I’ll be honest, most years, I tend to just buy stuffing, but this year, with some beautiful sausages from Donald Butchers at my disposal, I figured I’d give it a go myself, and what a difference it made. I have to be honest, I don’t think making your own is essential, and if you don’t want the extra fuss, then store bought is totally fine.

Saying that, making your own means you can dictate the texture, and how much of each flavour you want to put in. Plus, you can make it weeks in advance and just store it in the freezer until you need it. In my version, I’ve added sage, onion and chestnuts. I’ve listed guideline amounts, but if you want more onion and less chestnuts, or extra sage, then go for it! How you cook it is also totally up to you, I roll mine into little stuffing balls, but if you prefer, you can leave it as one block.

Homemade Pork, Sage and Chesnut Stuffing

Ingredients
500g sausage meat
1 small onion, very finely diced
100g cooked chestnuts, finely chopped (I use Merchant Gourmet)
Small bunch fresh sage, finely chopped
50g golden breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper

Method
1. Simple. Add all the ingredients to a bowl and stir until everything is completely combined. Add salt and pepper to taste.
2. If making balls, very lightly wet your hands to stop the mixture sticking, take small handfuls and roll into balls between your hands and place on a baking tray if using immediately, or into a tupperware container if freezing. If cooking as a block, lightly oil a dish, then press the stuffing into the dish.
3. Whichever way you choose to cook the stuffing, it can be frozen at this point for up to 1 month or it will keep in the fridge for 1 or 2 days before using.
4. To cook, preheat your oven to 180c fan. Place the stuffing balls on a baking tray. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Serve!