***This classic recipe for Cornbread Dressing hits all the right marks. It's pretty perfect in every way. This dish is described as "deliciously moist and perfectly seasoned" on the myrecipes.com website, which are the perfect words.
Of course, Cornbread Dressing from scratch takes a little more time and effort to make, but in my experience it is well worth it...especially at Thanksgiving! Brad looks forward to this dressing all year long!
The biggest change that I made to the recipe below is the addition of mild sausage. I simply cooked a package of mild country sausage and added it to the vegetable mixture, before mixing everything together. My other changes are listed in blue below...I took elements from my Mom's Cornbread Dressing recipe and combined them with this recipe from Southern Living.
Bon Appetit!***
Cornbread Dressing
Source: Southern Living magazine; November 2002
Yield: Makes 16 to 18 servings
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter or margarine, divided
- 3 cups white cornmeal
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 7 large eggs, divided
- 3 cups buttermilk
- 4 slices sourdough bread, torn into pieces
- 1/4 lb. saltine crackers, crushed into small pieces
- 2 medium onions, diced (2 cups)
- 1 large bunch celery, diced (3 cups)
- 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh sage*
- 48 oz reduced sodium chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon pepper
- 1 lb mild country sausage (optional)
Preparation
Place 1/2 cup butter in a 13- x 9-inch pan; heat in oven at 425° for 4 minutes.
Combine cornmeal and next 5 ingredients; whisk in 3 eggs and buttermilk.
Pour hot butter into batter, stirring until blended. Pour batter into pan.
Bake at 425° for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool.
Crumble cornbread into a large bowl; set aside.
Melt remaining 1/2 cup butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add onions and celery, and saute until tender. Stir in sage, and saute 1 more minute.
Stir vegetables, sausage, remaining 4 eggs, chicken broth, sourdough bread pieces, cracker pieces, and pepper into cornbread mixture (There are no better tools than your hands to properly mix the dressing at this stage!); pour evenly into 1 lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish and 1 lightly greased 8-inch square baking dish. Cover and chill 8 hours.
Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown.
*1 tablespoon dried rubbed sage may be substituted for fresh sage.
Andouille Sausage, Apple, and Pecan Dressing: Brown 3/4 pound diced andouille sausage in a skillet over medium heat; drain. Add sausage; 2 Granny Smith apples, chopped; and 2 cups chopped toasted pecans to dressing. Proceed as directed, baking 40 to 45 minutes or until done.
