Apricot & Pine Nut Stuffing
Cook Notes
Cooking Method: Roasting, Indirect
BBQ Used: Weber 57cm Kettle
Charcoal Setup: 50/50 split
BBQ Temperature: Approx 180-190C
Smoking Wood Used: N/A
Total Cook Time: 2 hours (including prep time)
Ingredients
2lb good quality sausage meat
2 large onions, finely diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
2 tbsp fresh sage leaves, chopped
50g breadcrumbs
30g pine nuts
100g dried apricots
salt & pepper to season
10-12 rashers of streaky bacon
Method
1. Make the Stuffing Mix
In a large bowl, mix the sausage meat, onion, garlic and breadcrumbs. You can also add the pine nuts, apricots, sage and parsley but keep some back to decorate the top of the stuffing. When everything is combined, season the mixture with salt and pepper.
2. Pre-heat your BBQ
For this cook, I used my Weber kettle setup for indirect cooking using the 50/50 split method. I used 2/3 of a chimney of briquettes to hit a target temperature of around 180-190C.
3. Line your loaf tin with Bacon
Lay your strips of bacon along the bottom of the loaf tin and up the sides, leaving a small overhang. Don't worry too much about completely covering the tin, leaving small gaps between the bacon will make it much easier to carve later.
4. Add the stuffing to the loaf tin
Once your tin is lined with bacon, add your stuffing mixture, firming it down as you go so it will hold together in a loaf shape when cooked. Once filled, scrunch the overhanging ends of the bacon along the edge of the tin so they almost form "crust" along each side of the tin, leaving the top of the stuffing exposed. Scatter the remaining pine nuts on top of the exposed stuffing mixture.
5. Cook the stuffing
Place the tin on the BBQ in the area of indirect heat and close the lid. Monitor the internal temperature of the stuffing until it reaches around 72C. At this point, add the remaining chunks of apricot and the rest of your herbs to the top of the stuffing and continue to cook the stuffing until the internal temperature reaches 75C. Remove the stuffing and allow it to rest for 10-15 minutes.
6. Remove from the tin and slice.
After the stuffing has rested, carefully remove it from the tin. To serve, I like to use the bacon as a guide, cutting it into nice thick slices. This stuffing will reheat really well so it can be made a day or two before you need it. I would leave it in the tin and reheat it to an internal temp of 75C.
