Holger Gronwall's Special Wild Rice, Apple, Cranberry Turkey Stuffing

by Paul Hillman December 04, 2025

This year I challenge you to serve this sophisticated yet simple, totally scrumptious wild rice stuffing that’s full of ALL the Autumn flavours instead. Like I say, this recipe taste so good you don’t even need to bake it.

Ingredients:

2 cups Wild rice – mix in approximately 6-8 cups water (6 to start)

1 tablespoon Master foods Tuscan spice cooks into with wild rice

½ pound of your favourite sourdough or rye sourdough bread cut into 2cm cubes (1/2 inch) about 4-6 cups)

1 stick or ½ cup unsalted butter

2 cups diced onion, red (any can be used)

2 cups diced celery

2 cups diced granny smith green apple (any can be used these cook less sweet)

1/3 cup fresh flat leaf parsley (dry can be used, but find the fresh more flavourful)

3 tablespoons of fresh sage (2 teaspoons crumbly dry can be used but I find it too powdery)

3 tablespoons of fresh marjoram (again same as above, can 1.5 teaspoons dry marjoram substitute oregano)

1 tablespoon finely chopped thyme (or 1 teaspoon dry crumbly thyme)

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 ¼ cup dried cranberries

1 cup chicken or turkey broth

How to Make This Recipe

Step 1: Cook the Wild Rice alone or can blend with brown rice. I only use wild rice when it cooks through inside turkey, rice splits giving the impression of brown rice mixed in. Sometimes wild rice is hard to source but can be found in Australia. I source mine directly from Minnesota.

Start by adding a wild rice blend to a medium saucepan with chicken stock or broth, a bay leaf, and a tablespoon of Master food Tuscan spice blend. Add 5-6 cups water to start and can add more as it cooks. Cook covered until tender, will finish inside bird. The remaining mix goes into a covered baking dish with a cup or two of chicken or turkey broth and cooked for 40 minutes at about 175C or until rice splits. I cook rice 1 day ahead. Stuff as much as possible into turkey cavity and neck area and may need to sow shut with baking string. Have a taste before stuffing the bird…pure yum!

Turkey Notes: Lightly rub salt over the entire bird, cut up more and use the same herbs above to cover the outside of your turkey. Hillmans sources me a 10kg bird each year for our Thanks Giving feast. 10kg bird cook covered in alfoil wrap extra foil around wing tips at 200C for 60 minutes on a trivet in large bake pan, with 2cm water underneath, then lower to 125C until bird is done about 6-8 hours depending on the oven. Last hour cook uncovered to brown. Use a cooking thermometer!

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