Chef's Table

Hazelnut Brown Ale Caramelized Leek Stuffing

This is my version of the classic North Western styled Hazelnut Brown Ale Caramelized Leek Stuffing recipe. It’s full of flavor and wonderful side dish to a Beer Brined Turkey.

CourseFamily Style
CuisineAmerican
Cooking Beer StyleAmerican Brown Ale
SeasonalFall Seasonal, Thanksgiving, Winter Seasonal
Food SectionBread, Garlic, Herbs, Leeks, Onions, Pork, Shallot, Stuffing
Cooking MethodBaking with Beer
BreweryBell’s Brewing Co, Sierra Nevada
KeywordCooking with Beer

Servings	Prep Time
10guests	25minute

Cook Time

45 -60minute

Servings	Prep Time
10guests	25minute

Cook Time

45 -60minute

Ingredients

Caramelized Leek Ingredients:

3loaves ciabatta, or other artisanal bread,weighing about 2 pounds total, cut into 1 inch cubes
1/2cup butter, unsalted
1/4cup fat, duck, bacon or more butter,this adds richness to the stuffing
3each leeks,washed and sliced
2each onion, yellow, large,peeled and chopped
1tablespoon salt, kosheror more to taste
3each shallotspeeled and chopped
6each garlic, clovespeeled and minced
12ounce Brown Ale,such as Sierra Nevada Tumbler or Bell’s Brewing Best Brown

Pork Sausage Ingredients:

3pound pork, ground
1teaspoon salt, kosher
2bunch sage, freshleaves only, stems cut off
1bunch thyme, freshleaves only
1/2pound hazelnuts, raw
1 1/2 – 2quart stock, preferably turkey, duck or chicken

Instructions

Bread Cube Directions:

Take the bread loaves and cut them up into 1 inch cubes and arrange them in a single layer onto sheet trays or baking sheets with a rim. Let this sit out overnight to dry out the bread, making the bread become a sponge for the stuffing to get its great texture later. Alternatively, place the sheet trays into a 250°F | 121°C oven and slowly dry out the bread for about 45 – 60 minutes.

Caramelized Leek Directions:

Place a large Dutch-oven or large pot over medium heat, add the butter and fat, letting the butter melt. Add in the leeks, onions and salt; stir to coat in the fat and let wilt for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add in the shallots and cook until the onions are a light golden color and caramelized, about another 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for a minute. Deglaze the pot with the Brown Ale, using the edge of a spatula or spoon, scrape any brown bits from the pot. Remove the pot from the stove and pour all the vegetables into a large wide bowl.

Making the Stuffing Directions:

Place the Dutch-oven back over the heat and carefully pour any residual fat from the vegetables back into the pot. If there isn’t enough fat, add another ½ stick of butter. Add the ground pork (depending on the surface area of your pot, this might have to be split into two batches) and salt, browning the meat, until the meat is fully cooked and starting to caramelize, about 8 minutes. Add the sage, thyme and toasted hazelnuts and cook for another few minutes. Pour this mixture in the bowl with the cooked vegetables and stir to combine. Add the stock to the pot, to rinse any remaining flavor, then pour into the bowl, stirring all the ingredients together. Add the dried bread to the bowl. Using rubber gloves, as the pork will be warm, squeeze the bread and mix the stuffing together, letting the bread soak up all the stock. The bread should become soft, if the mixture is dry, add more stock to achieve this texture. Season well with salt and pepper.

Baking Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F | 177°C. Transfer the stuffing into a lightly buttered or greased casserole pan and lightly pack the mixture into all the corners and level it out as best as possible. Place this in the center of the oven and bake for 45 – 60 minutes, until the stuffing is steaming and the edges are a crispy brown color. Serve immediately, or wrap with foil and keep warm for service.

Recipe Notes

Cooking Beer Suggestions:

I love this style of beer! I wish more breweries would find a way to educate the public on the pure joy about this beer style and what a treat it is to drink and cook with! So I’ll help were I can! Really this style of beer is wonderful. It has a rich toasted bread, caramelized toffee, caramel undertones with a clean, drying finish, not sweet, not roasty, but savory in it’s essence. It has just enough hop bitterness to balance out the malt forward brew, while retaining lots of character from the kilned barley. It does amazing this to recipes. Mixing a bite of this stuffing with a beer brined turkey is alchemy at it’s finest.

Here are a few of my favorite Brown Ales:

Bells Brewing Co. Best Brown Ale

Sierra Nevada Tumbler Autumn Brown Ale

Rogue Ales Hazelnut Brown Ale

Check other recipes and menu ideas that will go with this stuffing recipe check out my Thanksgiving Holiday Feast Menu.