Pork and Apricot Stuffing

Amy Massey
by Amy Massey
10-12 Servings
50 min

This is another tried and tested recipe that has come from many different variations I've experimented with over the years. The result is an easy to put together stuffing that comes out of the oven golden brown and soft to the touch every time. This is often difficult to achieve when the stuffing is actually placed inside of the bird and can result in a soggy mess.


The recipe features the classical flavours of sage, onion, breadcrumbs and sausage meat, but is livened up with the addition of fruit dried apricots, zingy lemon zest and warming nutmeg. This recipe paired perfectly with my overnight roast turkey recipe, but would work equally well with any roast poultry.

Perfect golden stuffing, every time!

Smoky pancetta is gently cooked with sage and butter.

Vegetables are then added and gently cooked until soft and golden.

Fine breadcrumbs soak up all of the wonderful flavours and give the stuffing its soft and spongy texture, while dried apricots add an unexpected fruity twist to a traditional dish.

Finally, rich pork sausage meat is added to the mix with zingy lemon zest and warming nutmeg and binded together with egg. This is the messy part!

Then everything is pressed into a casserole dish and baked until golden brown.

Recipe details
  • 10-12  Servings
  • Prep time: 20 Minutes Cook time: 30 Minutes Total time: 50 min
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Ingredients

  • 500g pork sausage meat
  • 100g smoked pancetta, sliced
  • Small handful fresh sage leaves, roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
  • 1 small red onion, roughly chopped
  • 2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
  • 150g dried apricots, chopped
  • 2 large handfuls dry breadcrumbs
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 large egg
  • Pinch of grated nutmeg
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celsius.
Grease an ovenproof casserole dish with butter.
Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat and add the butter.
Once the butter has melted, add the pancetta and sage leaves and cook gently until the pancetta is starting to crisp.
Add the red onion and celery and cook gently for up to 5 minutes, until softened.
Remove from the heat and stir in the breadcrumbs and chopped apricots. Then leave to cool slightly.
Tip the mixture into a large mixing bowl and add the sausage meat, egg, lemon zest and nutmeg.
Mix everything together thoroughly with your hands.
Press the mixture into the bottom of the casserole dish.
Cover the dish with aluminium foil and bake in the centre of the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
Remove the foil and leave to cover for an additional 10 minutes until golden brown on top.
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