1/2 cup
(1 stick) butter plus more for baking dish
12 cups
french bread, (roughly 2 lbs, day-old, crust cut off, torn or cut into 1-inch pieces)
2 cups
yellow onions, chopped
2 cups
celery ¼-inch dice
1/2 cup
flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 tbsp
fresh sage, minced
1 tbsp
fresh rosemary, minced
1 tbsp
fresh thyme, chopped
¼ tsp
nutmeg
½ tsp
salt
½ tsp
black pepper, freshly ground
2 ½ cups
chicken broth, divided
2
eggs
Method
Preheat the oven to 300°. Scatter bread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake, stirring every 15 minutes, until dried out, about 45 minutes. Transfer to a very large bowl.
Turn the oven to 350°. Butter a 9x13 baking dish, set aside.
Brown the sausage in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. When the sausage is half way browned and crumbled, add the stick of butter onion and celery. Sauté for 5 minutes longer until the sausage is completely browned.
Add the onion mixture to the bowl with the bread; add in parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Toss to evenly disperse the herbs and vegetables with the bread.
Drizzle 1 ½ cups broth over the bread mixture and gently toss to combine.
Whisk remaining 1 cup broth and eggs in a bowl. Add to the bread mixture; fold gently until thoroughly combined.
Transfer to a buttered 9x13 baking dish, cover with foil, and bake for 30 minutes. NOTE: If you are making this recipe a day ahead of time, stop here! Let the stuffing cool, and place it in the fridge overnight. The next day, bring it out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you're ready to finish baking it.
Remove foil, bake until set (no longer jiggly) and top is browned and crispy on top, 45 minutes longer.