A quick and easy way to make a delicious side dish on the smoker, this Smoked Stuffing with Sausage is the perfect pairing for your smoked turkey.
Elevate your holiday meal with this sausage stuffing that turns the same old boxed stuffing into something great that will excite everyone at the table.
If you’re already smoking your turkey on the smoker, why not throw on the stuffing as well and give it that same delicious smoky flavor. This stuffing is enhanced with the addition of celery, onion, thyme, sausage, and cranberries.
» You might also like this Best Smoked Chicken Breast.
Ingredients You Need
The great thing about this recipe is that you can make it super simple by using a boxed stuffing, which we add a few additional ingredients to, or you can go for a more homemade approach and use breadcrumbs to make your own.
Here are the things you’ll need:
- Seasoned sausage – Use a seasoned pork that you enjoy the flavor of. I use Jimmy Dean Sage sausage.
- Butter – I use a salted butter to add a bit more depth of flavor.
- Celery – Chopped celery will give a nice crunch to the stuffing.
- Onion – Elevate the flavor with your favorite type of onion – you can use red or white. I like to use sweet onions.
- Chicken broth – Use a low-sodium chicken broth so it doesn’t add too much saltiness to an already seasoned box of stuffing
- Stuffing mix – You can use whatever brand of boxed stuffing you like. I use Stove Top Herb mix.
- Dried cranberries – A few dried cranberries gives a delicious sweetness and another texture to the stuffing.
If making from scratch you’ll also need:
- Bread cubes – You can buy bread cubes specifically for making stuffing in a bag or box around the holidays. If you can’t find them, you can make your own bread cubes by cubing up sliced bread and letting it dry or putting it in the oven on a low setting to dry.
- Thyme – Fresh or dried
- Sage – Fresh or dried
- Salt and pepper to season – A boxed stuffing mix will already come seasoned, but your bread cubes won’t, so you’ll need to season with salt and pepper to flavor to your liking.
Equipment Needed
- Smoker – I use a Z Grills 700 series smoker for most of my smoking, though I also have a Traeger grill. You can use whatever smoker you have – they all work the same.
- Wood pellets – There are many types of pellets available. If you’ve already got pellets in your smoker, use whatever you have. I really like Hickory pellets for chicken.
- Cast-iron pan or other smoker-friendly pan – If you have a cast iron skillet, that’s perfect for this stuffing because you can mix it up in there and just transfer it to the smoker. If you don’t, you can use any pan that’s heat-proof up to 250° F.
What Smokers We Use
Traeger Grills Pro Series 22 Pellet Grill & Smoker
Did you know that Traeger created the original wood-pellet grill? The Pro Series 22 is the one most people choose because it’s compact, yet has plenty of space for cooking. You can use any type of wood pellets you like. See the Traeger Series 22 Grill on Amazon.
Z Grills 7002C2E Pellet Grill & Smoker
We use the 7002C2E, which has dual temperature probes, a huge pellet hopper and pellet viewing window, with a large grill space and streamlined design. See this grill and more on the Z Grills site.
How to Make Smoked Stuffing
Preheat your smoker to 250°F. This takes about 15-20 minutes, so while it’s heating up, you can prepare the stuffing on the stove top.
Cook the sausage, crumbling as it cooks, until browned in a pan or cast iron skillet. Transfer the sausage to a plate or bowl. Drain any excess grease from the pan.
Melt the butter in the same pan. Add the celery and onion and cook it just until tender, about 5 minutes. If you want, you can add some garlic for additional flavor.
Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the chicken broth, sausage, and stuffing mix. Or if you’re making the stuffing from scratch, stir in the bread cubes and the seasonings. Mix until combined.
If you used a cast-iron skillet, or a pan that can be put on the smoker, then you’re good to go. If not, transfer the stuffing to a grill-safe pan or cast-iron skillet.
Place the pan on the smoker grate. Smoke for 45 minutes, or until the top is a bit crisp.
Remove the stuffing pan from the grill and let it rest for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve.
Variations to Try
Everyone likes their stuffing a slightly different way. We understand that. So we’ve given a few tweaks you can make to ensure that the stuffing is to your liking.
You might like your stuffing drier, moister, sweeter or using cornbread instead of white bread. These are all adjustments you can easily make to get what you want.
- Drier. If you like a drier stuffing, use less chicken broth.
- Moister. If you like a moister stuffing, add more chicken broth.
- Sweeter. If you like a sweet stuffing, you can add diced apples to the stuffing mix.
- Cornbread. Use dried cornbread cubes instead of white bread cubes for your stuffing.
- Turkey. You can use turkey broth or drippings in place of the chicken stock, if you want to utilize the turkey that you’re making.
What Temperature to Smoke It At
There are differing levels of smokiness that you can give to the stuffing depending on what temperature you cook it on. I like to cook it at 250° F because that’s usually what the smoker is on to cook the turkey or chicken I’m also cooking to go with the stuffing. It imparts good smoky flavor in a reasonable time.
You could cook it longer at 225° F and get more smoke flavor. Or you could even cook it on the Smoke setting, which will take quite a bit longer, but will impart the most smoke. It’s really up to you. You want your stuffing to smoke long enough that the center is piping hot.
Since there are no raw ingredients, you don’t have to worry about getting it to a certain internal degree. So you can choose to smoke it as low and slow as you want.
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Smoked Stuffing With Sausage
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound seasoned sausage
- 1 1/2 teaspoons thyme fresh or dried
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup celery chopped
- 1/2 cup onion chopped
Add these ingredients for boxed version:
- 1 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 1 package stuffing mix
Add these ingredients for from scratch:
- 12 ounces breadcrumbs
- 2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried sage
- Salt and pepper to season
Instructions
- Preheat smoker to 250°F.
- Cook the sausage, crumbling as it cooks, until browned in a pan or cast iron skillet. Add the thyme. Transfer to a plate or bowl. Drain any excess grease.
- Melt butter in the same pan. Add celery and onion and cook until tender.
- Remove from heat, stir in the broth and stuffing mix, or the breadcrumbs and seasonings, then add back in the sausage. Mix until combined. Transfer to a grill-safe pan or cast-iron skillet.
- Place the pan on the smoker grate. Smoke for 45 minutes, or until the top is a bit crisp.
- Remove from grill and rest for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve.
Nutrition
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Laura is a passionate home cook and grill enthusiast who has spent years perfecting her culinary skills, with a particular focus on grilling techniques and flavor combinations. Her fascination with the grill, smoke, and the mouthwatering results they produce has led her on an exciting journey to discover the best methods for grilling delicious and unforgettable meals.