Mary Berry's Sage & Onion Stuffing

Tuesday 17 November 2020

 Mary Berry's Sage & Onion Stuffing 




I am so excited about sharing this recipe with you today for Mary Berry's Sage & Onion Stuffing. I don't know about you, but the stuffing is my favourite part of any holiday meal.  I could eat just a plate of stuffing and nothing else.



I had always made my mother's stuffing and loved it, but I discovered Mary Berry's stuffing a few years ago and fell in love with it. I have been making it Mary's way ever since! 


Mary Berry's Sage & Onion Stuffing




Mary Berry is not only an expert baker, as her reputation from the GBBO suggests.  She is also an expert in all types of cooking.  I trust her recipes implicitly.  They are impeccable.


I don't know about you, but I miss her on the GBBO. In my opinion, although it is still a good show, it just has not been the same without her on it.  She was the best.



Mary Berry's Sage & Onion Stuffing  



One reason I have fallen in love with this stuffing is because of the simplicity of its preparation.  It takes relatively few ingredients and goes together very quickly.


Simple ingredients put together in an incredibly delicious way, but then again, you would expect nothing less from Mary Berry. Just the name implies perfection.



Mary Berry's Sage & Onion Stuffing 



For this you will need to peel and chop some onions. One pound to be exact, which may sound like a lot, but trust me, this is the perfect amount.  These are covered with cold water and brought to the boil.


You then simmer them for about 15 minutes, until they are meltingly soft.  You will need to drain them at that point. Make sure you drain them really well so that you don't end up with soggy stuffing.


Mary Berry's Sage & Onion Stuffing  



Stuffing should be moist, but never soggy.  Soggy is a big no, no.  I return the well drained onions to the saucepan and then I add the butter, melting it into the onions.  Perfection . . .


I make my own soft light bread crumbs. You can remove the crusts if you want, but I never do. I have never minded the crusts.  I make them into crumbs in my small food processor, crumbing about 2 slices at a time.


Mary Berry's Sage & Onion Stuffing

 


Other than that all you need is some fresh sage, salt and pepper.  Simple. You can use dried sage if you want to.  I have had to before.  Dried sage works very well actually. Just use half the amount as fresh.


I always taste and then season or add sage according to my taste. Sometimes it will need more. I am not sure why that is.


Mary Berry's Sage & Onion Stuffing

 



Most of the time I cook my stuffing in a buttered casserole dish rather than inside the bird. I have read that it is safer to do that. But in all honesty that is not why I choose to do this.


I like the crispy edges that the stuffing gets when you bake it in a casserole dish.  It gets a buttery crispness on the bottom and on the top.



Mary Berry's Sage & Onion Stuffing




I like to stir this buttery crunch through the finished stuffing when it is done. But you can do whatever you wish.  I just like the buttery crispy bits to be everywhere! 


I am a nut for buttery and crisp.  Sometimes I do bow to my mother's stuffing and stir some mashed potatoes into the bread crumbs prior to baking.  This is a very New Germany, Nova Scotia thing. 



Mary Berry's Sage & Onion Stuffing

 



On this particular day I didn't, but I can assure you it is very delicious with potato in it as well, although it is not as dry. It will be much moister.  And heavier.


I suppose they started doing that to help to extend the amount of stuffing and then enjoyed it so much that they just kept doing it.



 



It is very much a Maritime tradition.  I love it both with the potatoes and without.  I just love stuffing, full stop.


I have never met a stuffing I did not like. When I worked at the manor I used to have to make a cornbread and sausage stuffing, which was what they preferred as a family.  I suppose it is very much a traditional/regional thing.  


Mary Berry's Sage & Onion Stuffing




Although it was still quite good, I preferred the sage and onion simple bread stuffing.  It is what I grew up with and it is the flavour I think goes the best with a roasted bird.  Its that simple.


In any case I hope you will try this sage and onion stuffing this year!  I think you will agree, it is phenomenal.  You just cannot go wrong with a Mary Berry recipe.  You realy can't!


Mary Berry's Sage & Onion Stuffing

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Mary Berry's Sage & Onion Stuffing
Yield: 8
Author: Marie Rayner
prep time: 20 Mincook time: 30 Mintotal time: 50 Min
I discovered this recipe for stuffing about 2 years ago and I have been making it ever since. I has become my absolute favourite stuffing to use for the holidays. Its quick simple and delicious! Trust Mary Berry! In one word, perfection.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound (450g) onions, peeled and chopped
  • 1 1/3 cups (300ml) water
  • 1/3 cup (75g) butter melted (plus more to butter the baking dish)
  • 1 TBS chopped fresh sage leaves
  • 1/2 pound/8 slices (225g) fresh soft white bread crumbs
  • salt and black pepper to taste
  • butter to dot over the top of the dish

Instructions

  1. Place the chopped onion into a saucepan. Cover with the cold water. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Drain very well.
  2. Return the onions to the saucepan. Stir in the butter and the remaining ingredients, tossing to combine and seasoning to taste.
  3. Allow to cool completely if you are using it to stuff a bird. If you are cooking it separately. Place into a buttered dish. Dot butter over the top.
  4. Cover and bake in a 180*C/350*F/gas mark 4 oven for 25 to 30 minutes.
  5. Uncover and bake for a further 10 minutes to crisp up the top if desired.
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Mary Berry's Sage & Onion Stuffing





So what is your favourite way to stuff a bird? Do you cook your stuffing inside  or on the outside of the bird? Why is this your choice?  I really want to know! 

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28 comments

  1. Looks and sounds lovely Marie. We have always done ours outside the bird, just for safety reasons. I also like the buttery crisp corner pieces! We usually do a mixed cornbread/bread stuffing, but generally not with sausage. Eggs and broth are added, as well as celery. Three more days!

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    1. That sounds delicious Raquel! Its all a matter of what we are used to! I can't wait to be sprung and be free, well somewhat free at any rate! xoxo

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  2. The stuffing (or dressing) is always the best part of TG dinner. And this looks like a winner. Mary Berry is the best, for sure (and definitely on GBBS, though I do like Prue -- just not QUITE so much!). Thanks, Marie!

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    1. I agree Prue is okay, but she’s no Mary Berry! I trust all her recipes! ❤️❤️❤️

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  3. I have made stuffing outside the bird but growing up it was under, inside, and on top of the bird. Then cooked until meat fell from the bones...cooked slow. Was very wonderful and we never ever got sick. I think if you cook it till the meat falls off, then the stuffing inside is never a danger. And it made for actually 3 kinds of tasting stuffing...which we all loved!!! I am wondering if you know what the red stuff is in those beans...looks most interesting too.
    Elizabeth xoxo

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    1. Oh that does sound lovely Elizabeth! It’s sun dried tomatoes in the green beans! Xoxo

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  4. Oh yummy...love that idea too...and the added bit of color is nice!!

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  5. Oh yummy...love that idea too...and the added bit of color is nice!!
    xoxo

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  6. Like you, I have never met a stuffing I did not like. In fact I love it the next day as well - I make a chicken or turkey sandwich and stuffing is an integral part of it.

    Sage and onion is a classic flavour and one I will make this New Year Eve with our turkey crown. I do a traditional Swedish Christmas and save "my" Christmas meal for NYE - it works well. I did try a combination at Christmas, but it's just too much food and the two don't really mix. I shall do a trial run of this soon and see what I think, though with both the Mary Berry and The English Kitchen stamp of approval, I can't imagine it being anything but wonderful. Don't tell anyone - it's just an excuse to make stuffing :)

    We always made our stuffing in a separate baking dish - mostly because we were a huge family (I'm one of 10 children) and no bird could accommodate enough stuffing for that many hungry mouths. And I always went straight for the corners where it was well done.

    I adore crunchy bits of anything baked - I even put an extra layer of pasta on top of my lasagne instead of foil, just so I can have a whole lot of crunchy browned pasta all to myself. Everyone thinks I'm nuts, but then people have thought that most of my life - ha, ha.

    Counting the sleeps to freedom! Not long now...

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    1. Are you sure we aren't twins Marie! We are so alike its uncanny! I wanted my mom to have ten kids, but could never convince her that any more than three was ideal! haha I hope you like this. I have heard the Scandanavian Christmas is very fish oriented? If so I can understand how meshing the two would not work well! Only three more sleeps and I am busting out of this place! xoxo

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    2. Hahaha—I cook a turkey or chicken so that I can cook stuffing in it! Seriously, though, I stuff my turkey or chicken and then bake the rest separately as dressing. For the latter I form
      handfuls into balls and bake them and that maximizes the crunch better than baking it as a casseroles. We like plenty of stuffing and my mom and brother preferred the dressing and my dad and I preferred the stuffing—although once we ran out we were happy to eat the crunchier balls. Around now o start saving left over bread—especially baguettes and challah—cutting it into small cubes and baking it on low to dry and harden it. All year I saw leftover cornbread—the southern type without sugar or wheat flour—in a freezer or I bake a new one before I make stuffing/dressing and then I make the stuffing with herbs—including garlic and lots of sage. Sometimes I added broken pecans—they add crunch, too—especially if I toast them first. .

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  7. Sage and onion baked separately here also. Growing up it was packed so tight into the bird it served up like paste. Delicious paste for sure, but stodgy. Spill over stuffing that refused to be packed into the turkey was baked in a casserole dish and was my favourite highlight of every holiday meal and remains the only way I prepare stuffing.

    Interesting technique of Mary's to simmer the onions first, and one I will definitely try next time. I've always sauteed the onion and celery in butter - sometimes with carrot for a nice rounded richness - but am intrigued to try this method of yours and Mary's. Thanks Marie!

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    1. I think I like stuffing baked outside the bird much more than inside, where it can end up heavy, stodgy and paste like. Only good if you have also cooked some outside the bird to stir into it! The simmering of the onions gives them a melting tenderness and mellows out their flavour to something really special. I had my qualms the first time I cooked it because it was so simple without a lot of different add ins, etc. but I was very pleasantly surprised! It became my all time favourite! xoxo

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  8. This sounds similar to the stuffing I’ve always made. Simple, yummy. Always outside the turkey so that we have the crisp and buttery bits.
    I’m soooooo excited for you....hugs coming soon to you! How wonderful♥️♥️ V

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    1. I think outside the bird is becoming a real winner here V! Simple and yummy wins every time! xoxo

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  9. I use onion, celery, dried sage, salt and pepper, and some chicken broth. I have always cubed my white bread and left it lightly covered for at least 24 hours. I have never used bread crumbs. It looks good in the pictures.

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    1. Thanks Julie! I always tore or cubed my bread in the past. This was a first for me when I tried it, but it became a firm favourite! xoxo

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  10. Love stuffing and always add sausage meat. Must admit I haven’t watched the baking show since Mary left.

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    1. Adding sausage meat is very British Linda! Its quite tasty! xoxo

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  11. The iconic Bell’s Seasoning (New England favorite)is good in this recipe, also

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    1. I love Bells! I make my own homemade version of it! It’s lovely! Xo

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  12. I like celery, shredded carrot, onion, & chopped sweet potato (just boiled enough to soften for dicing),

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  13. I made a small batch of this as a trial run for the holidays and it is so good! I had my doubts as it seemed very simple and I'd never ever used so many onions in my stuffing. I generally have a mix of lightly sauteed onion, carrot and celery.

    However, Mary and Marie (the other Marie, not me!) know what they are talking about. It puffed up beautifully in the oven and the sage came through as it should. We had it with chicken, but it would go well with turkey as well. In the interests of giving you the full report, I showed a great deal of constraint and refrained from scoffing the lot last night and saved some to have today - as one needs to test it on day 2 as a leftover. I made my favourite chicken and stuffing sandwich for lunch and it was just as delicious as it had been last night fresh out of the oven. If you are like me and think that the best part of Christmas dinner is actually the turkey and stuffing sandwich the next day, then this is the stuffing for you. Big thumbs up here and this will now be my go to stuffing.

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    1. How pleased I am that you tried this Marie and that you enjoyed it! It is really good, I agree. It has replaced every other stuffing recipe in my repertoire! Thank you so much for always leaving your feedback. It means the world to me! Xoxo

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  14. Our family usually make a dressing using chopped apples. One of the grandkids does not like the taste of cooked fruits so I will be making this instead. Hope the grandchild likes it! Sure sounds good and easy to make

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  15. So is it alright to use fresh bread to make the breadcrumbs? I don't have to dry them out?

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    1. That's right. It used fresh bread crumbs, not dried out. I hope you enjoy it!

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