Breakfast Casserole with Italian Sausage and Fontina
By America's Test KitchenPublished on November 9, 2011
Yield
Serves 8 to 10
Ingredients
Before You Begin
You can find unsliced loaves of Italian bread in the bakery section of your supermarket. Frank’s RedHot is the test kitchen’s top-rated hot sauce. If using a spicier sauce such as Tabasco, reduce amount to 1½ teaspoons.
Instructions
- TOAST BREAD Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 400 degrees. Slice bread in half lengthwise, then slice each half crosswise into ½-inch-thick pieces. Spread bread in single layers on 2 rimmed baking sheets and bake until golden, 15 to 20 minutes, flipping bread and switching and rotating sheets halfway through. Let cool 15 minutes.
- BROWN SAUSAGE Cook sausage in large skillet over medium heat until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add onion and cook until golden, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil to sausage mixture.
- ASSEMBLE CASSEROLE Grease 13- by 9-inch baking dish. Shingle half of bread in prepared pan so that edges overlap slightly. Top with half of sausage mixture and 1 cup cheese. Repeat with remaining bread, remaining sausage mixture, and remaining cheese.
- SOAK AND WEIGHT Whisk eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and hot sauce in large bowl. Pour evenly over casserole. Wrap casserole with plastic and weight according to photos below. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 24.
- BAKE CASSEROLE Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Let casserole stand at room temperature while oven is heating. Remove weights, unwrap casserole, and bake until the edges and center have puffed and top is golden brown, about 1 hour. Let cool 10 minutes. Serve.
Yield
Serves 8 to 10Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Even when staled in the oven overnight, the white bread in our Breakfast Casserole with Italian Sausage and Fontina soaked up too much custard and turned to mush. Toasted Italian bread greatly improved the texture. Using whole milk instead of half-and-half or cream kept the casserole light and fluffy, while incorporating a minimal amount ensured the dish remained firm.
We used enough cheese and sausage to flavor the dish, but not so much that we were left with a greasy, soggy mess. Some Breakfast Casserole with Italian Sausage and Fontina recipes we tasted contained pockets where certain ingredients tended to congregate. To solve this, we staggered the bread, sausage, and cheese mixtures in multiple layers. Building the casserole with care helped ensure every bite had flavor.
Before You Begin
You can find unsliced loaves of Italian bread in the bakery section of your supermarket. Frank’s RedHot is the test kitchen’s top-rated hot sauce. If using a spicier sauce such as Tabasco, reduce amount to 1½ teaspoons.
Instructions
- TOAST BREAD Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 400 degrees. Slice bread in half lengthwise, then slice each half crosswise into ½-inch-thick pieces. Spread bread in single layers on 2 rimmed baking sheets and bake until golden, 15 to 20 minutes, flipping bread and switching and rotating sheets halfway through. Let cool 15 minutes.
- BROWN SAUSAGE Cook sausage in large skillet over medium heat until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add onion and cook until golden, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil to sausage mixture.
- ASSEMBLE CASSEROLE Grease 13- by 9-inch baking dish. Shingle half of bread in prepared pan so that edges overlap slightly. Top with half of sausage mixture and 1 cup cheese. Repeat with remaining bread, remaining sausage mixture, and remaining cheese.
- SOAK AND WEIGHT Whisk eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and hot sauce in large bowl. Pour evenly over casserole. Wrap casserole with plastic and weight according to photos below. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 24.
- BAKE CASSEROLE Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Let casserole stand at room temperature while oven is heating. Remove weights, unwrap casserole, and bake until the edges and center have puffed and top is golden brown, about 1 hour. Let cool 10 minutes. Serve.
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