Grandma Dagen’s Stuffing Balls

I’ve looked forward to this post for so long. Part of me was kind of thinking I would keep Grandma Dagen’s Stuffing Balls to myself but honestly, this space at Mr. Farmer’s Daughter is for sharing. Sharing fun recipes, new recipes, last minute recipes and old recipes that I’ve tweaked to make gluten-free so I can enjoy them as much as when I was younger.

This is one of those recipes.

When I started dating my husband, B, he was a freshman in college. At that point, he spent a lot of time with his friends, especially his friend, Bobby. Bobby’s grandma lived in town and on Sundays she would make dinner for her son and his kids after church. I suspect B went to church with Bobby more than once just to get those stuffing balls. They were amazing.

The first time I had them I’m pretty sure my eyes rolled back in my head. They were savory, salty, soft on the inside but kind of crunchy and toasted on the outside. Stuffing is the reason I love Thanksgiving so much but she made them EVERY Sunday! If I was lucky, B would bring some foil-wrapped stuffing balls home and share them with me. Those were the days …

I only met Grandma Dagen once or twice but I’ve dreamed of her stuffing balls for years, occasionally trying to recreate them. She’s been gone for quite a while now so this isn’t her exact recipe, plus it’s gluten-free, but it does remind me of her and Bobby all these years later.

I’m thinking this recipe just might be the thing of dreams for you too. Dip them in some gravy – you’ll think you’ve died and gone to heaven.

A couple notes:
• I’m very certain Grandma Dagen made her stuffing balls with pasty white bread. It was the 80’s after all. I can’t do that anymore, nor would I, so I opted to use two different kinds of gluten-free bread – one was more smooth and dry, the other a more artisan style bread. For instance: you could use Shar classic white bread and Udi’s whole grain loaf for a similar texture. But, it would definitely work with any gluten-free bread made with grains. (I did not test this with any Paleo-type breads)
• Use real butter. You need it for the flavor.
• I used chicken bone broth. If you need a simple recipe, go here.
• Fresh parsley adds so much flavor to this, try not to use dried.

Grandma Dagen's Stuffing Balls

 

Author:

mrfarmersdaughter.com

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Ingredients

• 16 cups, gluten-free bread, cubed (This is two small loaves)
• 1-1½ cups yellow onion, diced small
• 1-1½ cups celery, diced small
• ½ cup butter
• 3 eggs
• 1½ cup broth (or enough to make it stick together), lukewarm
• 3 Tbls. fresh parsley
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 400˚.
2. Melt butter in very large skillet.
3. Add onion and celery and sauté until soft, about 7 minutes.
4. Add bread cubes and stir, thoroughly coating all the cubes with butter.
5. (If you don't have a skillet big enough, you can put it all in a very large bowl.)
6. Combine whole eggs and broth and mix well.
7. Slowly pour egg mixture over the bread cubes, adding ¼ of the mixture at a time and stirring in between each addition.
8. Add enough liquid to hold cubes together when squeezed with your hand.
9. Add parsley, salt and pepper and mix well.
10. Roll about ½ cup-sized balls in your hands and place on greased pan.
11. Bake for about 20 minutes or until stuffing balls are golden brown and a little crunchy on the outside.
12. Best served with chicken or turkey and copious amounts of gravy.

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