Sausage-Stuffed Baked Pears Recipe
By
Ray Lee
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This easy and impressive dish makes the best out of breakfast’s sweet and savory elements: a ripe pear stuffed with a tasty mélange of breakfast sausage and spices.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 6 1/2 firm medium pears (such as Bosc or Anjou)
- 1/2 medium red onion, small dice (about 1 cup)
- 1 medium celery rib, small dice (about 1/4 cup)
- 1 medium garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 pound breakfast sausage links
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 1/4 cups fresh breadcrumbs
- 3 tablespoons whole milk
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon paprika
INSTRUCTIONS
- Heat oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Peel and core 1/2 pear, then cut into small dice. Combine diced pear with onion and celery and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. When oil shimmers, add pear mixture to the frying pan and sauté until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until just soft, about 1 minute more.
- Remove pear mixture from heat and transfer to a medium bowl. Allow mixture to cool in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.
- Remove sausage from its casing. Crumble sausage into cooled pear mixture. Add egg, breadcrumbs, milk, cinnamon, and paprika. Mix well. (To ensure mixture is properly seasoned, form a small patty and sauté it in a pan over medium heat until browned and cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Taste and adjust seasoning. Repeat if necessary.)
- Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Cut remaining 6 pears in half lengthwise and remove the stems. Cut off a small slice from the uncut side of each pear to create a flat base for the pear to rest on while roasting. Using a melon baller or a small spoon, scoop out the core and another 1/2 inch or so around the core to create a hole for the sausage mixture. Season each pear with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Divide sausage mixture among pears, filling each half generously. Place stuffed pears in a baking dish. Bake until pears are soft and stuffing is browned on top and cooked through, about 35 minutes.
I made this for Xmas brunch -- when I tested the patty I thought it could use some zing, so I added a tablespoon of grated fresh ginger. They were a big hit.
As noted, I made it through step three the night before. I wouldn't prep the pears ahead of time because they would turn brown around the edges. However, I did bake them at home and then reheat them at my Mom's, so it might be possible to make them the night before and then reheat.
I have been making this for years. I had something similar at a bed and breakfast overseas. Their sausage was bland and pears not very sweet, so I changed it. I did add some blue cheese, gorgonzola to be exact to make a gorgonzola sauce. Just some gorgonzola and cream and it went very well over the pork and pears. I did use a savory herbed sausage and added some extra sage. Good call everyone on the sage. Excellent dish and fun for breakfast or brunch.
The idea of port is great over greens more of a late brunch oor dinner. Still it would be very good.
One more thing, I used shallot instead of red onion. Sweeter than red onion.
Great sharing this
Made this with well seasoned meat and it was tasty but not very attractive.
Miss Clare: Though we didn't test it, you should be able to go through step 3 the night before then assemble and bake off in the morning.
My family does a big, fancy breakfast for Christmas every year, and these look like they'd be a hit. That said, would these hold overnight in the fridge to be baked in the morning? I cannot imagine putting these together on Christmas morning (I usually get a little too, uh, festive on Christmas Eve.)
I made this last night but used ground pork instead of sausage and was sure to add plenty of seasoning to it (ie: dried oregano, cumin seeds, garlic powder). It came out delicious! The cinnamon is an excellent touch! My only comment would be to use make sure to use ripe pears to ensure the sweetness from the fruit.
I LIKE it, I am going to give it a try this week... how about adding some PORT??!
I like this idea, I was thinkhing shaft blue cheese and green onion, with bacon, and pecans.. with a port demi drizzeled ontop.. served on a bed of baby greens?
Instead of dicing half a pear at the beginning and having the other half leftover, why not prep the six pears for stuffing at the beginning and use the extra flesh that's scooped out of them for the stuffing mix?
Most varieties of breakfast sausages are highly herbed, but some sage does sound good.
Great sounding recipe but shouln't it have some sort of herbs in it? I'd add some sage at least.
I'll be honest, I thought this was going to be a disaster, too greasy. Not only was it tasty but such an interesting combination of fruit/meat/spices. I used semi firm Bartlett pears because the Anjou weren't up to par at the market. Savory surprise!