Cornbread and Sage Sausage Dressing

That stuffing looks good - but you HAVE to try cornbread dressing.

A friend challenged me after I posted my Thanksgiving stuffing recipe. Cornbread dressing? After some research, I found out it's a Southern tradition, loaded with sausage.

(I'm a Yankee, of course - how else would I miss out on Conrbread Dressing?)

That will work - cornbread and sausage sounds like a splendid combination. The recipes are similar to my usual stuffing recipes. Saute aromatics, toss with dried bread - cornbread - cubes, stir in beaten eggs as a binder, bake, and brown.

As a blogger, I have to cook two Thanksgiving dinners. One is on Thanksgiving; the other is a few weeks ahead of time, so I can test my recipes and post my pictures. This was the dressing I served in our early Thanksgiving. I got a few funny looks when I put it on the table, but the proof was in the tasting, and once everyone took a bite, it was a hit.
Except for my one son. He picked out chunks of sausage and brushed the cornbread off. Oh, well, can't please everyone.

Equipment

• 11" by 15" foil pan (you can use a large baking dish if you're cooking in the oven)
• Aluminum foil

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 onions, minced
• 2 stalks celery, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, minced
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 pound sage sausage
• ¼ cup minced parsley leaves
• 2 pounds stale cornbread, cut into 1 inch cubes (8-10 cups)
• 3 to 4 cups chicken broth (preferably homemade), amount depends on how dry the cornbread is
• 2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt (if chicken broth is homemade - don't add more salt if chicken broth is store bought)
• 2 eggs, beaten

Directions

Sauté the aromatics

Melt the butter in a large frypan over medium-high heat. Add the onions, celery, and bell pepper, then sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of kosher salt. Sauté until the onions are soft, about five minutes.

Brown the sausage

Add the sausage to the pan with the onions and cook, breaking the sausage into bite sized pieces. Cook until the sausage is no longer pink, about five minutes. Stir in the parsley, and remove from the heat.

Mix the Dressing

Put half the cornbread in a large mixing bowl. Scrape the onion and sausage mix from the frypan into the bowl, then stir until evenly mixed. Pour in half the chicken stock, add the pepper (and salt if using homemade stock), and stir until all the cornbread is damp. As you stir, the cornbread will compact itself; add the rest of the cornbread and stock in batches, stirring to pack it down. Stir in the beaten egg, then pour the dressing into the foil pan.

Cook the Dressing

Oven Instructions
Crimp a sheet of aluminum foil over the pan. Put the dressing in a preheated 350°F oven. Cook with the foil covering the dressing for 45 minutes. Remove the foil from the top of the pan and cook until the dressing is browned and crispy on top and 150°F in the middle, about 15 more minutes.

OR: Drip Pan Instructions (for rotisserie or grill)
Crimp a sheet of aluminum foil over the pan, then cut slits in the pan so the turkey drippings can drip through into the dressing. The grill should be set for indirect medium heat (about 350°F), with a drip pan under the turkey. When the turkey has 1 hour left to cook, replace the drip pan with the pan full of dressing. Pour any drippings in the drip pan onto the sheet of aluminum foil covering the dressing; it will drip through the slits into the dressing. Cook with the foil covering the dressing for 45 minutes. Remove the foil from the top of the pan and cook until the dressing is browned and crispy on top and 150°F in the middle, about 15 more minutes.

Serve the Dressing

Carefully remove the dressing from the oven or grill, scoop the dressing into a serving dish, and serve. If the dressing needs to sit while you carve the turkey, cover the pan with foil to keep the dressing warm.

Print

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Native born Southerners who think I'm a clueless Yankee? Talk about it in the comments section below.

Related Posts

Rotisserie Pan Bread Stuffing with Cranberries and Apples
Chestnut Stuffing (and rotisserie capons)

*Enjoyed this post? Want to help out DadCooksDinner? Subscribe to DadCooksDinner using the RSS or Email options on the right, recommend DadCooksDinner to your friends, buy something from Amazon.com through the links on this site, or donate through my