a log. Using the foil and paper to help you, roll the bacon to enclose the stuffing, wrapping to secure. Repeat with the remaining foil, baking paper, bacon and stuffing. Place the rolls on a baking tray and roast for 20 minutes.
• Place the extra sherry and honey in a small bowl and mix to combine. Remove the rolls from the foil and paper and return to the tray. Brush with the honey glaze and roast for a further 20 minutes or until crisp. Slice to serve.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, then fry the onions and two-thirds of the bacon, covered, for 10 mins until the onions are very soft. Once cool enough to handle, mix with the chopped chestnuts, sausagemeat, breadcrumbs, thyme leaves and egg, and season really well. Take out 250g for stuffing the turkey.
• Butter a 23cm round tin, scoop in the remaining stuffing, press down a little, then top with the remaining bacon. Put onto a baking sheet, cover with foil and bake for 15 mins.
• Uncover, grind over some fresh black pepper, then cook for 35 mins more until the bacon is turning golden. With 5 mins to go, top with the chestnut halves, if you like, brushing them with a little butter. Cut into wedges to serve.

Steps:

• Chestnut Purée: If using fresh chestnuts, peel them as follows: with a very sharp knife, carefully cut each shell from top to bottom along one side. For large chestnuts, remove a 1/8 inch strip by making a second parallel cut. Place the chestnuts in a saucepan, cover with cold water, and bring to boiling. Boil for one minute. Remove from saucepan from heat, but do not drain. Take a couple chestnuts at a time, and peel the shells and the inner skin. They are butter colored when properly peeled. For large chestnuts it may be difficult/impossible to remove the inner skin -- just scrub them to get a reasonable amount off.
• Place the chestnuts in a saucepan, along with celery stalks and herbs. If using dried herbs wrap them in cheesecloth to form an herb bouquet.
• Pour in the beef stock, and enough water to cover the chestnuts by about an inch. Simmer uncovered for 45 minutes. At this point you can skip below and begin preparing the Meat Stuffing portion of this recipe.
• Drain immediately, reserving the chestnut cooking liquid.
• Remove the celery, and herbs/herb bouquet.
• Place the chestnuts in a food processor. Run for several seconds until coarsely ground. Add the heavy cream and run for several seconds until evenly mixed.
• The mixture should be spreadable but retain a crunchy texture. If too dry, carefully add the reserved cooking liquid one tablespoon at a time. You don't want baby-food texture, so don't over do it.
• Adjust salt and pepper to taste. A little sugar if needed. Cover and set aside.
• Meat Stuffing: slowly cook the finely chopped onions with the butter in a large skillet until tender, but not browned. Probably 8 minutes or so.
• Transfer onions to a large mixing bowl. There should be a little butter left in the skillet -- add more if needed.
• Pour the wine or cognac into the warm skillet. Boil down to about half the volume. Transfer to mixing bowl. Scrap out any bubbly sugar too. Note: even a bourbon liqueur should work well -- you want something with plenty of sugar and a decent flavor, not necessarily a high price.
• Add all the remaining ingredients to the mixing bowl, and beat thoroughly. Don't use your hands -- the goal is mixed not mushed.
• (Optional: the Meat Stuffing and the completed Chestnut Purée can be separately refrigerated at this point. I'd say a day in advance would be safe.).
• Assembly: the original recipe had everything assembled and cooked inside a goose. I prefer cooking stuffing in a separate pan. Adjust the following steps as suits your preference.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Grease a shallow casserole or gratin. Starting with the Meat Stuffing, layer the ingredients in the casserole. I found that meat-chestnut-meat-chestnut-meat worked well. Specifically, my ratios went something like 40% of the meat, half the purée, 40% of the meat, the remaining half of the purée, the remaining 20% of the meat as a crumble-topping.
• (Pro tip: here's an easy way to estimate the 40-40-20% ratio. Evenly distribute the meat in the skillet -- no big hills or valleys. Now, imagine the skillet is the face of a clock. The portion between "noon" and 25 minutes past the hour is about 40% of the material. Likewise, the portion between 25 minutes past the hour and 10 minutes before the hour is the next 40%. The final portion between 10 minutes before the hour and noon is the last 20%.).
• Brown the casserole in the hot oven for 20 to 25 minutes. The top should be brown, and any exposed bacon should be approaching crumbly.
• Alternately, if the Chestnut Purée and Meat Stuffing ingredients were refrigerated prior to final assembly, start with a 350 oven. Assemble as above, Heat the casserole for 20 minutes. Advance the oven to 450, and brown for 10-15 minutes, checking frequently.

Steps:

• Soak the cranberries in the port for an hour. Fry the onion and bacon gently in the butter, until the onion is tender and the bacon is cooked. Add the garlic and fry for another minute or so.
• Cool slightly, then mix with all the remaining ingredients, including the cranberries and port, adding enough egg to bind - I find it easiest to use my hands. Fry a knob of stuffing in a little butter, taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
• To Cook: This stuffing can be baked in a dish, or rolled into balls that will be crisp on the outside and moist inside. To bake, press the stuffing into a greased ovenproof dish in a layer that is around 4cm thick. Bake at 190C/gas 5/fan 170C for about 40 minutes, until browned and, in the case of sausagemeat stuffing, cooked right through. Alternatively, roll into balls that are about 4cm in diameter. Roast the stuffing balls in hot fat (they can be tucked around the turkey or done in a roasting tin of their own) for 30-40 minutes, until crisp and nicely browned on the outside.