Recipe: Sausage-Pecan Stuffing

Sausage-Pecan Stuffing
Recipe by: Craig Claiborne's Southern Cooking
Yield: Sufficient stuffing for an 8 to 10 pound turkey

1 pound prepared sausage meat in bulk
1/4 pound butter
3 cups onion -- finely chopped
1 1/2 cups celery -- chopped
4 cups dried bread crumbs -- * see note
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
salt -- to taste
freshly ground black pepper -- to taste
2/3 cup hot water
1/2 pound pecans -- coarsely chopped

Put the sausage in a skillet and cook, breaking up the lumps with the side of a kitchen spoon. Cook until it has lost its raw color. If desired, drain off all or a part of the fat.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet and cook the onions and celery until the onions are wilted.

Add the sausage. Melt the remaining 6 tablespoons of butter and add it. Add all the remaining ingredients and blend well. Let cool.

NOTES : For a 19 to 20 pound turkey, the quantities should be doubled exactly except for the sausage meat, which should be increased to 2 1/2 pounds.