| Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing & Spicy Cornbread Stuffing (Web exclusive) |
From "Special Presentation"
episode DTT-S |
|
|
|
advertisement
|
In this recipe, the stuffing is baked outside the turkey in a baking dish. If you want to stuff your turkey with it, prepare the stuffing through step two. To make the stuffing a day in advance, increase both the chicken stock and the half-and-half by 1/4 cup each and refrigerate the unbaked stuffing 12 to 24 hours. Before transferring it to the baking dish, let the stuffing stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes so that it loses its chill.
Ingredients:
12 cups cornbread broken into 1" pieces (include crumbs, spread in even layer on 2 baking sheets, and dry in 250-degree oven 50-60 minutes)
3 cups chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups half-and-half
2 large eggs, beaten lightly
8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus extra for baking dish
1-1/2 lbs. bulk pork sausage, broken into 1" pieces
3 medium onions, chopped fine (about 3 cups)
3 ribs celery, chopped fine (about 1-1/2 cups)
2 Tbs. minced fresh thyme leaves
2 Tbs. minced fresh sage leaves
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs. kosher salt
2 tsp. ground black pepper
Preparation:
- Place cornbread in large bowl. Whisk together stock, half-and-half, and eggs in medium bowl; pour over cornbread and toss very gently to coat so that cornbread does not break into smaller pieces. Set aside.
- Heat heavy-bottomed 12" skillet over medium-high heat until hot, about 1-1/2 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons butter to pan and swirl to coat pan bottom. When foam subsides, add sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until sausage loses its raw color, 5 to 7 minutes. With slotted spoon, transfer sausage to medium bowl. Add about half the onions and celery to fat in skillet; sauté, stirring occasionally, over medium-high until softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer onion mixture to bowl with sausage. Return skillet to heat and add remaining 6 tablespoons butter; when foam subsides, add remaining celery and onions and sauté, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in thyme, sage, and garlic; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds; add salt and pepper. Add this mixture, along with sausage and onion mixture, to cornbread and stir gently to combine so that cornbread does not break into smaller pieces. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate to blend flavors, at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours.
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Butter 10" by 15" baking dish (or two 9" square or 11" by 17" baking dishes). Transfer stuffing to baking dish; pour any liquid accumulated in bottom of bowl over stuffing and, if necessary, gently press stuffing with rubber spatula to fit into baking dish. Bake until golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes.
Makes about 12 cups, serving 10 to 12.
Spicy Cornbread Stuffing With Red Peppers, Chipotle Chilis and Andouille Sausage Andouille is a spicy smoked Cajun sausage. If you cannot find any, chorizo makes a fine substitute.
Preparation:
Follow recipe for Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing through step one.
- In step two, melt 4 tablespoons butter in heated skillet; when foam subsides, add 2 red bell peppers, cut into 1/4" pieces, to skillet along with one-third of the onion and celery. Sauté until softened, about 5 minutes, and transfer to medium bowl.
- Return skillet to heat and add remaining 4 tablespoons butter; when foam subsides, add remaining onion and celery and sauté, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in 4 to 5 chipotle (chi POHT lay -- a smoked and dried hot jalapeño with wrinkled skin and a dull reddish-brown color) chilis, chopped (about 4 tablespoons), along with thyme, sage, and garlic. Add this mixture, along with sautéed onions and celery and 1-1/2 pounds andouille sausage, cut into 1/2" pieces, into cornbread and mix gently so that cornbread does not break into smaller pieces.
- Cover and refrigerate as directed in step two; proceed with step three to bake stuffing.
|
