Sausage 'N Apples

This is one of those recipes that sounds odd until you try it, then it becomes a fall favorite. Whole green apples get cored and stuffed with a savory mixture of browned sausage, garlic, and onion. A sprinkle of brown sugar over the top caramelizes as the apples bake, and a strip of bacon draped across each one crisps up and bastes the fruit with smoky fat.

The tart green apples are the right choice here. Their acidity stands up to the rich, fatty sausage filling and the brown sugar sweetness. A softer, sweeter apple would turn to mush and lose that contrast.

As the apples bake, they soften and their juices mix with the rendered bacon fat and melted brown sugar in the bottom of the dish, creating a sticky, savory-sweet pan sauce you can spoon over each serving.

Kitchen Tips

• Core the apples wide enough to hold a generous amount of stuffing, but don’t punch through the bottom. You want a cup, not a tunnel.
• Saute the sausage until fully cooked and crumbled before stuffing. It won’t cook through inside the apple otherwise.
• Use firm apples like Granny Smith that hold their shape during the 40-minute bake.
• Check at 35 minutes. The apples should be fork-tender but not collapsing.

Variations

• Add a handful of dried cranberries or chopped pecans to the sausage stuffing for extra texture.
• Swap ground sausage for maple sausage for an even sweeter brunch version.
• Drizzle with maple syrup instead of brown sugar for a more liquid glaze.