Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink

A Creative Twist on Fall Stuffing: Pretzels and Pork Sausage

Hunter Lu
By

Whether stuffed in turkey or cooked by itself as a casserole dish, stuffing is a flavor-packed comfort food. Made with leftover bread, cornbread, or rice, stuffing is an extremely flexible dish suitable for all taste buds. Because stuffing is so adaptable, it’s essentially a blank canvas for flavors and ingredients. Want something spicy? Add some chili peppers or hot sauce. Looking for a balance of sweet and savory? Mix chopped apples with pork sausage for a classic flavor pairing.

Funkenhausen’s Chef Mark Steuer

For a unique stuffing recipe, The Manual has enlisted the services of Chef Mark Steuer of Funkenhausen in Chicago. Steuer’s menu is influenced by a combination of his German heritage and Charleston, South Carolina upbringing. This holiday season, Steuer has created a distinctive recipe — pretzel and sausage stuffing.

Recommended Videos

The secret ingredient to this tasty casserole is day-old soft pretzels. While excellent baked in a skillet or roasting pan, this recipe is truly delicious with poultry or pork. For whole birds, Steuer recommends adding the stuffing mixture into the cavity before roasting.

Related

Pretzel and Sausage Stuffing Recipe

Pretzel and Sausage Stuffing from Chef Mark Steuer of Funkenhausen in Chicago.
Pretzel and Sausage Stuffing by Chef Mark Steuer. Image used with permission by copyright holder

(By Chef Mark Steuer of Funkenhausen in Chicago.)

Be sure to use soft pretzels (not the small and crunchy snack pretzels) for this recipe. Also, it’s critical that the pretzels in the stuffing mix are not “fresh.” To achieve this, allow your pretzels to get stale (you can leave them in a container or bag at room temperature overnight) before mixing them with the other ingredients. If time is an issue, you can accelerate the process by baking the pretzels at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 15 minutes. This process is essential. Fresh bread or pretzels will make the stuffing soupy and soggy. Day-old pretzels will absorb the aromatics and cooking liquid, ensuring a superior texture.

Ingredients:

  • 10 cups (1 lb. 12 oz) day-old soft pretzels, cut in 1-inch pieces
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
  • 1 cup (5 oz) carrots, finely chopped
  • 1 cup (4.75 oz) celery, finely chopped
  • 1 cup (5.5 oz) onions, finely chopped
  • Kosher salt
  • 2 medium garlic cloves, minced (2 tsp)
  • .5 tsp poultry seasoning
  • 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh sage
  • 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh thyme
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
  • .5 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 lb bratwurst or other mild sausage, casings removed
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • One 11-oz can condensed cream of celery soup

Method:

  1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Spread the pretzels out in a single layer on 2 large baking sheets, then transfer to the oven and toast until the pretzel pieces are until just lightly golden and crispy, 15–17 minutes. Transfer the pretzel pieces to a large bowl and set aside to cool to room temperature.
  3. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. When the foam begins to subside, add the carrots, celery, onions, season lightly with kosher salt, and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are tender, 12–14 minutes.
  4. Add the garlic and poultry seasoning and continue cooking until fragrant, 2–3 minutes more.
  5. Stir in the sage, thyme, parsley, and black pepper, remove from heat, then scrape the mixture into the bowl with the pretzel pieces. Wipe out the skillet and return it to medium heat.
  6. Add the sausage and cook, stirring frequently and breaking the meat apart with a wooden spoon until it is cooked through, 10–12 minutes.
  7. Transfer the sausage and any drippings to the pretzel mixture. Stir gently to combine, then add the eggs, chicken stock, and cream of celery soup. Use a silicone spatula to fold the mixture together.
  8. Butter a 12-inch cast iron skillet or roasting pan, then transfer the stuffing into it, pressing down gently with a spatula. Cover with aluminum foil, transfer to the oven and bake until heated through, about 30 minutes.
  9. Uncover and continue baking until golden brown and slightly crispy on the edges, 20-30 minutes more.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Hunter Lu
Hunter Lu
Contributor
Hunter Lu is a New York-based food and features writer, NYU graduate, and Iraq veteran. His fiction has appeared in The Line…
A chef shares his recipes for Indian kebabs with a modern twist
Chef Jay Kumar of LORE is putting his global flavors on display in Brooklyn
LORE Chapli kebab.

When it comes to kebabs, it's rarely done better than in Indian cuisine. And at LORE in Park Slope, Brooklyn, Chef Jay Kumar is putting his distinctive spin on Indian kebabs and giving them a modern twist.

Using inspirations from his time spent in South India, Switzerland, and Brooklyn, Kumar is plating up classic Indian street food flavors with elegant presentation and sophisticated flavors. If you're wondering why his kebabs aren't on skewers, this is actually standard for some preparations. Certain types of kebabs, like the chapli, are shaped more like a spiced hamburger patty versus the typical meat skewer, and cooked in a large skillet. Quite simply, these are some of the best, one-of-a-kind Indian food recipes we've ever encountered.
Chicken "Afghan"
Chicken "Afghan" from LORE. Image used with permission by copyright holder

Read more
The best deviled eggs recipe for the perfect Easter appetizer
These classic Easter snacks are easier to make than you think
deviled eggs

The Easter season is here, and soon many of us will undoubtedly find ourselves with a few extra eggs in the refrigerator. Maybe they've been dyed, hidden and found, served their holiday purpose, and now you have a dozen pastel-hued hardboiled eggs to deal with. In years past, perhaps you merely tossed them in the trash when you were certain no one was looking. But with the price of eggs still skyrocketing, throwing away a perfectly good dozen seems more wasteful than ever. Luckily for us, there is an absolutely delicious solution to this issue.

Though now a classic picnic favorite and potluck staple, the origin of deviled eggs can actually be traced as far back as ancient Rome. In Petronius' Satyricon, he describes a feast, where the meat of songbirds is marinated in peppered egg yolk and stuffed into the white part of boiled peahen eggs, according to Ancestral Findings. So while these delicious bites may have evolved over the passage of time, it's clear that stuffed eggs, in one form or another, have been enjoyed for centuries.

Read more
The 5 best Irish food recipes for a tasty St. Patrick’s Day feast
From classic corned beef to comforting barley risotto, these Irish food recipes will have you reaching for seconds
ButcherBox corned beef brisket with aromatics on wooden board.

Saint Patrick's Day, a holiday that's usually filled with fun drinking and cocktails, is also a great time for some seriously good Irish food. After all, what sounds better than getting together with loved ones and friends over an Irish-inspired feast? Besides classic corned beef, there's also an endless number of dishes to make for Saint Patrick's Day, ranging from sausages to modern takes on risotto. To celebrate this Saint Patrick's Day, The Manual has collected five amazing recipes that are both hearty and delicious, a perfect combination to celebrate this festive holiday.
ButcherBox corned beef brisket recipe

Probably the most iconic Irish food recipe for Saint Patrick's Day in America, a properly made corned beef is a surefire crowd-pleaser. This corned beef recipe is from Yankel Polak, the head chef of ButcherBox, a B Corp Certified meat brand delivering high-quality, sustainably sourced meat and seafood right to your door. Customers can choose from four curated boxes or handpick a custom box for their delivery needs.

Read more