Wild Rice Pecan Stuffing

inAmerican Recipes, Autumn Recipes, Double Duty Recipes, Holiday & Dinner Party Recipes, Recipes, Rice, Bean, & Grain Recipes, Side Dish Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
  • YIELDS | 8-10 SERVINGS
  • PREP TIME | 20 MINS
  • COOK TIME | 90 MINS

This recipe blends several tastes, resulting in a savory, slightly sweet, chewy, and tender stuffing. This dish tastes equally as good with turkey, chicken, or stuffed into a pork roast. I removed a few steps I felt were unnecessary and a fair amount of the fat typically found in many stuffing recipes.

Double Duty Recipe: Make extra stuffing to use for a Greek-inspired soup with lemon and leftover turkey or chicken.

Ingredients

  • 3 large stalks celery, about 1 1/2 cups, chopped
  • 1 small yellow onion, about a cup, chopped
  • 2 cups uncooked wild rice or 1 cup wild rice and 1 cup long grain brown rice, will yield 6 cups cooked rice
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1  1/2 tablespoon fresh sage, minced
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 4 egg yolks, save the egg whites for another recipe
  • 1/2 cup sherry or good cooking wine
  • 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 1/2 orange, peel and pith removed, chopped
  • 1/2 cup pecans, toasted, optional, and coarsely chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • Kosher salt

Instructions

If not using as stuffing, bake in a preheated 350°F for 45 minutes.

  1. In a medium to large pot or Dutch oven over high heat, bring 5 cups water to a rapid boil. Add 1 tablespoon Kosher salt. Add rice and gently stir only once. Reduce heat to simmer and partially cover pot. Cook until rice is tender, about 35-50 minutes. Drain and transfer rice to a large bowl.
  2. In the same Dutch oven or pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, and celery, and sauté the onions for 8-10 minutes or until light golden. Add sage, 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, and cook for 1-2 more minutes or until fragrant.
  3. Add flour, and stir to incorporate. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Slowly add the stock, 1 cup at a time. Stir until it thickens then add the next cup, stirring for about 4-5 minutes. Add rice back into pot and stir.
  4. Whisk egg yolks and sherry together in a small bowl and then gently mix into rice mixture. Add the chopped pecans and orange pieces and mix to incorporate.
  5. Mix well and season to taste with Kosher salt and any additional freshly ground black pepper.
  6. Stuff cavity of turkey just before roasting.

Notes

  • Add chopped mushrooms, apricots and/or walnuts for different variations to the stuffing.
  • Use a vegetable peeler to peel the orange. It grabs just the skin so you don’t have to  do the extra step of remitting the bitter pith.
  • Use 1/2 wild rice and 1/2 long grain brown rice if you like a lighter tasting stuffing and or soup.