8cupsdrystale bread, cut into cubes and left out overnight to harden
2cupssweet onionsdiced
2tablespoonfresh sage
1stick4 oz unsalted butter
4cupshoneycrisp applesdiced ½ inch
1lbslab bacondiced into ½ inch cubes
2 cupschicken stockunsalted, preferably homemade
20large chestnutsblanched, peeled, and sliced into ¼ inch pieces
Instructions
The day beforehand, chop the bread and leave it out uncovered to harden
First peel the chestnuts according to my method HERE, then slice the chestnuts or chop them. Next put the chestnuts in a pot with the chicken stock and cook until tender, soft and sweet, add a pinch of sugar to the stock if the chestnuts are not tasting too sweet after they are soft and tender, this will make their flavor "pop" a bit, and make them more noticeable. Cooking the chestnuts in the chicken stock should take about 30 minutes.
While the chestnuts are cooking you can assemble the rest of the ingredients
Cook the bacon until it is nice and crisp, discard the fat or save it to cook your onions in if you are feeling particularly devious, set the bacon aside and reserve until needed
Cook the onions and sage in the butter, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper until the onions are translucent and soft, when they are soft, add the honeycrisp apples and just heat through, you don't want to cook them yet since the mixture will be reheated at a later date
Combine the bread with the sage-apple-onion mixture, then add the bacon
Add all of the chicken stock with the chestnuts in it to the stuffing mixture, mix the mixture lightly to make sure that the stock is absorbed, then taste a piece of the stuffing and season the mixture for salt and pepper if needed. (If the bread you are using has a higher amount of salt in it than others, you may want to only season it lightly.)
Notes
Makes a little more than two quarts, which will feed 8 people generously, this is rich stuff