Duck Dressing

To stuff or not to stuff? It's one of the perennial questions of the holiday season. Here's my take on the subject: I don't recommend stuffing whole birds, be they ducks, geese, chickens, or turkeys. A stuffed bird requires a longer cooking time, because the heat must permeate a tightly packed mound of uncooked ingredients in the cavity. The result is soggy dressing that is, in my opinion, generally inferior to dressing that has been cooked outside the bird. I sometimes put a few herb sprigs in the cavity or maybe a garlic clove or two to help add flavor to the gravy, but that's all you'll find inside my birds.

Duck Sausage Dressing

Yields: 6 to 8 servings

No matter what your main course is, this dish is a tasty way to include some waterfowl in your holiday feast. The duck sausage recipe also works well as a breakfast sausage patty, or you can load the ingredients into a casing and cook it like any traditional sausage. A meat grinder is a handy appliance for any wild game cook, but cutting semi-frozen duck breasts into small chunks and pulsing them in a food processor until they are pea-sized works fine too.

Duck Sausage

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups ground duck breast fillets
• 1/2 cup ground pork
• 1/4 cup minced red onion
• 1 medium jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• Pinch freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

PREPARATION

Mix together all ingredients except oil. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sausage mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, until evenly browned.

Dressing

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound duck sausage, lightly browned
• 1 1/2 cups chopped fennel bulb
• 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 Granny Smith apple, chopped
• 6 cups cornbread croutons or dressing mix
• 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and then transfer to a lightly greased casserole dish and place in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until dressing is lightly browned and crispy on top.