Equipment
Ingredients
Base and Cooking Liquid
- 200 g wild rice, rinsed and drained
- 750 ml chicken broth
Sausage and Aromatics
- 450 g sweet italian sausage, bulk or casings removed
- 45 g unsalted butter
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 celery, diced
- 3 garlic, minced
Mix-ins and Seasoning
- 100 g dried cranberries
- 60 g pecans, roughly chopped and toasted
- 5 g fresh sage, finely chopped
- 3 g fresh thyme, finely chopped
- kosher salt
- black pepper
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 404 kcal
- Protein
- 13 g
- Carbohydrates
- 36 g
- Fat
- 24 g
- Fiber
- 4 g
- Sugar
- 12 g
- Sodium
- 824 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 8 g
- Trans Fat
- 0 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 11 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 4 g
- Cholesterol
- 53 mg
- Potassium
- 360 mg
- Calcium
- 48 mg
- Iron
- 2.1 mg
- Magnesium
- 71 mg
- Phosphorus
- 218 mg
- Zinc
- 3.1 mg
- Vitamin A
- 43 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 3 mg
- Vitamin E
- 0.8 mg
- Vitamin K
- 6 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.2 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.6 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.12 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.28 mg
- Niacin
- 5.4 mg
- Folate
- 34 mcg
- Water
- 159 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Preheat your oven to 190 C (375 F). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with butter or non-stick spray.
In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken broth to a boil. Stir in the rinsed wild rice, reduce the heat to low, cover tightly, and simmer until the rice is tender and the grains begin to split open. Drain any excess liquid if necessary.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sweet Italian sausage, breaking it apart into small crumbles with a wooden spoon. Cook until deeply browned and the meat reaches a safe internal temperature of 74 C (165 F). Wash your hands and any utensils used to handle the raw meat. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked sausage to a large mixing bowl, leaving the rendered fat in the skillet.
Reduce the skillet heat to medium. Add the unsalted butter to the remaining sausage fat. Once melted, add the diced onion and celery. Sauté until softened and translucent. Stir in the minced garlic, fresh sage, and fresh thyme, cooking for one more minute until highly fragrant.
Scrape the aromatic vegetable mixture from the skillet into the large mixing bowl with the sausage. Add the cooked wild rice, dried cranberries, chopped pecans, salt, and black pepper. Toss gently until all ingredients are evenly distributed. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Transfer the stuffing mixture into the prepared baking dish, spreading it in an even layer. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes until the top is slightly crisp and golden. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Chef's Notes
- Wild rice is actually an aquatic grass, not a true rice. It requires significantly longer cooking times and more liquid, and the grains should physically pop or split open when fully cooked.
- For a vegetarian adaptation, swap the sausage for 400g of roasted mixed mushrooms like cremini, shiitake, and oyster, adding 15ml of soy sauce to replicate the savory, umami-rich profile.
- If preparing ahead for the holidays, you can assemble the entire dish up to two days in advance. Keep refrigerated and add 10 to 15 minutes to the covered baking time since you are starting from a chilled state.
- The salinity of commercial chicken broths and Italian sausages varies wildly. Always hold back slightly on your initial salt addition, taste the mixture in step 5, and adjust from there.
Storage
Refrigerator: 4 days — Store in an airtight container.
Freezer: 2 months — Freeze in a sealed container or heavy-duty freezer bag.
Reheating: Reheat in a 175 C (350 F) oven covered with foil until warmed through to 74 C (165 F), or microwave individual portions.
Troubleshooting
Wild rice is tough and excessively chewy
Cause: Rice was not simmered long enough for the grains to burst open
Fix: If noticed before baking, return rice to the pot with 120ml extra broth and simmer for 15 more minutes. If fully baked, cannot be easily fixed.
Prevention: Always taste the rice before draining it; wait until at least 50 percent of the grains have split and curled
Stuffing feels too dry after baking
Cause: Too much fat was drained from the sausage or the baking dish was left uncovered too long
Fix: Drizzle 60ml of warm chicken broth evenly over the top, cover lightly with foil, and let it steam in the residual heat for 5 minutes.
Prevention: Ensure you incorporate the sautéed vegetables and their cooking fats into the mix, and keep foil on for the first half of baking
Cultural Context
While bread-based stuffings are the standard for American Thanksgiving, wild rice stuffings have deep roots in the Upper Midwest of the United States. In regions like Minnesota and Wisconsin, wild rice (Manoomin) is indigenous and traditionally harvested by the Ojibwe people. Combining it with European sausage and native cranberries represents a modern culinary fusion of indigenous North American ingredients and immigrant holiday traditions.
