Make-Ahead Sausage and Caramelized Onion Stuffing

Assembling and baking your stuffing—technically, in this case, dressing—the day before Thanksgiving frees up your oven for all of the other major players that may be vying for the same space (looking at your 14 lb. turkey). All you’ll need on the big day is 15 minutes to heat the baking dish without the foil to warm the stuffing through and crisp up the top layer. Of course, if you have the space and time, you can also cook this recipe all the way through the same day you want to eat it (just skip the cooling and overnight refrigeration part).

Four onions may seem like a lot, but by fully caramelizing them—it will take the full 30 minutes—you’ll shrink the heap significantly. The sweet and savory strands nearly melt away into the stuffing as it bakes, and the flavors play quite well against spicy Italian sausage and the classic herbs of the season.

Preheat oven to 250°. Butter a 13×9″ baking dish with unsalted butter. Divide 1 medium loaf country-style white bread, torn into irregular 2″ pieces (about 10 cups), between 2 large rimmed baking sheets, arranging in a single layer, and bake until dried out, crisp, and barely golden, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.

Increase oven temperature to 350°. Whisk 2 large eggs and 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth in a large measuring cup or small bowl; set aside.

Heat 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Cook 1 lb. hot Italian sausage, casings removed, stirring and breaking into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until browned and cooked through, 5–7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to bowl with bread, leaving fat behind in the pan.

Add remaining 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil to same pan and reduce heat to medium. Add 4 large onions, thinly sliced, and season generously with kosher salt (at first, it will look like you have way too many onions for the skillet, but they will cook down). Cook onions, stirring occasionally, until deep golden brown and very soft, about 30 minutes.

Add 4 celery stalks, thinly sliced, and 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced, to pan and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until celery is slightly softened, 8–10 minutes. Add 2 Tbsp. finely chopped rosemary, 2 Tbsp. finely chopped sage, and ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, and cook, stirring occasionally, until butter is melted and mixture is combined, about 3 minutes. Pour in ¼ cup dry white wine and simmer, scraping up any browned bits and stirring often, until liquid is mostly evaporated, about 1 minute.

Scrape onion mixture over sausage and bread in bowl and mix well to combine. Pour reserved egg mixture over and fold gently until everything is thoroughly coated; season with salt and pepper. Transfer stuffing to prepared dish and cover tightly with foil.

Bake stuffing until bubbling around the edges (peek under the foil to see, then re-cover), 30–35 minutes.