Categories: Apples, Breakfast, Pork
Ingredients
- 2 cups apple cider or 2 cups apple juice
- 6 large well shaped baking apples
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 2 tablespoons dried currants
- 1/4 teaspoon crumbled dried sage
- 1/2 lb raw sausage, crumbled (choose a smoky or sage-scented variety)
- fresh sage sprigs
Directions
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Preheat oven to 375°.
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Butter a baking dish big enough to hold the apples upright with up to an inch between them.
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Pour the cider into a saucepan; reduce by half over high heat.
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While the cider cooks, scoop out the apple cores, leaving the bottoms intact; **the small end of a melon baller works well for this task.
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Scoop a hole in each apple just a bit bigger than necessary to remove the core.
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Slice a thin ribbon of peel from around the top of each apple cavity, which helps keep the peel from splitting while baking.
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Slice off all fruit remaining on the cores and chop it.
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Warm the butter in a skillet over medium heat; stir in chopped apple pieces, onion, currant, sage, and sausage; cook until sausage is brown; remove from the heat and cool briefly.
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Pack equal portions of the mixture into each apple, mounding it over the top a bit if necessary.
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Pour the reduced apple cider into the dish, drizzling a little over each apple.
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Cover the apples and place in oven for 30 minutes.
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Uncover and continue baking for about 15 minutes; until the apples can be pierced easily with a knife but still hold their shape. Arrange apples in small bowls, pouring the pan juices over them; serve warm, garnish with sage sprigs.